High School Debut, Vol. 5

高校デビュー [Kōkō Debut] #5

by Kazune Kawahara

Hapless Haruna needs help finding a boyfriend! After failing to win the eye of any guy in high school, Haruna enlists the help of cute upperclassman Yoh to coach her on how to make herself more appealing to the male species. Yoh agress, with one catch: Haruna had better not fall for him!

Just when things are going well for Haruna, in walks transfer student Leone Matsuzaka. Beautiful Leona's got only one thing in mind--to destroy Haruna's happiness! Who is this vengeful girl and why does she want to hurt Haruna so badly?

Genres: Manga, Romance, Shojo, Graphic Novels, Comics, Young Adult, Manga Romance

182 pages, Paperback

First published January 25, 2006

About the author

• Birth Date: March 11th, 1972
• Blood Type: A
• Zodiac: Pisces

Kazune Kawahara (河原和音) made her manga debut at age 18 with Kare no Ichiban Sukina Hito (His Most Favorite Person). Also, while thinking of her manga, she often spaces out and brings grocery baskets home. Adores her nieces.

Reviews

[Leila ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

HERMANO no puede ser lo mucho que estoy disfrutando esta historia, diossss. Again con la comparación con Lovely * Complex: cuando los encierran en el ¿locker? de educación física (nunca falla). Otra cosa que me está gustando mucho es que ya voy 5 volúmenes y todavía no hubo un "segundo" interés amoroso; eso hace que toda la historia sea menos dramática (which I love), y que se distinga de otros shoujos.

¿Todo el último capítulo? God. La felicidad que me produjo es indescriptible.

4 de 5 estrellas.

[Alexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I didn't start liking you because of your muscles."

Oh. My. God. That was priceless! I was laughing for minutes after that. It was Yoh who said that, not his girlfriend.

I really liked this volume because they had their first fight, and it was interesting to see how they would handle it. I'm curious about Asaoka though. Is all that really acting? Gosh, he's good, if it's true.

[Mango · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am writing about the overall series. I finsihed reading the entire series on January 7, 2011.

The overal series was pretty great. I gave it a 4 star rating. Let's talk about some things now.

I. Love. Yoh. I just love him. He is so adorable! Andd I hate that I have to say that. But I can't help myself, he is SO ADORABLE! ANd cool, and awesome, and hot(lol) and all those other wors to descibe him. I love his personality and I love how he is easily embarrassed. He is just so ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!!! I want him. And for all of you who think this is creepy(which it kinda is), I tend to fall for awesome fictional male characters. I LOVE YOH. And you would too if you ever read the manga.

Haruna. In the beginning of the manga I thought she was realy, really stupid. REALLY STUPID. And then later on I thought she was realy, really annoying and too much of a perfectionist. In the end, I ended up liking her. Maybe not in the ending because I didn't know my feelings for her in the end. She kinda made me have this weird angry-nice-weird-awkward vibe towards her. Her character is really thought out though. But overall, she's all right.

In the beginning of the book, I thought the whole concept was really kinda dumb. I mean, a love coach. That's just kinda ridiculous and desperate, which Haruna was, but pathetic. Though that whole concept fades later n, it was just really ridiculous. Ri-dic-u-lous. Ridiculous.

THere are many parts that made me laugh or gag when I was reading this manga. Let's look back in my brain and take a moment to laugh at them. HAHAHAHHA! LOL! LAWLS! OMG! OMG! HUH... FUNNY! AHHHAHAHHA LMAO!AHHAHAHH!hhohohohohohoho! omg! HILARIOUS.... Sigh... Huh... Funny.

Overall, the series was really great and funny and entertaining and sweet and sad and I recommend it to everyone I know and don't know. Though, the guys out there might now like it.

P.S. I really hate Assa.
I like Fumi.
I love Asaoka. ♥♥♥

[Carissa (Regency Woman) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vol 5 finds Haruna face to face with a former athletic rival from her middle school years, a girl so pissed that Haruna isn't playing softball in high school that she's determined to make Haruna's life miserable . . . by ruining her relationship with Yoh. Not that he's stupid enough to fall for that. But he is stupid enough to let Haruna's match-making attempts between friend BFF Mami and his BFF Asaoka upset him. Especially when it means Haruna ends up getting closer to Asaoka than Yoh is comfortable with, but not able to properly verbalize.

This volume is fun because it has a couple of the classic tropes, like the getting-locked-in-the-basement-of-the-school-together trope. It's cute and silly. Plus, Yoh finally lets it slip to Haruna that he likes her. Boy, does he play emotions close to the chest. The only bit I don't like in this volume is the whole thing with Asaoka. I don't like him much, never did, and this volume reminds me of why. He's the classic best friend trope who kinda falls for his buddy's girlfriend, and I really hate that trope. It crops up in Asian entertainment all the time and is super annoying.

The downside to vol 5 is that it feels like it's waiting for something. The stuff that happens doesn't really further Yoh's and Haruna's relationship all that much, and far too much time is given over to the whole Asaoka/Mami matchmaking thing and then Yoh's jealousy. It's why I didn't tear through it like I did with the other volumes.

I'll have to wait to read volume 6 because that's the one I didn't own, so it's coming from ebay, but not here yet. I can't even remember what that volume is about, it's been so long!

[Laura A. Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

VIDEO REVIEW HERE: https://youtu.be/DjMEvKUZ0iM

SO. MUCH. FUN!

But Asaoka legit had me freaked out there for a little while. I REALLY like his character a lot in previous volumes and all I can say is well played, Asaoka. Well played.

I thought it fun having a "love rival" of sorts come into the picture, but not actually be the typical love rival. The antics of said love rival bring about some fun humor because while I really like Haruna, she is so clueless sometimes. LOL!

But I agree with Yoh that it's part of her charm and makes her a fun heroine to read about. Plus, she really does sees the good in the people around her; and even if her own antics don't always pan out well, she just wants the people around her to be as happy as she is. I can deeply respect that because that's something that resonates with me too.

One thing I was unprepared for was to see that Yoh and Haruna BOTH can be pretty stubborn at times. (Though Haruna is *significantly* less at times.) I'm looking forward to Yoh having some more character growth because dude you really need to make it more widely known you like your girl. ;p

I'm so glad this volume ended well because I definitely had that moment if this really WOULD end well.

Did I mention I really dig the happy endings of these volumes?

Yeah, I seriously dig it. ;)

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, Aosaka really had me going there at the end!!!! This series never fails to entertain me!! Lol

[Mehsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

*sighs*I wonder how Yoh can stand Haruna. She is so oblivious and cringey. Plus she totally doesn't get that maybe he wants a date with HER, and not her forcing her best friend and his best friend together (who the hell does that when everyone is clearly saying NO to the idea). Awkwaaaaaaardddddd. There are some cute moments, but I think I would rather see this manga from Yoh's POV. Haruna just doesn't have any common sense 90% of the time. *sighs*

[lavanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

at this point the most randomest of stuff is happening

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Haruna and Yoh. So adorable together!! They have all these problems that arise, but it doesn't tear them apart. Obviously, they fight and ignore each other. After a couple pages though, they forgive one another. In so many mangas, some other boy or girl comes into the picture and breaks the main couple up. Thank god for this volume!

I didn't quite get why the new girl was so pissed at Haruna. It's not her fault and it wasn't like she did anything malicious. I liked how Haruna was being all dramatic and saying that the new girl was going to poison Yoh. Haruna has crazy antics, but it seems like Yoh, just shrugs it off because he likes that about her. One of my favorite parts was when Yoh got jealous of Asaokan (I forget what the dude's name was, but it was something like that). I know that Yoh likes Haruna, but he isn't as vocal about it as he should be and he sometimes comes off as indifferent about things. It was nice to see something come out of him. Haruna doesn't make it easy for Yoh though. I felt kinda bad for him, when Yoh wanted to be alone with her and she was too obsessed with her match-making venture. Though I'm still confused as to what was up with the best friend guy. Was he really acting? Cause it was kinda weird.

I just can't stop reading these! I swear, I'm going to back off for a while. I have tons of things to do, but I glued to my iPod reading this series...

[Dani ❤️ Perspective of a Writer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haruna desperately wants a boyfriend and gets cool upperclassman, Yoh to be her coach! He agrees to walk her through every step of the way on the condition she doesn't fall for him!

Leona a rival softball player locks Haruna & Yoh in a freezer... They share the blanket & chocolate while bonding over wanting to protect each other! (Haruna is like a man at times! Lol it's kind of cute!) she pitches one last time & she still misses!! Haha! A cute arc! Haruna is so crazy & Yoh so laid back, I like it!! I love how dense Haruna is & how both Yoh & her friend Mami knew Leona was up to no good!

Haruna and her crazy insistent ideas... she determines to get Mami and Asaoka together and has them crash the date Yoh has planned... I too was a little incredulous as to Haruna's obtuseness!! Asaoka became such an interesting character with this... he knew Yoh was just jealous and knew how to push his buttons... haha, that Haruna was a little dazzled was funny too!! I loved her reactions though and how the mangaka had her repeat Asaoka like her brain was still processing what he said!!

BOTTOM LINE: A worthy volume to this classic high school love story.

[Reader17 Der · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series. In this volume we have a new girl that enters the school that Haruna thinks is admiring her but instead the new girl Leona is trying to destroy Haruna and her relationship with Yoh. For some reason Leona has a major grudge against Haruna.

Also in this volume Haruna has decided that her friend Mami needs to get a boyfriend since she is always there for Haruna. So she decides to have Yoh talk to his friend Asaoka to see if they can setup Mami and Asaoka. Let's just say things don't work out the way Haruna plans and her and Yoh end up in a fight.

Will this be the end of Haruna and Yoh. Or since Asaoka and Haruna go on a date could this be the beginning of something.

You would have to read this series to find out. Which I recommend reading since it is a really cute series.

[Mely · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yoh to Haruna: Your enemies are just as crazy as you are.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is very silly but definitely enjoyable

[Em Mirra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series follows the main character, Haruna Nagashima, and her quest to find a boyfriend in high school. In junior high, Haruna was the star pitcher of her school's softball team and spent her time outside of practice reading romantic comics. Now that she's in high school, she devotes her time to finding herself a boyfriend ("her high school debut" as she calls it). However, she is completely clueless when it comes to fashion, dating, and boys, so she asks upperclassmen Yoh Komiyama to become her "coach" in these areas. He agrees on one condition: she must not by any circumstances fall for him.

The books consist of Haruna's comical adventures at high school and outside of school with Yoh, his sister, and they're group of friends, along with various other characters who appear throughout the series.

Age: Young Adult Reader (Ages 15-18)
Rating 4 out of 5 stars for:

Art:
The artist has a very defined, unique style that sets her drawing apart from others (you can easily pick out her drawings out of a selection of artists). Not my favorite type of art, as sometimes proportions and anatomy are lacking. However, the artist has an incredibly talent for drawing clothing/accessories and this makes up for it!

Writing:
The story's pacing is straight-forward and plot development is consistent throughout series. Each chapter consists of a smaller stories that seam together to create Haruna's high school experience. The characters Kawahara writes are interesting - they are distinct from one another and personalities interact with one another in a realistic way. Haruna is portrayed as a juxtaposition - loud, hyper, pure, gullible and easily fooled at times, yet also resilient, wise, thoughtful, caring and steadfast loyal. (Most of the characters have these ups and downs to their personalities making them more dimensional). Great, laugh out loud comedy throughout the book, too!

Recommended to mostly older teens who enjoy reading teen romantic-comedy manga.

[Rach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lol Asaoka is so good at scheming and reading all of his friend’s emotions it’s so funny. The aloof Yoh cannot escape his perception. The plan to get Yoh to stop withdrawing was so well executed my brain forgot it was all planned for a minute. Tiny bit of evil genius.

I find it hilarious that this volume mentioned the “heating each other up” survival technique when I alluded to this being a better Twilight in my first few reviews… knowing a scene exactly like Haruna describes is in that series lol. Small world. But Yoh and Haruna are a much (MUCH) healthier dynamic even with their little fights.

[Flan · Rating 5 out of 5]

And naturally, Haruna's rivals are as whack and ridiculous as her.
I enjoyed this volume as well, I'm liking the development between Yoh and Haruna. Throw in Asaoka, Mami and some jealousy and we have a lovely volume.

Looking forward to the next.

[Zian B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a 3.5 star rating;
I think that Leona girl was really childish and needs an attitude adjustment. I’m disappointed that Haruna didn’t fight her. Also, he has some extreme methods but I like Asaoka’s way of meddling.

[patriciaelysel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn, how is this manga so good so far?! I mean the tropes are your usual romance tropes but the characters are not like anything I've read before (as someone who doesn't really read romance). I think I just enjoy reading shoujo, that's why!

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

That's also cute.

[✨Sky✨ ♏ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars

[allison! · Rating 4 out of 5]

read: august 2020
format: hard copy
rating: 4.5/5 stars

[Lea]

Welp. Had a heart attack. Still have not recovered.

[yoonmin03 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chech vol 6 for reviews on vol 4-6.

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven’t got much to say but it was enjoyable ig!?!

[myblackbookish_life · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Asaoka is a good friend. Too good a friend, bruh. Also, an extra half star rating for the sheer ridiculousness of this volume, I cracked up OMG!

[Arunima]

reread: these kids <3
can't wait for asaoka to reap what he sow. you think you are so damn sly, get dunked by feelings.

[Agnès · Rating 5 out of 5]

estic enamorada deixeume

[nibha ⋆˚꩜｡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS WAS PUBLISHED THE DAY I WAS BORN HELLO ??????

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where did this nemesis come from?

Also please leave my girl Mami alone. She is just trying to live her best life without a man. I respect that.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's just so cute i cant put the book down...