Kamichama Karin Chu, Vol. 02

かみちゃまかりんchu [Kamichama Karin Chu] #2

by Koge-Donbo*

FUMBLED FUTURE

Now that Karin has found all of the Three Noble Gods, it’s time to join forces to save the future! But when Karin overhears Kazune saying he doesn’t want her around, she’s afraid their plans are already doomed. Will Karin’s dream of saving the day end before it even begins?

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

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Koge-Donbo (or Koge-Donbo*) is the pen name of a Japanese manga artist. Koge-Donbo* started her career soon after college as a doujinshi artist. She got the idea of a unique pen-name, Koge-Donbo* from Akira Toriyama's pet cat. She made her first official US appearance at Otakon 2004 in Baltimore, MD as a Guest of Honor.
She's known best as the author of Pita-Ten, Kamichama Karin, and Kamichama Karin Chu series.

Reviews

[Bibliothecat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review for complete series

This sequel to one of my long standing favourite manga does its predecesor a huge disservice. Kamichama Karin may not be a perfect manga, but is charming with loveable characters and a wacky plot. This sequel attempts to be more serious but it simply does not work with the otherwise cute art and sugary cliches I associate with books for a much younger audience.

The characters have lost all their charisma - neither Karin nor Kazune have any of their old spunk and they are just your average shoujo manga couple who pine for each other even though they're already in a relationship - lots of pointless drama. Himeka - the only other major female character - gets conveniently shipped abroad turning this into a reverse harem for Karin. She's the only notable female character surrounded by guys who are in love with her for no apparent reason and despite knowing she is in a relationship. I am not saying Karin isn't a desirable character, but it is so off from what we know of her in the original story and there is no build up that explains why others suddenly want her.

I wasn't expecting this to be as good as the original but I did hope that it would answer some of what was left unaddressed in the original. I was disappointed to find that this takes on an entirely new route that just screams magical girl cliche. Don't get me wrong, I like a good magical girl manga, but they can very easily tip into cringe territory. Thanks to the humour, the original handled the magical girl (and boy) aspect well. The sequel adds lots of sparkle and bling, the outfits become more and more cutesy and it's all about love evolution and other generic magical girl phrases.

I've seen others say that at least the art has become better - I disagree. It might seem a wee bit more modern but it ultimately feels lazy and I kept missing the original style where all of Koge-Donbo's humour was delivered. In addition, there was quite a bit of sexualisation of the characters which just didn't sit right with the rest of the plot and also how old are these characters? I don't recall whether their age was ever revealed but I always thought of them as 14-year-olds or something around that.

Toward the end, things started to move back to the original plot and we did actually get a few answers but by that time the characters had been so mistreated by poor writing, rushed art and a gross overdose of cute, that I stopped caring. These are not the characters I love and I think I will strike this sequel from memory. I may not get all the answers I want from the original alone but I will not sully the original by ever rereading or considering this uninspired sequel.

[Em Mirra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pending.

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh wow, this volume was packed~! We got new lovely outfits for Karin, a love triangle, boys fighting over her and also new bad things!

I still keep wanting to smack Kazune-kun. He should step up for once, and clearly showing Karin his love. Now, one time he loves her, the next he is shouting and being angry at her. :( They make such a cute couple though, when he is being nice, and I really hope they can stay together.

Jin-kun, ah Jin-kun, our latest hot boy to the group, and one who harbours strong feelings for Karin and can (unlike Kazune) show them clearly. This doesn't make Karin all to happy, and she wavers between the two guys.

Gosh, I really hated that class of girls. Oh my gosh, a girl is only talking to boys, what do you do? You act mean act mean and ignore her. :(

And that cliff hanger! Oh wow, I can't wait to see what will happen in the next volume!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

In comparison to the first volume of this sequel manga series, this was executed better. As we start to settle into this new chapter of Karin's life the differences aren't so jarring as they were in the first.

The plot isn't as rushed as before, but there isn't much of a main plot either. Rather little side stories all meshed together. I did like that we got to know more about Jin and a drunk Kazune is always funny.

But what I think I liked best was the extra at the end. It was nice to return to the familiar setting of Kamichama Karin although I miss Kirika. Hopefully she features in other extras. Also, it was really funny, poor Kirio.

Can I just say that sneak peak at the end for Volume three got me super excited for the next one. I love Karin and Kazune together!

[Theresa ♫ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this volume.






It's probably one of my favorites. It was SO ADORABLE, IT MADE ME PEE MY PAAAANTS!!!

[Masa ~ 雅 ~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG can't wait for KKC3.....it comes out on my b-day. <3


It's exciting because the ending was so sudden...

o////o

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

same as first,i love the last scene

[Mara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read/rated in grade school.

[Holly Letson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished this last night, and I must say that I love this series. I also love how the bonus stories tend to be more about the original series of KK than about KK Chu! .