Peach Girl, Vol. 18

ピーチガール [Peach Girl] #18

by Miwa Ueda

Manga

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

192 pages, Paperback

First published February 13, 2004

About the author

上田美和 in Japanese

Miwa Ueda become mangaka in 1985 with Momoiro Biyaku (Peach Colored Elixer). The pinnacle of her career was in 1999, when she won the award for best shōjo manga's publisher Kodansha with Peach Girl.

View the author's Japanese page here

Reviews

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

THANK YOU! Finally a good ending!

[Coco · Rating 4 out of 5]

¡Kairi es el mejor! ❤❤❤❤

[Noel نوال · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finally finished this series and boy has it been a ride! Reaching the end of this book I realized that the sneak peek scenes I had read were not even from this series at all! Now I'm so confused and wondering what that series was that I read chapters of so many years ago.
This series wasn't bad, but it definitely is not one I would proudly recommend people to read. It's absurd most of the time, full of over the top dramatics, and just packed to the brim with love triangles ar every corner. The art was stunning though.

[Chelsea · Rating 1 out of 5]

This had to have been the most disappointing re-read of a series ever. What I had remembered as a fun, romantic romp back in middle school, ended up being a series of obsession and unhealthy relationships portrayed as "love". This last volume has Momo choosing Toji until Sae sends a text that Kiley is going to kill himself and then suddenly Momo realizes she actually truly loves Kiley. Ughh. Kiley made Momo wait for him because he loved someone else and then lost his fricken mind when she got back with Toji. Like, that's not ok. Toji was so devoted and never got over Momo and he still wasn't good enough. Momo never gave herself an opportunity to sort through her feelings in a healthy way. The boys forced her to choose and she still couldn't do it on her own. Momo is only 16, maybe she should stop thinking about boys and focus on real life? It wasn't a good message for girls; I hated this series...and that sucks because it used to have such fond memories for me. The anime does cut most of Ueda's more ridiculous choices and censors it to be more appropriate for a teenage audience.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

And so our story comes around full circle, to Momo saving Kairi from drowning as she did on the very first page of v. 1. In the interview at the end of the book, author Ueda claims she wasn't thinking about that as she planned out the conclusion of Peach Girl. If so, the subconscious can do amazing things. :)

Between the two major arcs of PG*, Sae transformed from a truly horrible girl to a cheerleader for Momo and company: a cheerleader who was correct in her observations, but was also intrusive and reveled in the drama that ensued. She still had her "flat Sae" moments, even toward the end of the story, and this "superpower" always made me smile. She, Ryo and Misao never got a love match, whether within their own triangle or outside of it. Though maybe Misao's omiai worked out, who knows? Of any of those three, I wish her the best.

* in the U.S. volumes 1-8 were titled Peach Girl, and v. 9-18 Peach Girl: Change of Heart, showing Momo's switch from Toji to Kairi as the one she's truly in love with.

I was always fond of Kairi, even though he transforms from a puckish horndog to a falling-apart weepy mess between the beginning of the story and the end. Given a love triangle, the one who cries the most is the one who's truly in love! I've seen this in one other manga story, at least. He and Momo have their "happy for now" and I think he's a better match for Momo than Toji was, so I'm not displeased with how things turned out.

This manga is over-the-top and fun, and I've read it all the way through twice now, and probably will again at some point. Why the three stars, then?

It has the hints of ironic meta-level awareness that I like to see in a melodrama story, including flat Sae. But the coincidences pile up a little too high, and some situations like cell phones running out of charge are overused, to the point of happening two or three times in a single volume. While I like "both versions" of Kairi, some aspects like his refusal to communicate at critical moments felt more like Toji, and he could also have been handled more consistently: Sae's changes felt like a natural progression, but Kairi's seemed more like they were engineered to fit the drama of the moment.

[Greta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superato il drama iniziale (a tratti pure eccessivo), questo è proprio un bel manga shoujo! Non riuscivo a smettere di leggerlo, l'ho praticamente divorato.
4 stelle perché il finale è stato proprio quello che avevo sperato sin dall'inizio!

[Megan Czap · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, finally came to an end. Even though I've read this countless times my heart still throbs!
Obsly #teamkylie

[Diane ϟ [ Lestrange ] · Rating 3 out of 5]

The love triangle has been shattered as Momo breaks it off with Kiley for good. However, just as Momo's love blooms with Toji, she receives a desperate message from a suicidal Kiley. Tormented and confused, Momo turns to Sae for advice.... Think you know how it's all going to end? Well think again! The dramatic conclusion to the Peach Gril series is not to be missed!

We met at this beach. And we got back together at this beach. All our thoughs and memories melt together into the sea. I will never again lose what I cherish the most.
I'm making a promise today, a promise to the sea.

I liked the idea of ending it to its beginning. Peach Girl did have many cliche parts but so does life. Though Im not satisfied how things turn out. She should let other characters have their little satisfying execution, like Toji being dump and Sae's relationship with Kiley's brother.

It's actually kinda awful at first. I'm frustrated how exaggerated the scenes were and the crazy back-and-forth love triangle plus the too much drama that spins out of control are truly INSANE. Im grateful that this has only 18 volumes because if it has 100 plus, hell no am i going to read more.

Plot: Well I have hots in high school dramas so Ill go for 'liked it'.
Artwork: The first cover is not that catchy so does the rest but the actual sketches (without colors) are good. * I'm easily impressed when it comes to drawing, sketches or painting.
Character(s): Strangely, I found myself liking Sae. Although she is cruel and petty, after reading 'Sae's Story' it isn't like you can say she had the perfect home life.
Translation: Weird but understandable.
Ending: Like I said, unsatisfied.

[Anna C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inilah salah satu seri yg kuberi rating sangat beragam utk setiap 18 volume. Dari 1-5 stars, semua ada di 18 volume. Seri ini sebenarnya terdiri dari 2 bagian, 8 vol pertama itu sbnrnya bgs. Tapi setelahnya ga gitu, aku kurang suka dgn tipe cewek plin-plan sih, jadi selama 10 vol berikutnya itu, rasanya bnr2 menyebalkan krn cewek ini gampang bnr berubah pikiran, dan terlalu gampang terbawa arus. Plotnya juga menyebalkan bgt dimulai dari saat Ryo muncul. Bisa dibilang, sbnrnya hanya 2 volume terakhir yg sanggup bikin aku nangis berderai-derai. Vol 17 aku nangis krn kegigihan Sae. Vol 18 krn patah hati melihat hati Kairi dan Toji yg hancur dibikin Momo. In the end, karakter yg paling tdk kusuka malah Momo. Jadinya aneh krn awal2nya aku lmyn suka dgn karakter dia. Dan juga aneh krn harusnya aku benci bgt dgn Sae. Tapi wow, kalo org sudah berubah total, dari jahat menjadi baik, kayanya kamu ga bisa selamanya tdk suka dgn org itu. Bisa dibilang, semua tokoh dari Sae, Kairi, Toji, Misao, Ryo mengalami perubahan karakter yg cukup signifikan. Kecuali Momo.

Nah 4 stars ini bkn krn aku suka bgt, tapi krn Toji dan Kairi yg bikin ceritanya jadi menarik dan bikin aku nangis. Byk hal yg tdk masuk seperti bagaimana Momo masi tetap virgin hingga akhir cerita, pdhl ada kejadian dgn Goro, lalu jg ada kejadian dgn Toji..... Khas shoujo, buat nyenengin pembaca gitu ceritanya, aneh aja sbnrnya. Kasihan jg ama Toji, 3 kali nyoba selalu ditolak di tengah jln...Kejam bgt si Momo. >=( Hah, mestinya tuh Toji dan Kairi tinggalin aja cewek plin-plan kek gini, dan jadi gay krn trauma dgn cewe2 yg ada di komik ini, hahahaha.

Anyway, aku ga tau apa serial ini patut direkomendasikan ke org ato ga, kalo buat kalian yg ga suka opera sabun, drama yg klise, dan cewek plin-plan...kurasa ga usah repot2 baca deh.

Ini salah satu komik yg ga bakal kubaca ulang lagi.

[Bee (BacchusVines) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trigger warning for suicidal thoughts, emotional manipulation.

This series ends with a crashing wave and my ship has nOT DIED. I am so glad that Momo got with the guy I've been rooting for! I know this series has spin-offs (Peach Girl NEXT and Peach Girl: Sae's Story) but at the moment, I don't have any intentions to read them.

Please note that this series has a ton of triggering content and should be handled in the best way that it is for you. The triggering content: suicide thoughts, attempted suicide, emotional and mental abuse, emotional manipulation, bullying, fatphobia, attempted rape, rape, sexual assault, sexual abuse of a minor, minor engaging in sex work, colorism. If you are sensitive to any of these contents, I'd recommend passing on Peach Girl, as they are often brought up time and again in the volumes.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

(stejná recenze u všech dílů)

Moc pěkná kresba, která se s každým volumkem zlepšovala. Jen se mi zdálo, že se někde v polovině změnily boty a trochu školní uniforma. Ale to je jen takový malý detail.

Zajímalo by mě, co měly naznačovat ty kresby na konci každé kapitoly. Momo na nich vypadala jako modelka, díky tomu vkusnému a draze vypadajícímu oblečení. Zprvu jsem si myslela, že to mají být nápovědy o tom, co se bude dít dál, ale vyšlo najevo, že s příběhem nijak nesouvisí. Což ze začátku vůbec nebylo jasná, takže mě to několik volumek hrozně mátlo.

Hlavní hrdinku Momo jsem ze začátku měla poměrně ráda, ale postupně se moje sympatie k ní pomalu mizely. Avšak mizely jen po krátkou dobu a můj vztah k ní byl stále mírně pozitivní. Obdivovala jsem ji za některá z jejich rozhodnutích a za to, jak zvládala nátlak od okolí. Někdy od čtvrtiny příběhu jsem ji najednou nechápala, dokonce jsem se nemohla dobrat k tomu, abych jí odpustila její činy, přestože tam byla zmínka o tom, že jí samotné přijde její chování divné.

Sae jsem nesnášela. Ze začátku to měla podle mě autorka v úmyslu, pak její chování začala omlouvat a my jsme jí měli odpustit. Pořád ale dělala špatné věci, díky kterým jsem ji nesnášela čím dál více. Úplně na konci se sice najednou chovala hrozně hezky, a dokonce pomáhala hlavní hrdince a ostatním. Dokonce i když udělala pár dobrých skutků, tak jsem jí nemohla odpustit, jelikož mi to nepřišlo uvěřitelné, aby se takhle zčistajasna změnila.

Příběh mě stále docela bavil i přesto, že tam byli krávoviny, které mě hrozně štvaly. A nepochopila jsem Momino přecházení od jednoho kluka ke druhému, protože to bylo kvůli prkotinám. Jako když se to stalo poprvé dalo se to poměrně dobře pochopit, ke všemu když to bylo i na delší dobu.

Žádnému z kluků jsem nefandila, neboť mi ani jeden nepřišel sympatický či aspoň dostačující. I když jsem asi měla radši Tojiho, jelikož to byla Momina první láska a zároveň mi to aspoň připadalo trochu opravdové.

Nečekala jsem, že tu budou i nějaké temné věci, které mě přinutí cítit znechucení nad lidstvem ( je ale fakt, že u mě to jde celkem snadno :D). Ale nevím, jestli je to plus či mínus, protože mi to nepřišlo moc uvěřitelné. Stejně jako to počáteční šikanování Momo. Ze začátku jak ji všichni nemají rádi, ale pak se najednou objeví holky, které řeknou, že za vše vždy může Sae, začnou se k ní všichni chovat hrozně mile a k Sae ošklivě. A to při tom od začátku věděli, kdo je k tomu podněcuje.

Obálky se mi nelíbí. Musím ale přiznat, že některé trochu dobře vypadají. Stále nechápu, proč tam Momo vypadá jako modelka. Myslím kvůli tomu oblečení a pózám.

Hodnotím 62% Jazyk: Aj

[♡Kayla♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5*

I can't believe it's really over (I mean, unless I decide to read the sequel series Peach Girl: Next...)! The ending was overall pretty satisfying, it didn't linger for too long, and I like the symmetry of this and when Momo and Kairi first met, it's poetic in a sense. I do think that this series could've been a bit shorter, probably about 12 volumes (just cut the fat out of the story), but surprisingly it (mostly) remained fun and interesting throughout. Usually I get bored if stories drag on for too long (like with Ouran High School Host Club). I think a lot of that had to do with just how insane, and over the top Peach Girl got, you just never knew what was gonna happen next. This series will always be a classic, and super iconic!

[Miss Ryoko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, finally the Peach Girl series has come to an end. I will not be reading the spin off Sae's Story because why would anyone want to read about her?

I'm really bummed. This series started off strong but Change of Heart was just blah. I read it just because I wanted to finish the series but I really could have done without these last 10 volumes.

Well... despite all that, I am going to watch the anime. The series was alright. Better in the beginning but entertaining all the way through even if some stuff got old in the second half

[Jess (•˕ •マ.ᐟ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Je suis heureuse de cette fin, mais la façon dont elle se passe me laisse un peu confuse. Jusqu'au bout elle demande la solution à tout le monde car elle est incapable de choisir malgré ce qu'elle a vécu. Puis, magicalement, elle trouve sa solution.

Alors oui, parler du renoncement d'une personne aimée, de la souffrance amoureuse ou autre, c'est sympa. Mais arrivée à la fin, je suis toujours prête à ce qu'elle finisse par changer encore d'avis...

Je suis tout de même heureuse d'avoir fini cette série même 20 ans après.

[MargReadsManga · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ending was absolute perfection! I’ll be making a video review of this series soon!

instagram // youtube // tiktok

[Noelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that was a roller coaster—scratch that, the whole series was a roller coaster! This was a pretty intense ending and overall I’m satisfied. Peach Girl has a complex and dynamic cast of characters that kept me flip-flopping the whole time. I felt so conflicted throughout, but in a good way. It was perfect, overdramatic shoujo!

[TT · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to get the whole series to see how it ended but it was exhausting. Lots of back and forth and back and forth again. Plus when I tried to sell the series on eBay (I was a new seller) I didn't know what I was doing and sold all 18 volumes for just $5. Arg!!!

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this series a lot. It was frustrating at times to see so many people fall for Sae's tricks, but overall I enjoyed the story.

[margo ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Momo made the best decision, and I said what I said!

[Mar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm tired. But Yay it's done

[Meli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pesar de haber visto el anime antes, el manga me tuvo enganchada, cuánta drama y tensión al final. Team Kairi aunque te tardaste.

[𝑆𝑐𝑎𝑟 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Que desesperante Momo pero como no iba a estar confundida con tanta falta de comunicación, en fin, la pasé bien y mal, pero este manga fue muy adictivo entonces no me arrepiento de haberlo leído.

[Katie Thurman · Rating 4 out of 5]

i would have obliterated everyone in sight if this hadn't of ended the way it did

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

We made it! Finally!

[Katie Cameron · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm only giving this series a decent review because the nostalgia factor for me was 10/10. Otherwise awful read, high school me however was all for this.

[Maja · Rating 5 out of 5]

KAIRI TRUTHER FROM THE STARTTTTT

[Judyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

~4/5

[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]

I am so glad that I finally got this series, because it was so good. I wasn’t sure at first, and it was really only the last couple volumes where my emotions really got going, but overall it was really freakin’ good.

Since I watched the anime, I did know a lot of what happened, but it’s been so long and there was enough deviation, that it was all really refreshing to me. There’s so much drama, and Sae never really goes away, but it’s all just so good.

I remembered loving Kiley, but I found that I really liked and understood Toji as well in the mange. In the end I was a very big fan of Kiley, though; he’s like a poor, sad puppy dog that you just want to hug, and I’m so happy with how the story ended. I feel a little bad for Toji, but I do like Kiley more. And Momo is happy, which is also very good. Sae seemed to have changed in a good way by the end of the series as well, even if she’s still, you know, Sae. It makes me wonder what’s going to happen in her spin-off, which I will be reading soon (at least, the first volume).

This was a really good series, I’m so glad I picked it up, and that I’ve read it now (especially since I’d been staring at it for so long). And I really hope that someone picks up another of Ueda's series to release over here, which I think would be Kodansha, and I’m going to be optimistic in that they will do so, since they seem to be expanding their shojo line.

Also, as a sidenote: does everyone else remember when Tokyopop didn’t translate all of the Japanese? Like for the sound effects/SFX parts? There was a lot of that in this series, and I even noticed some of it in their later series, like Karakuri Odette. And, god, that drives me insane. I don’t understand why they did that, and I’m pretty sure that none of the other companies did, or at least that they don’t any more. Why did they do that? It really annoys me when I’m reading a supposedly completely translated book, only to have a panel with large Japanese text and a character with a startled look on their face, and having no idea what happened until I read the next couple panels, when I would have known from the noise made. Sorry, that just really bothers me.

[Celestina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually only read the all of the peach girl manga now, what I liked before was the anime. Moving forward from that, I really enjoyed the manga series it was even funnier than the anime and made much more sense in aspects of the anime that really tore my hair out in frustration. Overall, the series was an added extra to the anime as with the exception of one or two situations being resolved much more realistically and quickly there is still drama. regarding the characters Momo was a bit too emotional at times which grated on me-then again I've never had two guys fighting over me! I really liked Kiley, Touji was a bit too dense for my liking in the beginning, Momo summarised it perfectly "on which planet..." [insert some silly/extreme actions by Touji]. Kiley's older brother was interesting and I really liked Misao-chan, I really wanted them to end up together, but we all know that Ryo still hadn't changed I mean after being dumped by her he ordered a group of men to beat up his pregnant...lover?bedfellow? I don't know what you call someone you lead along so cruelly. The word cruel actually perfectly describes who I consider to be the star of the show: Sae. You just wait and see how far she can go, because it truly is incredible seeing a person behave in such a way...but you just fall in love with her when she experiences a *drum roll* change of heart, seeing her develop was certainly a highlight for me, in fact even when she was cruel she was so interesting leaving one question hanging...why? Which is why I love Peach Girl: Sae's story so much, I wish there was more with more details on Momo and Kiley's future together as a couple too

The anime was one of the first anime's I watched, and at such a young age 12? too. The drama though sometimes annoying was very entertaining and the soundtrack is beautiful, This will always be my top anime and manga, simply because I have always found myself watching and reading it again and again.

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, the mangaka kept the tension high right to the last pages... Really liked the series, glad it's come to an end, it's been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster.
Never suspected I could get so emotionally invested in a storyline like this, and characters like these.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story: The perfect thing about this series is that it is a potential real life situation. There is bullying from the other people at school and misunderstandings set into a high school setting. This series is absolutely perfect for someone to read when they are that age and to realize that many people can make mistakes or take something the wrong way, especially in regards to relationships. There is a quite potent love triangle between Momo, a girl that gets bullied by others, Kairi (Kiley), a flirt of a guy, and Toji, a guy that is easily blindsided. It does not help anything that there is the slightly evil character of Sae that is always trying to get in Momo's way.

Drawing Style: One of my favorite things about the art style of Miwa UEDA is that she changes up the characters. Especially Momo, she always wears different clothing and has a different style of hair that is rarely seen in anime or manga.

Characters: The characters are highly in depth and developed throughout the series. They are all multi-dimensional with underlying reasons for how they come across and serious back stories that add to the series.

Overall: This is one of my favorite series by far, exceeding all of my previous expectations and blowing me away with the quality of production.

Note: This review was completed after reading volumes 1-18.