No soy un ángel (Tenshi nanka ja nai) es una historia de Yazawa que gira en torno a sus temas más habituales: la adolescencia, el amor y otras emociones propias de la edad... Un manga con mucho humor y, como es característico en ella, con un inigualable toque de moda y modernidad.
Ai Yazawa (Japanese: 矢沢あい, Yazawa Ai) is a Japanese manga author and illustrator. Her pen name comes from singer Eikichi Yazawa, of whom she is a fan. Yazawa started her comics career in 1985. She specialises in shojo manga (girls' comics). Most of her works have been serialised in the magazines 'Ribon', 'Cookie' and 'Zipper'. Yazawa's stories focus on young, often rebellious women and their relationships. The characters are always very stylish, and Yazawa herself is known for her sense of fashion. (She even attended a fashion school for some time after high school.) Among her most famous manga are Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai (I'm No Angel, 1992–1995), Neighborhood Story (1995-1998), Paradise Kiss (1999-2004), and Nana (2000-2009), the latter awarded a Shogakukan Manga Award in 2003. Some of these works have been adapted into anime and live action movies.
♫ When the night has come And the land is dark And the moon is the only light we'll see No, I won't be afraid No, I won't be afraid Just as long as you stand Stand by me So darlin', darlin', stand by me Oh, stand by me Oh, stand Stand by me, stand by me If the sky that we look upon Should tumble and fall Or the mountains should crumble to the sea I won't cry, I won't cry No I won't shed a tear Just as long as you stand Stand by me And darlin', darlin', stand by me Oh, stand by me Oh, stand now Stand by me, stand by me And darlin', darlin', stand by me Oh, stand by me Oh, stand now Stand by me, stand by me Whenever you're in trouble won't you stand by me Oh, stand by me Won't you stand by ♪
[Thanks to Viz and Edelweiss for an ARC of this manga in exchange for an unbiased review.]
This is very, very old-school and it took me a while to adjust to it because the cover is very much modern Ai Yazawa art and the interiors are absolutely not. It takes some adjustment, but it did grow on me.
Being an early 90’s shojo story had me bracing for the worst, but it’s actually reasonably well done and, while it took me an age to get through all 400+ pages, I wasn’t mad at it.
Oh, sometimes it’s woefully of its time - I can’t see that ridiculous striptease comment going anywhere in this day and age, but they’re running with it here for quite a bit. Modern day series in other genres still do it, but I think shojo has evolved slightly.
Our lead, Midori, definitely feels of the same, earlier, time. It’s great that she’s good at art and can sing well, but she cries so frequently that you’d think a malicious onion vendor was chasing her around.
The object of her affection is the motorcycle riding bad boy with grade-A delinquent hair, Akira, who rescues cats and finds himself getting closer and closer to Midori. Akira’s not particularly threatening as bad boys go; I think the term pompadourable would be apt.
The two of them end up on the student council together with a bunch of other characters, including the prickly Mamiya, who is no match for Midori’s friendly and persistent nature.
As the expected trials and tribulations come and go, I found myself getting oddly attached to the characters. It can be a bit too old-school at times, but seeing love blossom before text messaging is fun. The Christmas scene where Midori decides to stake out Akira would be hard to pull off these days (depleted phone batteries aside).
There’s also Mamiya’s complicated relationship with another member of the council, who turns out to have a girlfriend already. Said girlfriend shows up in the latter part due to the unique nature of the school and adds some extra drama.
Akira and Midori’s relationship slowly moves forward, but is hamstrung by a case of double identity that might or might not mean that Akira already has his sights set on a much older woman that the two know.
This storyline was… fine. It’s one of those where literally one conversation would have cleared it up and Midori dithers on it forever (I guess the more things change in the genre…), threatening both her friendship and relationship.
I will point out that this is pretty dang funny at times. There are a lot of solid jokes, from the way that a rumour escalates to become a full-on after school special if it were even true to a ridiculous school play (which also has all the drama, naturally).
Overall, it’s pretty good at what it does and coming to it on those terms definitely helps. I wasn’t planning to keep going at the halfway point, but by the end I had really come to like what this was doing. It doesn’t hurt that some of the romantic moments are a cut above.
3.5 stars - it’s sometimes mired in the past, but mostly a good time. Not perfect, but holds up well for something over 30 years old. Worth a look.
Je voulais lire cette série depuis très longtemps, le tome 1 était introuvable ! Il m’a été offert par mon amie génial (la goat que tu es), MERCIII ! TU VAS CLAIREMENT LE LIRE AUSSI !
Il y avait tout ce que j’aime, j’ai hâte de lire la suite je me gratte les veines…
Midori est tellement attachante, un peu messy mais she’s just a girl. Je veux savoir la suite pour Midori et Akira. Par contre, je n’aime déjà pas Takigawa qui m’a clairement donné l’envie de le frapper lui et sa Shino. Je sais d’avance que ce triangle amoureux va me faire m’énerver ! Mamiya mérite clairement mieux.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Estoy enganchadisima y la protagonista me gusta mucho. En general, las mujeres en este manga me están encantando. ¡No sé por qué pero estoy enganchada a todos los dramas que hay! Además, estoy deseando que explote todo por qué es inevitable y necesito confirma una cosita de los psj secundarios. A seguir leyendo 🫡
Ai Yazawa me décevra-t-elle un jour? Ses histoires si simples et quotidiennes soient-elles sont toujours empreintes d'une émotion que je trouve presque magique.
La primera vez que vi estas ediciones fue en el año 2010 en el aeropuerto Charles De Gaulle (París). Por supuesto, en francés. Me arrepentí durante mucho tiempo de no haberlas comprado, así que para mí fue una sorpresaca que anunciasen una reedición de Planeta Cómic 😍 Tuve que hacerlas mías como buena fan de Yazawa que soy. A día de hoy (enero de 2025) quedan por publicar los dos últimos tomos de esta edición ultimate. Esta serie es un shoujo romántico que sucede durante los tres años de instituto (o bachillerato) de Midori Saejima. Nuestra protagonista es divertida, empollona, dibuja muy bien y además está loquita por Akira Sudou. Se puede apreciar el inicio de lo que sería el tono característico de las historias de Yazawa y todos los elementos que la hacen única en el mundillo manga: el arte tiene un gran peso siendo parte de algunos de sus personajes. La moda, por supuesto. Y, además, ese toque de melancolía que no sabes muy bien porqué, siempre acompaña sus historias. Todavía no puedo comentar más sobre esta historia en particular, solo que me encanta el arte de Yazawa, como siempre. Y que los universos que creaba me parecen tan adictivos. De una te enganchan y no te sueltan, ya pasen los años...
This was such a cute story! The story feels very innocent and light, which feels so different from some of Ai Yazawa's other works but I also like that it's different.
The romance is not hitting the way I want though which is why I'm giving this 4 stars instead of 5. Honestly, it comes across sometimes like the hero doesn't really like the heroine and that she likes him wayyy more than he likes her and I really don't love that...
C'est avec un grand bonheur que j'ai pu retrouver l'univers de Ai Yazawa. Ce série est une vraie bouffée d'air frais ! Très agréable à lire, je l'ai dévoré en 2 soirs à peine. Au premier abord on pourrait croire que tout tourne autour de Midori et Akira mais ce n'est pas le cas, il y a également d'autres histoires qui se suivent en parallèle (même si on reste centré sur Midori). Les personnages sont extrêmement attachants, en particulier Midori qui déborde de joie de vivre, j'ai également beaucoup apprécié Akira. Tous les personnages sont chouettes ! J'ai peut-être eu un peu de mal avec Takigawa car même s'il est très sympa, j'ai parfois du mal avec son comportement notamment vis-à-vis de Mamiya. J'ai vraiment hâte de découvrir la suite !
On retrouve le style de Nana d'Ai Yazawa. L'héroine est si attachante, bienveillante et adorable, je peux totalement m'y identifier étant dans Nana team Hatchi. J'adore les bads boys qui au fond sont adorables. Sauf qu'ici on y retrouve une histoire d'amour saine, où les personnages communique et sont bienveillants. Cela fait du bien de ne pas lire une histoire toxique. C'est frais et cela fait du bien de retrouver la pate de Ai Yazawa !
Un premier tome feelgood plein de fraîcheur et de bonne humeur, tous les personnages sont rapidement attachants et leur dynamique est vraiment bien mise en scène. Hormis l’absence de technologies, certains personnages aux coupes old school et quelques références culturelles de l’époque, rien ne laisse penser que ce manga a plus de 30 ans.
Le dessin est un peu moins beau que dans les séries suivantes de l'auteur (Gokinjo, Paradise Kiss, Nana), mais j'ai adoré l'histoire, les personnes et surtout le ton.
Si les volumes suivants sont aussi bons que celui-ci, cette série fera partie de mes séries mangas préférées.
C'était trop kiki. J'ai adoré cette romance et je savais même pas que c'était le même auteur que NANA que je n'ai pas aimé (oupsi). Merci à Célia de me l'avoir fait lire c'était une bonne découverte Bon Midori il s'agirait d'arrêter de chialer et Elvis Presley il s'agirait d'être moins nonchalant.
OMGGG JADOREEEE, c’est ultra mimi je suis amoureuse des personnages mais j’ai peur??? si le tome 1 finit si bien les autres tomes vont forcément me briser le coeur à un moment…
I had some reservations when starting because I heard Midori cries A LOT, and while I think that's true, I adore her as a heroine! She's kind, upbeat, and does everything she can to stay positive and encouraging to those around her! And honestly, even her crying a lot felt very relatable to teen me, who was very similar! LOL! I think her being easily emotional showed how deeply she feels and was touched by her actions at multiple points in trying to cheer up those around her, even if there were times I'm like, please, Midori, be happy too!
The male lead was also great! I liked how he was rough around the edges, but truly had a kind heart! Seeing several panels where his face is just so soft really touched my heart. Plus, he drives a motorcycle, and that was AWESOME! (Though Midori's first time riding it was hilarious! Sorry, Midori!)
I found myself getting attached to all the characters in the student council, and I also found the story engaging. Each character felt like their own, and thought it was fun at several points, how they came together for the sake of some kind of event. Plus, they all balanced each other so well!
The romance has been slow, but not painfully slow, where I'm like UGH, this is getting drawn out just for the sake of drama. I was especially happy with the ending and hope that the romance will be in full swing in the next volume!
Overall, I'm thankful my library got this and that I was able to read it because I enjoyed my time with these characters! I'll definitely keep an eye out for volume two!
Relectura MARAVILLOSA de mi manga favorito. Ai Yazawa siempre siempre siempre me atrapa el corazón. Llevaba muchísimos años sin leer un manga y no me arrepiento de haberlo cogido, esperemos no haber creado un monstruito otra vez. #NoQuieroLlorar #AiYazawaSiempreMeHaceLlorarPeroLaQuiero
C’était vraiment trop mignon et j’ai hâte que Marie me raconte la fin de l’histoire. J’ai passé un bon moment mais je pense que je ne lirais pas la suite car c’est pas trop mon style de manga. C’était quand même super cool. J’aurais mis 5 étoiles si j’étais fan de shojos
mes bbbbbbb je m'en lasserai jamais j'ai encore relu la saga ça me rappelle trop les émotions dramatiques et de joie du lycée (l'héteresexualité fait des ravages par ailleurs)
L’histoire est très mignonne, et on remarque un peu que la mangaka a aussi écrit Nana sans que ce soit la même ambiance ! J’ai hâte de découvrir plus en détail le passé du mec !!