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かげきしょうじょ!! [Kageki Shōjo!!] #2
Kageki Shojo!! Vol. 2
Sarasa is taking a trip back home to Asakusa, and her stoic roommate/brand new BFF Ai-chan is coming with her! When the girls arrive, waiting for them is Akiya, Sarasa’s childhood friend and a rising star in the world of kabuki theater. But Ai suspects that Sarasa and Akiya might be more than friends. Does ditzy Sarasa really have a boyfriend?!
160 pages, Paperback
First published September 5, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
April 26, 2023
This volume of Kageki Shojo!! has a framing story where Sarasa takes Ai along with her to her home in Asakusa for summer break. The main part of the book is devoted to Sarasa and Akiya's childhoods in the shadow of the Misato-ya kabuki troupe.
As I am reading along in the "main" part of this series--actually a continuation of a series that started its run in one manga magazine in Japan, and then moved to a different one when the first magazine folded--I keep thinking back to that initial portion, and imagining its having a thorough rewrite or rehaul to reflect its (in my opinion) much stronger later parts. Can't be helped. I can only say to those who aren't all that impressed with "The Curtain Rises" that it does get a lot better!
For example, this volume deals with some fairly serious topics, just as "The Curtain Rises" does, but handles them with a lot more subtlety and nuance. Adults' mistakes--whether in parenting overall, or in specific instances like an adulterous affair--changing, or even ruining their children's sense of stability and well-being, is one example. Some it is resolved too neatly, though. I suspect that many, or even most, overbearing soccer or gymnast or drama etc. parents never realize how much their controlling behavior negatively affects their kids. Or if they do, they don't make an overt apology or confession to the child.
But overall, I liked this volume a lot. Asakusa is shown with a good amount of detail, and not a little nostalgia. Everyone in the flashbacks has visibly aged between then and the girls' visit, and you can see the oldest generation gently and gradually fading as a new, vibrant generation comes up. Ai is introduced to kabuki... and doesn't really get it. :D Sarasa's relationship with Akiya is given some additional background, but their current situation is still not clear, at least from Ai's point of view.
Speaking of Ai, I could have stood to see more of her experiences in Asakusa. She's obviously a visitor, and a stranger to the tight-knit community surrounding (or keeping its distance from, in some cases) Misato-ya. Her best friendship with Sarasa is still in its early stages, but I like how low-key and lived-in it feels.
It's nice to read a shoujo manga that isn't laser-focused on romance and/or high school life. This story wouldn't be as good, I think, if Sarasa and Akiya's relationship was laden with hormones and melodrama. This is a current favorite, and I'm looking forward to reading more. How is it that a 160-page manga volume feels so small compared to a 180-page one, though? One of life's mysteries.
As I am reading along in the "main" part of this series--actually a continuation of a series that started its run in one manga magazine in Japan, and then moved to a different one when the first magazine folded--I keep thinking back to that initial portion, and imagining its having a thorough rewrite or rehaul to reflect its (in my opinion) much stronger later parts. Can't be helped. I can only say to those who aren't all that impressed with "The Curtain Rises" that it does get a lot better!
For example, this volume deals with some fairly serious topics, just as "The Curtain Rises" does, but handles them with a lot more subtlety and nuance. Adults' mistakes--whether in parenting overall, or in specific instances like an adulterous affair--changing, or even ruining their children's sense of stability and well-being, is one example. Some it is resolved too neatly, though. I suspect that many, or even most, overbearing soccer or gymnast or drama etc. parents never realize how much their controlling behavior negatively affects their kids. Or if they do, they don't make an overt apology or confession to the child.
But overall, I liked this volume a lot. Asakusa is shown with a good amount of detail, and not a little nostalgia. Everyone in the flashbacks has visibly aged between then and the girls' visit, and you can see the oldest generation gently and gradually fading as a new, vibrant generation comes up. Ai is introduced to kabuki... and doesn't really get it. :D Sarasa's relationship with Akiya is given some additional background, but their current situation is still not clear, at least from Ai's point of view.
Speaking of Ai, I could have stood to see more of her experiences in Asakusa. She's obviously a visitor, and a stranger to the tight-knit community surrounding (or keeping its distance from, in some cases) Misato-ya. Her best friendship with Sarasa is still in its early stages, but I like how low-key and lived-in it feels.
It's nice to read a shoujo manga that isn't laser-focused on romance and/or high school life. This story wouldn't be as good, I think, if Sarasa and Akiya's relationship was laden with hormones and melodrama. This is a current favorite, and I'm looking forward to reading more. How is it that a 160-page manga volume feels so small compared to a 180-page one, though? One of life's mysteries.
March 27, 2023
and if i said i teared up reading this would u all laugh at me ? bc i did. several times.
October 5, 2021
Ai and Sarasa are headed to Sarasa’s home town for summer break and that means Ai gets to see how the chipper half lives as she tries to get to the bottom of the whole boyfriend question. Akiya and Sarasa have been friends forever, however, so be ready to hear all about it.
Phew. That was a LOT of kabuki. If you wanted to know everything about where Sarasa came from and the circumstances of her life, you’ll get all that and then some in this volume, which lays it on a little thick and then keeps going.
I think this volume bookends itself quite well, with Ai’s hapless attempts to answer the question of Sarasa’s relationship status (the parting shot on this is pretty great) and Sarasa dealing with the sting of what their acting teacher said to her last time.
Sarasa actually having an emotion besides ‘glee!’ is really satisfying because it gives her some nuance that she sorely lacked and it lets us see a really interesting side of her - she truly hates the word ‘never’ and we find out why in the flashbacks that make up the bulk of this book.
What I do not love, however, is how much flashback there actually is. We already know a great deal of what we’re being told here from previous chapters (or could intuit enough that it doesn’t matter) and for some reason the author decides to double way, way down on that.
I think it was kind of enough to know that Sarasa had her heart broken by kabuki. There are some okay emotional scenes in here, but it doesn’t do enough for me personally to justify its existence beyond what was already revealed. I admit that I do like that this does explain why Sarasa whiffed it during acting lessons, but a couple pages could have achieved this.
Guess what? Sarasa is really good at acting. This might be a shocking turn if we weren’t being told AND shown that constantly in the present day. Outside of one revelation that doesn’t honestly change much and is pretty obvious from the get-go, it feels like a lot of retread.
It’s admittedly also to flesh Akiya out as well, since we learn his role in what happened to Sarasa years ago. Except he’s such a peripheral character and we’ve barely scratched the surface of the girls’ school proper yet. There’s a time and a place and before we’ve gotten much time with the girls is not it.
I mean, this is about summer vacation and it’s mostly all this flashback and by the time that’s all wound up they’ve moved to the end of vacation, which seems like an utterly colossal waste of time that could have been spent with the book’s leads. Yes, the prequel series does a lot of this too, but I think this was a little cart before the horse.
3.5 stars and I’m not rounding up because this was ultimately okay, with some decent bits, but I wasn’t into the kabuki sections at all. If you are, definitely round up on this one. The contrast is appreciated, but it’s too much males-only theater in a story about an all-women troupe for me.
Phew. That was a LOT of kabuki. If you wanted to know everything about where Sarasa came from and the circumstances of her life, you’ll get all that and then some in this volume, which lays it on a little thick and then keeps going.
I think this volume bookends itself quite well, with Ai’s hapless attempts to answer the question of Sarasa’s relationship status (the parting shot on this is pretty great) and Sarasa dealing with the sting of what their acting teacher said to her last time.
Sarasa actually having an emotion besides ‘glee!’ is really satisfying because it gives her some nuance that she sorely lacked and it lets us see a really interesting side of her - she truly hates the word ‘never’ and we find out why in the flashbacks that make up the bulk of this book.
What I do not love, however, is how much flashback there actually is. We already know a great deal of what we’re being told here from previous chapters (or could intuit enough that it doesn’t matter) and for some reason the author decides to double way, way down on that.
I think it was kind of enough to know that Sarasa had her heart broken by kabuki. There are some okay emotional scenes in here, but it doesn’t do enough for me personally to justify its existence beyond what was already revealed. I admit that I do like that this does explain why Sarasa whiffed it during acting lessons, but a couple pages could have achieved this.
Guess what? Sarasa is really good at acting. This might be a shocking turn if we weren’t being told AND shown that constantly in the present day. Outside of one revelation that doesn’t honestly change much and is pretty obvious from the get-go, it feels like a lot of retread.
It’s admittedly also to flesh Akiya out as well, since we learn his role in what happened to Sarasa years ago. Except he’s such a peripheral character and we’ve barely scratched the surface of the girls’ school proper yet. There’s a time and a place and before we’ve gotten much time with the girls is not it.
I mean, this is about summer vacation and it’s mostly all this flashback and by the time that’s all wound up they’ve moved to the end of vacation, which seems like an utterly colossal waste of time that could have been spent with the book’s leads. Yes, the prequel series does a lot of this too, but I think this was a little cart before the horse.
3.5 stars and I’m not rounding up because this was ultimately okay, with some decent bits, but I wasn’t into the kabuki sections at all. If you are, definitely round up on this one. The contrast is appreciated, but it’s too much males-only theater in a story about an all-women troupe for me.
December 15, 2021
JAM TOTAL JAM
December 14, 2021
The Kouka School of Musical and Theatrical Arts is an exclusive all-girls’ school which feeds into the prestigious Kouka performance troupe where all roles are played by women. This series focuses on the members of the Centennial Class, the 100th cadre of girls competing for the next generation of stardom.
Volume 2 opens at the beginning of summer break. Sarasa Watanabe and her new best friend Ai Narata head to Asakusa where Sarasa grew up. We meet Akiya Shirakawa, Sarasa’s childhood friend since the days they learned Japanese dance together. Ai has a little trouble because of looking like “that girl who was in JPX48”, which she happens to be–her time in that idol singer group ended badly. Fortunately, since Sarasa is something of a local celebrity herself, people don’t concentrate on Ai as much as she feared.
The rest of the volume is a deep dive into Sarasa’s past. She is related to a prestigious Kabuki family, and studied Kabuki style theatre as a child, from whence she picked up her talent for mimicking other actors’ styles. She even got to be in a play once in an emergency. But Sarasa was forbidden from continuing in Kabuki, both because she’s a girl (Kabuki troupes are all male by tradition) and also because of family drama. (She’s not related to the family in the proper way.)
Akiya back then had stage fright and wasn’t sure he wanted to become a Kabuki actor, but has now grown experienced and enjoys his profession. He’s able to help Sarasa get past a crisis of confidence, and Ai learns something about Kabuki. All too soon the summer vacation is ending.
Even without having read the first volume, I got involved in Sarasa’s and Akiya’s story, the past sorrow and the current hope. The art works well for the story, with attention to costuming and set detail.
Content note: There’s bullying in the backstory, both by children and adults to children. The manga as a whole has other disturbing events; I’d put this as senior high level on up.
There’s an anime adaptation now, which I’ve heard good things about. Recommended to fans of the dramatic arts, but especially girls.
Volume 2 opens at the beginning of summer break. Sarasa Watanabe and her new best friend Ai Narata head to Asakusa where Sarasa grew up. We meet Akiya Shirakawa, Sarasa’s childhood friend since the days they learned Japanese dance together. Ai has a little trouble because of looking like “that girl who was in JPX48”, which she happens to be–her time in that idol singer group ended badly. Fortunately, since Sarasa is something of a local celebrity herself, people don’t concentrate on Ai as much as she feared.
The rest of the volume is a deep dive into Sarasa’s past. She is related to a prestigious Kabuki family, and studied Kabuki style theatre as a child, from whence she picked up her talent for mimicking other actors’ styles. She even got to be in a play once in an emergency. But Sarasa was forbidden from continuing in Kabuki, both because she’s a girl (Kabuki troupes are all male by tradition) and also because of family drama. (She’s not related to the family in the proper way.)
Akiya back then had stage fright and wasn’t sure he wanted to become a Kabuki actor, but has now grown experienced and enjoys his profession. He’s able to help Sarasa get past a crisis of confidence, and Ai learns something about Kabuki. All too soon the summer vacation is ending.
Even without having read the first volume, I got involved in Sarasa’s and Akiya’s story, the past sorrow and the current hope. The art works well for the story, with attention to costuming and set detail.
Content note: There’s bullying in the backstory, both by children and adults to children. The manga as a whole has other disturbing events; I’d put this as senior high level on up.
There’s an anime adaptation now, which I’ve heard good things about. Recommended to fans of the dramatic arts, but especially girls.
February 24, 2025
Character 3.5| Setting 3| Plot 3| Art 4| Enjoyment 4
Rating: 3.5
This volume follows Watanabe and Ai as they go on summer vacation and we learn more about Watanabe's background.
It was sad, and it made me cry, this author is great at bringing emotions out and feeling like these characters are strong.
A person who is good at something, but can't do it just due to the fact of their gender just gets me. I find it interesting that Saiki does this with both. One of the teachers who wanted to be part of the kouka troupe but couldn't due to him being a man, and than Watanabe having the opposite happen to her? It's such an interesting take.
I will be looking forward to more of the girls in volume 3!
Rating: 3.5
This volume follows Watanabe and Ai as they go on summer vacation and we learn more about Watanabe's background.
It was sad, and it made me cry, this author is great at bringing emotions out and feeling like these characters are strong.
A person who is good at something, but can't do it just due to the fact of their gender just gets me. I find it interesting that Saiki does this with both. One of the teachers who wanted to be part of the kouka troupe but couldn't due to him being a man, and than Watanabe having the opposite happen to her? It's such an interesting take.
I will be looking forward to more of the girls in volume 3!
April 16, 2025
Très triste de savoir que l'édition française qui s'occupe de ce manga a arrêté de le publier après 2 tomes. L'histoire est incroyable et chaque personnage est interessant on ne s'ennuie pas lorsqu'on en apprend un peu plus sur leur backstory, même pour les personnages secondaires. J'adore le fait que chaque personne est "sauvée" par la scène et cet objectif de performer, que ce soit par le kabuki ou le takarazuka. J'adore aussi l'évolution entre Ai et Sarasa, je trouve adorable que Ai est prête à tout pour faire plaisir à Sarasa alors qu'elle ne pouvait pas la supporter au début.
Je vais continuer ma lecture en scan.
Je vais continuer ma lecture en scan.
January 10, 2022
Sarasa and Ai spend summer break in Sarasa’s hometown with her grandpa. I really loved this volume, because we learn more about Sarasa’s past and why kabuki theatre means so much to her. There’s very little romance in this Shojo so far, but lots of drama, friendship, self-discovery, and working hard to achieve your goals. I’ve enjoyed every volume but feel that the series gets better as it goes along.
February 22, 2025
Un segon volum molt nostàlgic, tendre i emotiu que ens mostra la infantesa en comú de la Sarasa i el seu xicot, tan relacionada amb el teatre kabuki. Igual que l'Ai, que acompanya la seva amiga durant les vacances, jo també em qüestiono la relació tan estranya que tenen aquests dos. No es fan cap mostra d'afecte i semblen més germans o aspirants ambiciosos del món de la interpretació. Intrigada i amb ganes de més! :)
January 24, 2022
I really am not feeling this one, which I am blaming on the writing being confusing and unengaging. The writer has done nothing to make me care about these characters. I don't particularly want to find out about Sarassa's Kabuki past, nor do I care about her maybe-boyfriend. I feel like the fact that I ship Ai with Sarassa is setting me up for disappointment.
June 7, 2022
The best sort of shoujo manga: A group of girls with a common goal - in this case, they are ass studying to join a musical theater troupe that's similar to Takarazuka - with two really interesting main characters and a lively ensemble cast. There's plenty of drama, secrets, and misunderstandings to keep the plot ticking along. Just a really good read.
February 8, 2025
This installment was a tad difficult for me to follow who all of the characters were because of the flashbacks and multiple names people had. Enjoyable read, nonetheless, I only wish it were a bit longer. This one barely took me 30 minutes to get through and now I have to wait until I can find the next volume :)
December 31, 2022
I love where this story is progressing, Sarasa is such a fun and interesting protagonist and nothing seems like it's going to be easy here while also having decently achievable stakes. One that I'm enjoying a lot, because this is such a fun idea and something that I knew nothing about.
October 13, 2021
Yay some more back story for Sarasa! And more Akiya. And lots of Kabuki and Sukeroku talk. It was informative and interesting as usual. I can’t wait to see these kids chase their dreams.
October 19, 2021
My main complaint is that the plot is all over the place with this series and then the volumes are so small they don’t get too far. What they do get to though is always quality.
April 24, 2022
The pacing and whatnot felt way better in the anime as compared to here?
May 6, 2022
Reallllllllly enjoying this still!
January 15, 2023
With the flashbacks, this one felt really hard to follow and keep track of characters.
July 6, 2023
They make me so emotional
November 5, 2024
i don’t give a flying fuck about the boy
April 18, 2025
I liked the way they wroth sarasa as more of a bubbly character who can also act very well. I just didn’t like how much they called each others “best friend”.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews