Meikkikeiju

by Haruka Fukushima, Suvi Mäkelä (Translator)

Poikatyttö Tenkolla on ongelma. Ihastuksen kohde An ei pidä lapsuudentoveriaan tyttönä laisinkaan. Ratkaisuksi ongelmaan ilmaantuu meikkien mestari Ai, mutta onko uusi söpömpi ulkokuori sittenkään tie Anin sydämeen?

Genres: Manga

216 pages, Paperback

First published September 5, 2003

About the author

Name in Japanese: フクシマハルカ
She is a Japanese shōjo manga artist. She made her manga debut in 1999 in Nakayoshi Magazine with her award-winning manga Sakuranbo Kiss. She considers Otona ni Nuts (Instant Teen: Just Add Nuts) to be her masterpiece.

Reviews

[Bibliothecat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tenko and An are childhood friends who promised each other that they would one day marry. As they got older, there seems to be nothing left but arguments between them. Tenko feels frustrated because she actually does have feelings for An who in return only seems to make fun of her appearance and tomboy-like behaviour. In an attempt to become more feminine-looking, Tenko comes across Ai - a little cosmetic saleslady whose magical products come from the milky way.

I'm a bit sorry to see Ai ga Nakuchane have such a low rating as it actually does many things right. In fact, it does a lot of things better than most oneshot manga. It has perfectly pleasant pacing - largely thanks to the fact that the main characters already know each other so there isn't much time spent on establishing their relationship. The art is pretty enough and, while the blurb might suggest otherwise, it actually has a pretty good message and character development.

At a first glance, this may come across as a superficial plot where young Tenko experiments with magical make-up to make herself pretty and thus more appealing to her crush. Her helping friend Ai makes a big point of how important it is for a girl to look her best. But ultimately, this story does what a lot of ugly-duckling types of stories do: it's not about the make-up you wear but about how you present yourself. Ai's ultimate motive is to make Tenko feel more confident about herself and to be able to approach An honestly.

Both Tenko and An go through good character development and I find both are pretty realistic characters. Their relationship is not an unusual one of former childhood friends who later don't get along - this is often seen in friendships between different genders and I think it's shown well here. An doesn't know how to express his feelings toward Tenko and feels embarrassed to show kindness so instead, he picks fights with her. What was that about boys teasing girls they like? He comes to realise that his behaviour is hurtful and tries to do better. Tenko on the other hand does what a lot of girls do: she wants to look pretty and more mature. Call it superficial, but a lot of girls go through that phase and just like An, she soon comes to realise that maybe that's not the right way to go. At times, the magic make-up made her appear older than she actually is which she soon realises isn't all that she wanted.

I honestly don't see why this is so poorly liked - it's got good pacing, pleasant if not great art, a funny and slightly silly story that still promotes a good message and features characters that act quite age-appropriate (something I always find rare in manga). What do you want more from a shojo oneshot?

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 2 out of 5]

#Program BUBU