Imadoki!: Nowadays, Vol. 5

イマドキ! [Imadoki!] #5

by Yuu Watase

Imadoki! (Nowadays) follows the trials and tribulations of a budding horticulturist as she makes her way down the winding road to friendship. From Yuu Watase, one of Japan's most beloved shôjo artists, Imadoki! packs comedic charm and heartfelt antics into an adorable bouquet of whimsical fantasy.

Just as Koki and Tanpopo are about to confess their true feelings for one another, both are called away on family emergencies! Realizing how much her ailing grandparents need her, Tanpopo is faced with a heartbreaking staying by her family's side in Hokkaido, or being with her soul mate in Tokyo! Will the two young lovers ever be together? Find out in the dramatic conclusion of IMADOKI! Plus two Yuu Watase short stories!

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

192 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2001

About the author

Yuu Watase (渡瀬悠宇) is a Japanese shoujo manga-ka. She is known for her works Fushigi Yūgi, Alice 19th, Ceres: The Celestial Legend, Fushigi Yūgi Genbu Kaiden and Absolute Boyfriend. She likes all music, except heavy metal and old traditional music.

She received the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo for Ceres, Celestial Legend in 1997. Since writing her debut short story "Pajama de Ojama" ("An Intrusion in Pajamas"), Watase has created more than 80 compiled volumes of short stories and continuing series. Because of her frequent use of beautiful male characters in her works, she is widely regarded in circles[which?] as a bishōnen manga artist.[citation needed] In October 2008, Watase began her first shōnen serialization, Arata: The Legend in Weekly Shōnen Sunday.
Her name is romanized as "Yû Watase" in earlier printings of Viz Media's publications of Fushigi Yūgi, Alice 19th, and Ceres, The Celestial Legend, while in Viz Media's Fushigi Yūgi Genbu Kaiden and Absolute Boyfriend her name is romanized as "Yuu Watase". In Chuang Yi's English-language versions of Fushigi Yugi (spelled without a macron or circumflex), her name is romanized as "Yu Watase".

Reviews

[R ♥ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I'm giving this 2.5 stars rounded down because it was a disappointment, but I did enjoy some parts. The last few chapters were a huge waste of time since they were a completely different story altogether (and quite boring and useless) which I didn't care for. But altogether, this series was decent. It was cliche, but I enjoyed the characters and plot.


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[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second time reading it and still....unsatisfactory ending!

Tanpopo should've ended up with Yoji, Koki should've ended up with Flippy (kidding) and Erika should've ended up with a long term residence in the insane asylum.

[Samantha wickedshizuku Tolleson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume kicks off with Chapter:1-5:Extra 2.

I'll write more when editing mode hits me.
Have fun reading!
Ta-ta Pretties!

[11th_book · Rating 3 out of 5]

TRIGGER WARNING for suicide.

-

Half of the last volume was just bonus story... but I really enjoyed this re-read!

[Elina Mäkitalo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Olisin antanut enemmän tähtiä, jos lopusta olisi jätetty ekstrat pois. Nyt 3 1/2. Jos neljä ja puoli osaa on kirjoitettu samaa tarinaa niin ihan noin lopussa on todella vaikea päätä mukaan enää uusiin juttuihin ja siksi ekstrat ei ole hyviä. En pidä niistä tarinan välissäkään. Sekoittaa vaan turhaan. Olisi voinut julkaista vain lyhyemmän osan, sillä siitä olisi päästy. Muuten hyvä tarina, joka piti otteessaan. Hyvää oli taistelutappelukohtauksien puute ja kuvat olivat pääasiassa selviä värittömyydestä huolimatta. Nopeita oli lukea.

[Ekollon · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I finished it, and I don't even know if I can review the main story like I planned to because I am so destroyed by one of the short stories at the end. I'm going to cry.

Please excuse me. I'll try to recover and come back and review the series.

[Hisgirl85 · Rating 4 out of 5]

❤ I love this sweet series.

[Ana Maria]

3.25!
And that's It! Me parece un buen final para una historia entretenida. Concuerdo con que lo más importante de esta es la amistad, aunque me sigue pareciendo el mejor romance que he leído de Watase. Por otro lado todo el tema de Erika me ha acabado dando más pena que rabia pues al final era una adolescente a la que llevaban toda la vida diciendo algo y era lo único que conocía so there's that.
Las historias del final no me han desagradado, aunque quizá hubiera preferido solo la de los amigos de Tanpopo pero más larga, enseñando su vida cuando está estaba en Tokyo.
Anywaysss eso, me ha gustado y es curioso como después de esta obra hizo Alice 19th aka la que dropee lol.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

So yeah. I started reading the first volume at like 10:45 and then kiiiiiind of stayed up until 1:00 reading the entire rest of the series. Thanks a lot, Chanel! I can't even really review the volumes individually because I just read them all the way straight through.

I really liked the characters, even though the main two seem somewhat typical of this genre. The side characters are great though. And this totally made me cry several times! I can't believe I never read these until now! The only thing I wasn't sure about was a few totally over-the-top scenes including an almost rape and the really bizarre way the two main characters get to be friends with Flippy (that guy is CRAZY). But still!

Anyway, great shoujo series, and short at only 5 volumes, which I LOVE.

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very cutesy typical shojo plot of a girl who makes friends by sheer force of will with the difficult people around her(and is loved for it in the end).

[Cember · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this series and own all the books.

[Bibliothecat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for complete series



At its core, this is your standard shoujo manga about a naive country bumpkin who finds herself out of place at her new elite school. Tanpopo moves to Tokyo to attend a top school which largely consists of wealthy students or ones of influential families. She soon finds that her plan to make many friends won't be easy as everyone looks down on her because of her more simple background. Tanpopo doesn't give up that easily though and tries to face things with optimism. One student in particular has caught her attention: Kugyou might be the untouchable elite student, but Tanpopo knows of his secret love for gardening and is sure they can form a friendship around that.

While Imadoki has a plot like many others of its kind and you can guess the love interest from page one, I've actually always really enjoyed this manga. There is something nostalgic about it, and by that I am not even referring to having read this a long time ago. In fact, I read it quite a bit after it's publication and it is by no means one of the works that originally got me invested into manga. No, it's just the style and execution that bring together a lot of aspects I associate and like about manga from that time period. It is by no means perfect, but there's something very loveable about it.

Tanpopo certainly is a naive character, but not as bad as some people make her out to be. I like her and while she does seem a little slow in catching on, she does also see things for what they are. She initially gets bullied quite a bit and she just smiles it all away and acts like she doesn't understand what's happening. The truth is that she does fully understand the situation but decides to stand above it. I quite liked her attitude toward the bullies - she didn't let them discourage her nor did she let them rattle her and argue with them. Her insistence of making friends can come across as a little too idealistic, but friendship does become a core part of this story and it generally delivers a nice message.

I like the romance well enough but above all I really enjoy the friendships that form in this manga. They're a colourful bunch, perhaps a little tropey, but perfectly likeable. I loved the humour and nicknames they gave each other - I loved how they quarrelled and at the same time supported each other resolutely. Although it is generally a light-hearted manga, it does also cover a few darker subjects including but not limited to suicide and abortion. As this is not a long manga, it doesn't delve into great detail but I felt it handled these subjects fairly well.

On the down side, Imadoki has one of the most annoying meddling fiancées who only barely manages to earn some redemption toward the end. The plot is occasionally a little jumpy, especially for the latter two volumes. I can see why this is not everyone's cup of tea, but apart from these two issues, I really enjoy this manga and return to it every now and again. The art isn't Watase at her best but it certainly is cute.

[Yoyomaus Die Büchereule · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zum Inhalt:

Mit Yuu Watase auf die Schulbank
Unsere Heldin heiß Tanpopo, was auf Japanisch "Löwenzahn" bedeutet. Und genauso hartnäckig wie die Pflanze ist auch Tanpopo in allem, was sie tut. Sie hat gerade die Schule gewechselt, ist nach Tokio gezogen und geht jetzt auf die renommierte Meio-Schule. Dort lernt sie einen geheimnisvollen Jungen kennen, der gerade einen Löwenzahn einpflanzt ...





Cover:

Das Cover gefällt mir wieder sehr gut. Zu sehen ist hier wieder die typisch bunte Überschrift sowie die beiden Protagonisten Tanpopo und Kugyou, welche sich lächelnd entgegen blicken. Außerdem ist auch Tanpopos niedlicher kleiner Fuchs zu sehen. Das Ganze wirkt so warm und herzlich, man könnte Karies davon bekommen, so süß ist das.



Eigener Eindruck:

Nachdem es zwischen ihr und Kugyous Bruder nicht geklappt hat und ihr Großvater krank geworden ist, verlässt Tanpopo die Schule und kehrt nach Hokkaido zurück, um für ihre Großeltern da zu sein. Das hinterlässt nicht nur bei ihren Freunden aus der Garten-AG ein großes Loch. Kugyou bemerkt, dass ihm etwas fehlt und spricht sich endlich mit seinem Bruder aus und auch Erika, die eigentliche Rivalin von Tanpopo merkt, dass es noch einige Dinge zu klären gibt. Vielleicht wendet sich für Tanpopo und Kugyou doch noch das Blatt und die beiden können zueinander finden?



Das ist wieder ein Finale, wie es bei Yuu Watase im Buche steht. Noch einmal wird Dramatik ganz groß geschrieben und schlussendlich sprechen sich alle aus und liegen sich quasi in den Armen und für die beiden Helden der Geschichte gibt es ein Happy End. So muss das sein. Dabei begeistert die Mangaka wieder durch tolle Zeichnungen und Wendungen, die man so nicht erwartet hätte. Schade ist hier, dass der finale Band, zumindest für die Geschichte recht kurz ausfällt. Neben der Geschichte von Tanpopo und Kugyou bekommt der Leser hier also noch zwei zusätzliche Kurzgeschichten präsentiert. Das ist ein bisschen schade, denn jetzt, wo es zu einem Happy End gekommen ist, hätte man ja auch noch ein paar abschließende Sequenzen bringen können – so 20 Jahre später oder so etwas in der Art. Aber nun gut, da will ich nicht zu anspruchsvoll sein, denn die Geschichte im Großen und Ganzen war einfach toll und hat richtig viel Spaß gemacht. Abschließend bleibt mir zu sagen, dass ich euch die Reihe einfach nur wärmstens empfehlen kann! Wenn ihr romantische Geschichten mögt, dann seid ihr hier genau richtig.



Fazit:

Ein schöner Abschluss für die fünfteilige Reihe und auch wieder ein absolutes Muss. Man könnte fast einen Zuckerschock bekommen.



Idee: 5/5

Charaktere: 5/5

Logik: 4/5

Spannung: 4/5

Emotionen: 4/5





Gesamt: 4/5



Daten:

ISBN: 9783770462575

Sprache: Deutsch

Ausgabe: Flexibler Einband

Umfang: 180 Seiten

Verlag: Egmont Manga

Erscheinungsdatum: 15.05.2005

[Natalie bookland · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Hola Criaturas! ^^

Arrancamos el año lector con una colección de 5 mangas titulada "Imadoki" de la autora Yuu Watase de la que soy muy fan, ya que me gusta mucho la manera en que dibuja, el contenido de sus historias, sus toques de humor y los mensajes, enseñanzas y aprendizajes que transmite y evoca en cada una de sus historias.

Tras haber terminado de leer el último tomo de ésta colección, he aprendido lo siguiente:

- La amistad es un pilar fundamental en la vida de cualquier ser humano. Al igual que la familia, los humanos necesitamos rodearnos de gente con la que poder compartir y experimentar todas las cosas que nos suceden, y poder ayudar y apoyar a nuestros amigos en cualquier situación.
Destacar que en la auténtica amistad, no importa los orígenes de las personas, su popularidad ni otras cosas superficiales en las que solemos fijarnos, lo que realmente va a hacer que se cree esa amistad, es el corazón de la otra persona.
Recordad, lo que importa está en el interior de cada uno.

- La importancia de estar en contacto con la naturaleza. Al igual que las personas vivimos rodeadas de artificios y falsedades, así también lo hacen las plantas.Es importante preservar y proteger nuestra flora y fauna, ya que formamos parte de ella y al igual que a nosotros nos gusta que nos cuiden y nos mimen, a ellos también. Son seres vivos igual que nosotros.

- Tanto las flores/plantas como los humanos, florecemos de una determinada manera. AL igual que nosotros tenemos la capacidad de hacer que una planta o una flor florezca de una determinada manera, nosotros también podemos "florecer". Somos nosotros mismos quienes debemos elegir nuestro camino en la vida, luchar por lo que queremos ser y conseguir, y en nuestra mano está el cómo lograr llegar a ello y de la mano de quiénes queremos lograrlo.

"Imadoki" ha sido una obra muy bonita y divertida dónde se nos enseña el respeto y cuidado por las platas, los animales y la naturaleza, el amor en la adolecencia, el camino de esa misma estapa marcada de decisiones que nos encaminarán y guarán a determinar y decidir nuestra vida adulta, y nos enseña también el valor de la amistad.

Como última aportación, añadir que en el quinto tomo, a parte de conocer el desenlace de la historia, hay una historia extra en la que se explica el comienzo de la protagonista en Tokio y cómo adquirió a su peculiar mascota. También hay una historia corta de la autora sobre una chica que tiene un trastorno obsesivo con la limpieza y la pulcritud, del que no puede deshacerse... ¿o sí? :P

¡Felices Lecturas!

[Anne Mey · Rating 3 out of 5]

L'histoire partait bien avec la reconnaissance du club et les amitiés qui se lient petit à petit dans ce groupe qui se soutient pas mal au final. J'ai bien aimé qu'elle parle de grossesse chez les lycéens, des comportements des garçons qui paient pour ne pas avoir de problème. J'ai aussi aimé qu'elle parle du poids que les parents mettent sur les épaules de leurs enfants qui doivent hériter de la grosse entreprise. Le grand frère du héros est parti pour échapper à cette pression et c'est le plus jeune qui se retrouve coincé avec une fiancée et pas vraiment de choix. Leur redonner le contrôle de leur vie c'est ce que l'arrivée de Tampopo réussit à faire et c'est la plus grande réussite du manga. Après le faux triangle amoureux avec le frère qui ressemble vraiment au héros c'était moyen. La fiancée pot de colle aussi c'était moyen. Que les deux réalisent leurs sentiments c'était assez bien montré, surtout le doute de se dire que c'est un amour à sens unique et de ne jamais oser en parler. Mais voilà c'était bien moins drôle que d'autres de ses mangas et un peu trop convenu.

[Leila Anani · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 5th and final volume doesn't disappoint although I didn't think it was quite as strong as the previous two - maybe just on account of its brevity - the conclusion is only 98 pages. Does Tanpopo end up with her beloved Koki? read and find out! The rest of the volume is taken up with related stories - we have Forever Okay? a prequel where we meet Tanpopo's two best friends in Hokkaido - Ruri and Kazutaka - another love triangle and a hero who looks very like Koki.... This one explains the origin of the pet foxes. Don't touch me - is the romance of an obsessive compulsive girl who can't bear to be touched in case she gets germs and the family friend who comes to stay - it's ok but not as good as the previous two stories.

Overall loved Imadoki - fans of teen high school romance dramas and/or Yuu Watase won't be disappointed.

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of this volume is the main story.
The other half includes two short stories...
I don’t like that!!!! I’d rather have more of the main story! Let me see more of Tanpopo and Koki!

Nonetheless, it was a cute ending. I like that Koki came back to Tanpopo after high school graduation.

Overall, I give this story a 4/5. I like the story. I like the characters. It isn’t too dark. This is a cute short shojo series about a happy girl trying to make friends with people who really needed friends the most.

[kaitlphere · Rating 4 out of 5]

The volume felt like it wrapped up the series very quickly, but satisfyingly. Each of the main characters has a future path laid out that feels right for them. The secondary characters aren't in this volume much.

There are two short stories included in this volume. I really liked the one about how Tanpopo got her fox. I didn't care for the other unrelated story--it treated a mental difference like something that could be easily changed.

[Dee Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this series! I’m so sad I’ve finished it:( I got so attached to all the characters in this series. I loved Arisa and Flippy so much! Also loved the bonus stories at the end. I was glad to see a glimpse Tanpopo’s life before she moved to Tokyo and how she got a pet fox. I’ll always treasure this series.

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very satisfying ending to this series! But I was a bit disappointed that half of this volume was other stories. Okay, one was still in the same universe, but the final one was unrelated. I get having more Watase stories is good, and having this book the same size as the others makes sense, but it still makes me a bit sad.

[nat_likes_books · Rating 3 out of 5]

so i didn’t enjoy this as much as the other books. i like how tanpopo and koki ended up together but it just felt very weak. also the real volume 5 is only 100 pages so the other 100 is just 2 short stories that i didn’t read. so ya.

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I picked this up off of my older cousins bedroom floor and began reading it with no experience reading any of the other volumes in this series, and I have to say is that I’m confused. I didn’t even know that the last two stories included different characters. It was fine all in all tho.

[Elora · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
Yay she ends up with Koji. Erika is kind of me core unfortunately, like diva noooo don't throw yourself in the frozen lake....
Anyways the ending is cute when he enrolls in university in Hokkaido.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good ending! Could have been longer though... This is one of my favorite mangas!

[Stephanie Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely end to a lovely series. Kind of wish they had more of their life and relationship as adults but it was a nice read nonetheless and I enjoyed the other mini stories as well 🤗

[✨Sky✨ ♏ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars

[Bee (BacchusVines) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love, love, LOVE the ending. My ships worked, and nobody died! And the short stories are fun too! Love the germaphobe.

[tristen]

#8

[dela :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

*4.5 stars

[Elisa Borghini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yuu Watase non si smentisce mai 😭❤️