This isn't actually a book, it's a manga series. Manga is one of my guilty pleasures, although I don't read as much now as I did in high school and college. It's expensive, addicting, and nerdy by definition, but it's also a lot of fun, as long as you pick your titles wisely. There's a wide range of quality in the world of manga, and as it becomes more popular in the US, providers are translating anything and everything they can get their hands on.
Overview
W Juliet is, as you can probably guess, a romance story. However, the hook is that it also falls into the sub-genre of 'gender-bender' romance, which is fairly popular among manga fans. We're not talking homo- or transsexuals here, but more of a Twelfth Night variety of humor. Your typical story in this vein has a girl starting high school diguised as a guy in order to join a sports team/cover for a relative/stay with a close friend. Shenanigans ensue; everyone has a lot of fun, except for the poor guy who falls in love with the main character and cannot understand why he's suddenly and very selectively become gay.W Juliet varies from the formula because this time it's the guy who has to make it through high school as a girl. This sounds like a bad idea at first; a girl can dress like a guy in order to accomplish something and still keep her femininity, but a guy dressing like a girl is probably slightly confused, right? Not so for Makoto. He wants to be an actor, but his strict, traditional father wants him to take over the family business (a martial arts dojo). They strike a deal--if Makoto can make it through high school as a girl without anyone finding out the truth, then Father will recognize his ability and allow him to follow his dream. It turns out that Makoto really is a good actor, and his school is thrilled with their beautiful new student.
Oh, but it isn't enough to have one cross-dresser! Enter Ito Miura, the school tomboy. Okay, so she's not actually pretending to be a boy, but she's tall with short hair, and she prefers the boy's uniform to a short little skirt that won't let her run around. All of this turns into a bit of confusion on the part of strangers, and lands her the male lead in many of the drama club's productions. Since she also wants to be an actor, it's natural that she makes friends with Makoto. It's also natural that when Makoto's changing into her costume for the next act, Ito has no compunction about wandering into the dressing room. Whoops.
So the whole story comes out, and Ito becomes part of the conspiracy. The rest of the series consists of Ito and Makoto falling in love and trying to keep Makoto's secret from the rest of the school. It's great fun, and alternatively sweet and hilariously funny. I haven't actually finished the series yet, but I think I'm only one volume away.
Recommended for: Girls and manga fans
Parental Worries: None so far. The two are remarkably well-behaved, considering that their family and friends don't think twice about them sharing a room for the night. This is the type of manga where a girl gets flustered and nervous about hugs and her first kiss, and that's about as far as they go. (again, I haven't read the last volume, but I'm not expecting any surprises)
Oh, but it isn't enough to have one cross-dresser! Enter Ito Miura, the school tomboy. Okay, so she's not actually pretending to be a boy, but she's tall with short hair, and she prefers the boy's uniform to a short little skirt that won't let her run around. All of this turns into a bit of confusion on the part of strangers, and lands her the male lead in many of the drama club's productions. Since she also wants to be an actor, it's natural that she makes friends with Makoto. It's also natural that when Makoto's changing into her costume for the next act, Ito has no compunction about wandering into the dressing room. Whoops.
So the whole story comes out, and Ito becomes part of the conspiracy. The rest of the series consists of Ito and Makoto falling in love and trying to keep Makoto's secret from the rest of the school. It's great fun, and alternatively sweet and hilariously funny. I haven't actually finished the series yet, but I think I'm only one volume away.
Recommended for: Girls and manga fans
Parental Worries: None so far. The two are remarkably well-behaved, considering that their family and friends don't think twice about them sharing a room for the night. This is the type of manga where a girl gets flustered and nervous about hugs and her first kiss, and that's about as far as they go. (again, I haven't read the last volume, but I'm not expecting any surprises)
Ramblings
When I first started reading this series, I was kind of thrown off by the crazy gender switching and characterization. Ito looked like a boy (not even a particularly pretty boy) and Makoto was rather feminine. I honestly wondered a little what the two saw in each other. As the series develops though, we get to see more of Makoto not acting like a girl, (it's really a stunning change, he's a handsome guy) and Ito getting coerced into dresses and kimonos that show off her truly striking beauty. This development was something I really liked about the series; anime and manga characters (especially romantic couples) are usually designed to be 100% aesthetically appealing, so it was refreshing to have a bit of discord at first. (I may be giving the artist a little too much credit here, the changes in character design could be the result of polishing and refining the manga's art style, but it produces the same result either way.)
Another thing I really enjoy is that the actual relationship between the two is very real, and very healthy. This isn't a pair of emotionally dysfunctional kids clinging to each other for protection against the big bad world and trying to fill the holes in each others lives; there's more joy and less angst than in any other love story I can think of. There's still a bit of angst, or it wouldn't be much of a story, but it's kept to a minimum--most of the conflict comes from outside forces and extraordinary events. In fact, there's a surprising amount of action for a high school romance that isn't based around superheroes or magic. (This isn't to say that some of their adventures don't take a turn into the supernatural, but they're just amusing sidelines, not significant plot drivers) It turns out that Ito's family also runs a dojo, so when rival clubs or hired thugs try strong-arm tactics, the two heroes are fully capable of kicking ass.
The supporting cast is also lots of fun; between crazy schoolmates, crazy teachers and Ito's four overprotective brothers, there's always something going on. I can't wait to get my hands on the last volume. ^_^
When I first started reading this series, I was kind of thrown off by the crazy gender switching and characterization. Ito looked like a boy (not even a particularly pretty boy) and Makoto was rather feminine. I honestly wondered a little what the two saw in each other. As the series develops though, we get to see more of Makoto not acting like a girl, (it's really a stunning change, he's a handsome guy) and Ito getting coerced into dresses and kimonos that show off her truly striking beauty. This development was something I really liked about the series; anime and manga characters (especially romantic couples) are usually designed to be 100% aesthetically appealing, so it was refreshing to have a bit of discord at first. (I may be giving the artist a little too much credit here, the changes in character design could be the result of polishing and refining the manga's art style, but it produces the same result either way.)
Another thing I really enjoy is that the actual relationship between the two is very real, and very healthy. This isn't a pair of emotionally dysfunctional kids clinging to each other for protection against the big bad world and trying to fill the holes in each others lives; there's more joy and less angst than in any other love story I can think of. There's still a bit of angst, or it wouldn't be much of a story, but it's kept to a minimum--most of the conflict comes from outside forces and extraordinary events. In fact, there's a surprising amount of action for a high school romance that isn't based around superheroes or magic. (This isn't to say that some of their adventures don't take a turn into the supernatural, but they're just amusing sidelines, not significant plot drivers) It turns out that Ito's family also runs a dojo, so when rival clubs or hired thugs try strong-arm tactics, the two heroes are fully capable of kicking ass.
The supporting cast is also lots of fun; between crazy schoolmates, crazy teachers and Ito's four overprotective brothers, there's always something going on. I can't wait to get my hands on the last volume. ^_^
2 comments:
Hey Jackie!
Hope all's well up north! This is one of the very few manga series I still own, and I agree, it's highly enjoyable! Well, just wanted to drop in and say howdy!
~Kristen
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