(268) Dengeki Daisy
You know how manga artists always have a cover page to each of their chapters that, more often than not, doesn't really have anything to do with the story? I think this happens more in shoujo manga than shounen, but in any case it's usually just a space for a character, or characters, to be in poses or clothes that you normally wouldn't see.
I usually thought these things to be kind of extraneous. I mean, sure it's fun to see Bleach characters dressed for the beach, but it wasn't necessary. It was only very recently that I realized the importance of these cover pages, how powerful they can be for publicity, especially if they're drawn right.
See, that's how I found Dengeki Daisy. I was on 9panels and was simply scrolling through the 20 "recently released" manga they have on the homepage when I saw the cover for Dengeki Daisy's chapter 18. And being the sap I am for romantic shoujo stories (especially ones in which the main characters are, on the surface, not compatible), I decided to give it a try.
Let me tell you, it doesn't usually take me an entire night to read four volumes of manga.
***
It's rare for me to reread things. Maybe it's a product of living in a computer age, but I get bored easily with repetition. (Which is probably a factor in why I'm not liking my lab work too much - very repetitive, no final goal.) I rarely re-read books, or re-watch movies or anime, and if I do it's only years and years later. Manga is no exception.
Which is why it was weird, and special, that last night I stayed up again to re-read all of Dengeki Daisy. (Yes, I know, I paid for it this morning with extreme fatigue.) I did it with that same feeling I had when reading it the first time through - of finding something precious rare, of wanting to savor every bit of it, slowly, so that it can last as long as possible. I can attribute this quality - which is extremely rare - to the fantastic art and story and pacing that the mangaka set up. The story was sweet and funny and sad. It made me cry, not because something sad happened in the manga, but because a particular look or scene resonated with me, that made me think of something or miss someone with such raw emotion that it could only be expressed through tears. And not for a single moment did I think that the story was unreal, or a situation unbelievable, or a character too stupid or annoying, which usually happens at one point or another with romance shoujo manga. There weren't any cliches in the story. Nothing was artificially held back for the sake of suspense. As a romance manga, it was possibly the closest thing to being perfect. I mean, I actually really liked the character of the girl.
I usually thought these things to be kind of extraneous. I mean, sure it's fun to see Bleach characters dressed for the beach, but it wasn't necessary. It was only very recently that I realized the importance of these cover pages, how powerful they can be for publicity, especially if they're drawn right.
See, that's how I found Dengeki Daisy. I was on 9panels and was simply scrolling through the 20 "recently released" manga they have on the homepage when I saw the cover for Dengeki Daisy's chapter 18. And being the sap I am for romantic shoujo stories (especially ones in which the main characters are, on the surface, not compatible), I decided to give it a try.
Let me tell you, it doesn't usually take me an entire night to read four volumes of manga.
***
It's rare for me to reread things. Maybe it's a product of living in a computer age, but I get bored easily with repetition. (Which is probably a factor in why I'm not liking my lab work too much - very repetitive, no final goal.) I rarely re-read books, or re-watch movies or anime, and if I do it's only years and years later. Manga is no exception.
Which is why it was weird, and special, that last night I stayed up again to re-read all of Dengeki Daisy. (Yes, I know, I paid for it this morning with extreme fatigue.) I did it with that same feeling I had when reading it the first time through - of finding something precious rare, of wanting to savor every bit of it, slowly, so that it can last as long as possible. I can attribute this quality - which is extremely rare - to the fantastic art and story and pacing that the mangaka set up. The story was sweet and funny and sad. It made me cry, not because something sad happened in the manga, but because a particular look or scene resonated with me, that made me think of something or miss someone with such raw emotion that it could only be expressed through tears. And not for a single moment did I think that the story was unreal, or a situation unbelievable, or a character too stupid or annoying, which usually happens at one point or another with romance shoujo manga. There weren't any cliches in the story. Nothing was artificially held back for the sake of suspense. As a romance manga, it was possibly the closest thing to being perfect. I mean, I actually really liked the character of the girl.