Badger Badger Badger Badger Badger Badger Badger Badger...
MUSHROOM! MUSHROOM!
This is me sharing something from my crazy real-life friends and then a review of a manga I've read recently, so no worries if you want to pass this one by.
First, some PokePuns, in case you haven’t seen this already (click for full view):
Ethan is a good buddy of mine, and the others I’ve seen around. We went to high school together.
Now, a review. Spoilers ahead!
I was in Barnes and Noble recently (surprise, surprise), and I picked up a manga I thought was interesting. It was called Ai Ore!, and I went online to find as much of it as I could. It’s actually two mangas: Ai wo Utau yori Ore ni Oborero! and Ai Ore!, by Miyu Shinjo. Both are about Akira and Mizuki, a feminine boy and masculine girl who come together. I like the concept of it, but overall, it’s more of a once-in-a-lifetime guilty pleasure. As in, “once in a lifetime is enough to ever read or think about this.”
Ai wo Utau yori Ore ni Oberero covers the beginnings of their relationship; Mizuki’s all-girl band Blaue Rosen is in need of a new vocalist when their lead singer Kaoru moves, and she’s reluctant to let Akira, a guy (albeit a very cute guy; he’s more feminine than any of the other band members), take Kaoru’s place. Akira only wants to join to get closer to Mizuki, who he’s been in love with since they were kids playing together in the sandbox. Mizuki stopped coming to the sandbox when she started falling in love (to her, it’s a painful experience and she thought she was getting sick being around him), but doesn’t make the connection between her childhood playmate and her new bandmate until Akira himself tells her about it. After a long list of shenanigans that put nearly every single character in compromising situations, Mizuki comes to realize the fruition of her own feelings and gets together with Akira. Ai Ore is about everyone else coming to grips with their relationship and Akira and Mizuki making it work between them. Ai Ore is not finished, and I’m not sure if it’s likely to be.
Akira and Mizuki as characters aren’t a bad pair. Akira, though possessive and jealous and perpetually horny, is protective of his lady and does his best to make sure she knows he thinks she’s beautiful. Mizuki, though hot-headed and mistrustful and in constant need of saving, likes to keep it calm and cool and for the most part trusts her man. The differences between them are interesting enough; Akira is comfortable with his effeminate appearance and often uses it to his advantage, while Mizuki is less comfortable with her mannish looks and is deeply hurt whenever someone mistakes her for Akira’s boyfriend or lesbian girlfriend (because everyone assumes Akira’s a girl). Akira wants to get physical with her faster than Mizuki is comfortable with, and though he may push her too far sometimes, if she says stop, he stops. Mizuki gets angry with Akira a lot because of his forced flirtations (at his high school he’s known as the princess and his friends Ran and Rui use his looks to fulfill their own schemes and fantasies), but if she says something she feels sorry for later, he knows she didn’t mean it and drops the matter. It’s interesting to me to see Akira’s different kind of manliness and Mizuki’s different kind of femininity; that’s why I picked it up, because I like the status quo to be upset now and again.
I guess what I’m trying to get at is that it’s good as an experiment; I wouldn’t mind seeing this kind of idea tackled somewhere else (and if someone knows a good story like this, TELL ME IMMEDIATELY), and far better than it was tackled here. Ai Ore is one I would recommend if you’re severely bored one day and have nothing better to do; the plotlines are ridiculous and far-fetched, but that’s part of its charm, I think; it’s an out-there story that tackles the insecurities and challenges that come with being someone who looks different than the average female or male and being WITH someone who looks different from the average male or female.
Speaking of which, if anyone knows their manga out there, I’m looking for one that I picked up when I was thirteen or so; I don’t remember the title, but it was a fantasy-magic-kingdom type of story. The first page had a boy and a girl trapped in a glass box sort of thing with a partition in between their chambers, and the boy started banging on the wall and then accidentally broke the wall and her half of the box, and she started falling into an endless abyss. Then it flashed back, and it turns out that it was about this princess, whose older brother is the king, and her best friend, who’s a commoner and who she’s in love with. I only read a few pages, but I remember this much happening and I really want to find it again.
Anyway, ciao, bellas, and have awesome lives!
This is me sharing something from my crazy real-life friends and then a review of a manga I've read recently, so no worries if you want to pass this one by.
First, some PokePuns, in case you haven’t seen this already (click for full view):
Ethan is a good buddy of mine, and the others I’ve seen around. We went to high school together.
Now, a review. Spoilers ahead!
I was in Barnes and Noble recently (surprise, surprise), and I picked up a manga I thought was interesting. It was called Ai Ore!, and I went online to find as much of it as I could. It’s actually two mangas: Ai wo Utau yori Ore ni Oborero! and Ai Ore!, by Miyu Shinjo. Both are about Akira and Mizuki, a feminine boy and masculine girl who come together. I like the concept of it, but overall, it’s more of a once-in-a-lifetime guilty pleasure. As in, “once in a lifetime is enough to ever read or think about this.”
Ai wo Utau yori Ore ni Oberero covers the beginnings of their relationship; Mizuki’s all-girl band Blaue Rosen is in need of a new vocalist when their lead singer Kaoru moves, and she’s reluctant to let Akira, a guy (albeit a very cute guy; he’s more feminine than any of the other band members), take Kaoru’s place. Akira only wants to join to get closer to Mizuki, who he’s been in love with since they were kids playing together in the sandbox. Mizuki stopped coming to the sandbox when she started falling in love (to her, it’s a painful experience and she thought she was getting sick being around him), but doesn’t make the connection between her childhood playmate and her new bandmate until Akira himself tells her about it. After a long list of shenanigans that put nearly every single character in compromising situations, Mizuki comes to realize the fruition of her own feelings and gets together with Akira. Ai Ore is about everyone else coming to grips with their relationship and Akira and Mizuki making it work between them. Ai Ore is not finished, and I’m not sure if it’s likely to be.
Akira and Mizuki as characters aren’t a bad pair. Akira, though possessive and jealous and perpetually horny, is protective of his lady and does his best to make sure she knows he thinks she’s beautiful. Mizuki, though hot-headed and mistrustful and in constant need of saving, likes to keep it calm and cool and for the most part trusts her man. The differences between them are interesting enough; Akira is comfortable with his effeminate appearance and often uses it to his advantage, while Mizuki is less comfortable with her mannish looks and is deeply hurt whenever someone mistakes her for Akira’s boyfriend or lesbian girlfriend (because everyone assumes Akira’s a girl). Akira wants to get physical with her faster than Mizuki is comfortable with, and though he may push her too far sometimes, if she says stop, he stops. Mizuki gets angry with Akira a lot because of his forced flirtations (at his high school he’s known as the princess and his friends Ran and Rui use his looks to fulfill their own schemes and fantasies), but if she says something she feels sorry for later, he knows she didn’t mean it and drops the matter. It’s interesting to me to see Akira’s different kind of manliness and Mizuki’s different kind of femininity; that’s why I picked it up, because I like the status quo to be upset now and again.
I guess what I’m trying to get at is that it’s good as an experiment; I wouldn’t mind seeing this kind of idea tackled somewhere else (and if someone knows a good story like this, TELL ME IMMEDIATELY), and far better than it was tackled here. Ai Ore is one I would recommend if you’re severely bored one day and have nothing better to do; the plotlines are ridiculous and far-fetched, but that’s part of its charm, I think; it’s an out-there story that tackles the insecurities and challenges that come with being someone who looks different than the average female or male and being WITH someone who looks different from the average male or female.
Speaking of which, if anyone knows their manga out there, I’m looking for one that I picked up when I was thirteen or so; I don’t remember the title, but it was a fantasy-magic-kingdom type of story. The first page had a boy and a girl trapped in a glass box sort of thing with a partition in between their chambers, and the boy started banging on the wall and then accidentally broke the wall and her half of the box, and she started falling into an endless abyss. Then it flashed back, and it turns out that it was about this princess, whose older brother is the king, and her best friend, who’s a commoner and who she’s in love with. I only read a few pages, but I remember this much happening and I really want to find it again.
Anyway, ciao, bellas, and have awesome lives!