Manga 1st Volumes
Reviews of various manga by reading their first volumes only.
Butterflies, Flowers by Yoshihara Yuki (Note: josei)
Kuze Choko is the daughter of a formerly well-to-do family that lost their fortune. She gets a job as an office worker at a large company, and her extremely attractive boss, Domoto Masayuki, seems to treat her like a piece of meat. She realizes after a while that he was a young boy who used to serve her and her family when they were still rich. Once this is out of the bag, his behavior towards her seems to change dramatically by the minute, from very respectful and deferring to tyrannical and perverted. How is she ever going to be able to deal with such a person on a daily basis at work? Is it even possible for them to have a relationship given the way he acts toward her?
I love the art in this manga, especially the way Domoto is drawn. Also, it has a good sense of humor, and I found myself laughing out loud multiple times. As far as this volume is concerned, the "Explicit Content" warning only refers to jokes and comments made through out, there is no actual depiction of sex. That said, this being josei, it does mean they will eventually probably have sex, but not in this volume at least. Anyway, the way Domoto acts when he's in tyrant/pervert mode is a bit off-putting, as in there's no way anyone would ever act like that in real life as it would get them thrown in jail pretty quickly. But if you can look past that, and like a good adult-oriented office comedy, you may like this. I plan on picking up more volumes.
Dengeki Daisy by Motomi Kyousuke
Kurebayashi Teru is an orphan whose brother died and left her a phone with which she uses to communicate with someone called "daisy". Daisy has always been there to support her, and she messages back and forth with daisy all the time. One day at school she breaks a window and is forced to start working for the school's ground's keeper, Kurosaki Tasuku, in order to pay for it. He seems to be some kind of lazy slave-driver, not cutting Teru any slack at all. Meanwhile, Teru gets tangled up in some shady business going on with the important kids in the student council, and Daisy intervenes through the internet (hacking), causing attention to be drawn to both Teru and Daisy. Will Teru ever figure out who Daisy is? Will Tasuku ever cut her any slack?
It seems like there's something weird about and older guy perving on a high school girl the way Tasuku seems to be sort of doing, but on the other hand I'm not exactly sure how old Tasuku is supposed to be. Anyway, despite that, the comedy is good, Teru is a very determined person and kind, without being too annoying. The sub-plot with the student council chick was annoying at first, but I ended up liking Teru's subsequent interactions with her as the volume progressed. Tasuku has a gruff exterior but he's really a softie, I like him. We get to see a lot of miscellaneous scenes from his perspective, which helps to shed a little light on his real personality. I am definitely planning on getting more of this manga when it comes out.
Cactus's Secret by Haruta Nana
Yamada Miku has had a crush on the clueless Fujioka Kyohei for quite a while. Unfortunately, whenever she tries to clue him in on her crush, he completely misunderstands her feelings, which constantly leaves her frustrated and angry at him. However, not only is Kyohei clueless, he's also an idiot and a slacker, and gets terrible grades and is almost about to be held back. But, Miku is forced to tutor him and hijinks ensue. During this, she learns he has a history of trouble-making at his middle school, and also that a long time friend of his had a crush on him that went awry as well. Is it even worth Miku continuing to try to clue this idiot in on her crush? Is this former friend of his a now a rival for his affections?
Kyohei is a very different sort of guy than I'm used to reading about in shoujo manga. Normally, the main male lead is hot and cool and smart and strong and perfect in every way and likes the normalish heroine for some inexplicable reason. Kyohei is good looking, but is a total idiot, and doesn't really have anything going for him. We're not sure he even likes the heroine all that much beyond just "friends". So our Miku has her work cut out for her. Her frustration with Kyohei is pretty funny, and her determination makes her a likable main character. However, when Miku talks to Kyohei near the end of the volume, his comments make me wonder if this manga is headed out into left field or something. I will definitely buy the next volume, but if Kyohei doesn't cut Miku any slack by the end of volume 2, reading more of this manga may become an exercise in frustration. I will give it a chance to prove itself, though.
Butterflies, Flowers by Yoshihara Yuki (Note: josei)
Kuze Choko is the daughter of a formerly well-to-do family that lost their fortune. She gets a job as an office worker at a large company, and her extremely attractive boss, Domoto Masayuki, seems to treat her like a piece of meat. She realizes after a while that he was a young boy who used to serve her and her family when they were still rich. Once this is out of the bag, his behavior towards her seems to change dramatically by the minute, from very respectful and deferring to tyrannical and perverted. How is she ever going to be able to deal with such a person on a daily basis at work? Is it even possible for them to have a relationship given the way he acts toward her?
I love the art in this manga, especially the way Domoto is drawn. Also, it has a good sense of humor, and I found myself laughing out loud multiple times. As far as this volume is concerned, the "Explicit Content" warning only refers to jokes and comments made through out, there is no actual depiction of sex. That said, this being josei, it does mean they will eventually probably have sex, but not in this volume at least. Anyway, the way Domoto acts when he's in tyrant/pervert mode is a bit off-putting, as in there's no way anyone would ever act like that in real life as it would get them thrown in jail pretty quickly. But if you can look past that, and like a good adult-oriented office comedy, you may like this. I plan on picking up more volumes.
Dengeki Daisy by Motomi Kyousuke
Kurebayashi Teru is an orphan whose brother died and left her a phone with which she uses to communicate with someone called "daisy". Daisy has always been there to support her, and she messages back and forth with daisy all the time. One day at school she breaks a window and is forced to start working for the school's ground's keeper, Kurosaki Tasuku, in order to pay for it. He seems to be some kind of lazy slave-driver, not cutting Teru any slack at all. Meanwhile, Teru gets tangled up in some shady business going on with the important kids in the student council, and Daisy intervenes through the internet (hacking), causing attention to be drawn to both Teru and Daisy. Will Teru ever figure out who Daisy is? Will Tasuku ever cut her any slack?
It seems like there's something weird about and older guy perving on a high school girl the way Tasuku seems to be sort of doing, but on the other hand I'm not exactly sure how old Tasuku is supposed to be. Anyway, despite that, the comedy is good, Teru is a very determined person and kind, without being too annoying. The sub-plot with the student council chick was annoying at first, but I ended up liking Teru's subsequent interactions with her as the volume progressed. Tasuku has a gruff exterior but he's really a softie, I like him. We get to see a lot of miscellaneous scenes from his perspective, which helps to shed a little light on his real personality. I am definitely planning on getting more of this manga when it comes out.
Cactus's Secret by Haruta Nana
Yamada Miku has had a crush on the clueless Fujioka Kyohei for quite a while. Unfortunately, whenever she tries to clue him in on her crush, he completely misunderstands her feelings, which constantly leaves her frustrated and angry at him. However, not only is Kyohei clueless, he's also an idiot and a slacker, and gets terrible grades and is almost about to be held back. But, Miku is forced to tutor him and hijinks ensue. During this, she learns he has a history of trouble-making at his middle school, and also that a long time friend of his had a crush on him that went awry as well. Is it even worth Miku continuing to try to clue this idiot in on her crush? Is this former friend of his a now a rival for his affections?
Kyohei is a very different sort of guy than I'm used to reading about in shoujo manga. Normally, the main male lead is hot and cool and smart and strong and perfect in every way and likes the normalish heroine for some inexplicable reason. Kyohei is good looking, but is a total idiot, and doesn't really have anything going for him. We're not sure he even likes the heroine all that much beyond just "friends". So our Miku has her work cut out for her. Her frustration with Kyohei is pretty funny, and her determination makes her a likable main character. However, when Miku talks to Kyohei near the end of the volume, his comments make me wonder if this manga is headed out into left field or something. I will definitely buy the next volume, but if Kyohei doesn't cut Miku any slack by the end of volume 2, reading more of this manga may become an exercise in frustration. I will give it a chance to prove itself, though.