Fujoshi Reads

Fujoshi Reads

#06 – Touch by Adachi Mitsuru

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Touch by Adachi Mitsuru
Published by Shogakukan
Serialized in Shounen Sunday

Touch. I got into Touch one afternoon where there was nothing I could do but watch some free videos online. It was considered as the highest rated anime ever. It is so popular that it’s an institution. It is, as some have noted, a classic among all manga stories. According to my friend’s mother, it was so popular in Japan that TV stations looked for girls like Minami. Koushien became the most popular sports event over the summer. And the manga turned Adachi Mitsuru as the premier mangaka of the 80s. In short, it was the series of the decade.

Years later, a stale lunch, natsu anison, a visit to Manga Kissa 10, and a random curiosity caused me to grab the series from the shelf. So what was it in Touch that touched the hearts of many Japanese? Well… Koko de touch. lol. ^^;;

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#05 – Lovely Complex by Aya Nakahara

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Lovely Complex by Aya Nakahara
Margaret Comics
Shueisha

A tall girl. A short boy. Both have a knack for words and together they make the manzai comedy pair of their school. However, our giantess, Risa Koizumi, finds herself caught in quite a pinch. After getting to know her unforeseen comedy partner, Atsushi Ootani, she eventually falls in love with him. How would she get by? How would she able to show this midget that she’s more than a funny girl? Aya Nakahara shows us a how a comedy combination turns into a love combi in Lovely Complex.

Edit : It seems that Viz / Shoujo Beat picked up Lovely Complex. So some things written down there might not be applicable.

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Lying and Cooking…

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Last spring was a breath of fresh air after the stark dry season that is post-Nodame. Yes, Nodame’s drama and anime was such a blast that nothing came close to compare the fun and energy that Nodame had. Until of course, spring came. Now, there are many series to keep note of during the season. There were many GREAT animes that came out, but what really sparked my curiosity was the line of dramas that came out during spring. Particularly, Liar Game and Bambino.

If lying and cooking is your turf, I recommend that you watch these two series. While you’re at it, read the mangas as well.

Fujoshi Reads

#04 – Koukou Debut by Kawahara Kazune

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Koukou Debut by Kawahara Kazune
Published by Shueisha
Serialized in Bessatsu Comic Margaret

High school’s not easy. For a girl who spent her life in junior high school as a certified jock, the mission to snag a boyfriend in high school is quite a tall task. But Haruna Nagashima is not the girl who gives up. She’ll do anything and everything to make her High School debut! Even if it meant getting a snobby yet handsome high school senior as her coach.

This is a completely hilarious romance about a boy and a girl who’s just starting to figure out what love is all about. Having studied all the formulas in shoujo romance, how can Haruna Nagashima’s go wrong? Well, Kazune Kawahara tells you that a romantic life ain’t no shoujo manga. But Kawahara also depicts a romance quite true to most girls out there. Koukou Debut serves a fresh tale on what it’s like to fall in love the first time.

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#03 – Tokyo Boys and Girls by Miki Aihara

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Tokyo Boys and Girls by Miki Aihara
Published by Shogakukan
Serialized in Betsucomi

It’s your first day in High School. You chose the school with the best school uniform so you could round up more boys. Everything looks great so far until a guy you can’t remember suddenly tells you that he’s going to get his revenge at you. And you try to remember all the things that you have done in your life, but you just can’t. What starts out as a beginning of a funny comedy, turns into a sappy high school romance. Miki Aihara takes the usual shoujo formula and expands it to a 5 volume teenage drama. God, if it took her four volumes to figure out what she has done to the guy, you wouldn’t wonder why the publishers considered pulling the plug.

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#02 – Planetes by Makoto Yukimura

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Planetes by Makoto Yukimura
Published by Kodansha & Tokyopop
Serialized in Weekly Morning

When you look outside your window, what do you dream? For Hachirota Hoshino, he dreamt of reaching the deep ends of the dark void with a big spaceship of his own. I believe it’s universal to be enchanted by space’s beauty. However, we discover that space isn’t merely a painting for us to adore. It is a reality that we all live in. Makoto Yukimura beautifully drafts the life of DS-12 “Toybox” as they encounter space. From what is commonly seen as just another space odessey, Yukimura takes it a step further to offer to us not just a tale, but a reflection on the importance of life, love, humanity, and space. Planetes explores the being in Being as the crew of DS-12 struggles in space. Sounds a bit complex, but hey, that’s life.

Fujoshi Reads

#01 – Happy by Naoki Urasawa

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Happy by Naoki Urasawa
Published by: Shougakukan
Serialized in: Big Comic Spirits

If there’s something happy about Happy, it’s the fact that it’s not quite the happy tale that you expected. Miyuki Umino may look happy in this cover, however, the unfortunate turn of events in her life isn’t really something to rejoice about. You’ve got an idiot brother who owes 250 million yen to some yakuza loan sharks. You’ve got 2 brothers and a younger sister to feed. You barely have enough cash for a lavish meal hence you’ve got curry for three days again. Might I add that the loan sharks want to pimp you in some bath parlor? Swamped with bad luck, Miyuki tries to make ends meet by trying her chance with her dream, becoming a professional tennis player.

Still fresh from his Yawara escapade, Naoki Urasawa gives us a refreshing, slightly tragic, nonethless perservering heroine under Miyuki. He may have given up Judo, but on this end, it’s all about who becomes the princess of tennis! That may sound cheesy, but it really is the tale of two women who have different paths to victory. As Urasawa exposes these two women, he asks us, which one of them will be truly happy?