Ouran Koukou Vol.1

Synopsis:

The story starts with our lead character looking for a quiet place to study (in school) but instead stumble into the third music room. BUT, the room was not used by music students. Instead, there was the Host Club – comprising of 6 really hot guys (or should I say 5 hot guys with 1 very very cute guy).
Needless to say, Haruhi (that’s our lead) was shocked into breaking an 8-million yen vase, and therefore have to now be the club’s dog!

Alright – this synopsis requires more explanation, since you most probably won’t understand if you didn’t read the real thing.

Haruhi is the poorest student in Ouran Gakuen, a school made only for the pedigrees and the rich. You’ll either have to be a blue blooded noble of some kind or rich enough to buy a useless piece of ceramic for 8-million yen. Which is why, Haruhi is the one and only scholarship student in the entire academy.

Our 6 beautiful guys open the host club to serve the females of the school (it seems that they have a LOT of free time in that school). We have the King – Tamaki (who is also the Headmaster’s kid), the very cute Lolita type – Haninozuka (Hunny for short), the serious samurai type – Morinozuka (Mori). The twins with the taste for incest – Hikaru & Kaoru as well as the “perfect” vice president – Kyouya.

That about sums it all up. Oh, and just in case you didn’t realize it from the start, Haruhi is a girl. She just have very low consciousness regarding gender.
Anyway, the guys found out by accident that Haruhi actually make a really cute “guy who looks like a girl” and a natural talent to be a host .Which is why she was upgraded to one. And from there we will start the journey of Ouran High School Host Club.

Review:

The storyline starts off good, but after the 2^nd chapter, we can actually recognize a pattern going on (which in the next few volumes will tend to get a little tiring.) But no worries, the pattern will be broken here and there, especially in the back volumes where the plot is going to reach the climax soon.

Each new chapter brings about a new story. You can actually recognize that from the different costume they wear at the club (it seems that they’re trying and experiencing different customs, but that is just BS that Kyouya spout to the students parents... hehehe)

A new story arc will definitely bring about a new set of costumes (may it be a southern costumes, to samurai, to yukata, etc)

A note here is that I will definitely not be summarizing those little chapters which usually bring about temporary supporting characters which are not important to the main story. I might even skip a volume or 2, or maybe compress more than 1 volume into a single review.

I would say that Ouran actually have many weaknesses that might turn you away from the manga. One is the plot development which is too slow (as mentioned earlier). Another is the artwork. Although the characters drawn are really good looking (especially Tamaki & Haruhi) but one thing I find annoying is that when Hatori-san (the mangaka) draws the characters at an angle other than the front facing, it will turn out really bad. Another thing to notice is that the manga in total is very messy, with plenty of bits and pieces here and there. If you really want to see how the characters look at their best, watch the anime!

However, there is 1 strength regarding the artwork which I really appreciate is that each character looks completely different from one another. This is especially important when we have so many main characters ( I consider each host as a main character). Even the temporary supporting characters look different. I am able to recognize and remember all the main characters by the end of volume 1 due to the different looks and also to the characteristics of the character (am I making sense?? I will explain more in my review of the next volume.)

These few strengths as well as character development brought Ouran to a much higher level than it would have been. Which is why it is understandably one of the most popular shoujo manga currently.

Labels: Ouran

Posted at 12:04 AM

Skip Beat! Vol.3

Synopsis:

Continuing the arc story from the end of volume 2, we have Kyouko now challenging Ruriko for the movie role. She totally blow everyone away with her skills, although it was later revealed that these skills were trained by Sho Fuwa’s mother (tea-ceremony skills, and on how to be the perfect host in front of guests). Naturally, there is also the part where Kyouko was acting together with Ren – and she realized that she is wayyyy below him in terms of acting skills – and that he was the one who brought out all the “correct reactions” needed. In other words, Ren actually forced her to act unconsciously.

However, Kyouko lost the challenge as she fainted midway. All was not lost though, as Ruriko finally see what a spoilt brat she has been and she actually gave Kyouko full marks! (Note: read my synopsis for volume 2 if you do not understand this).

After all that has happened, the director decided to let Kyouko have a special photo session as a remembrance of her work done (which means that she gets to put on makeup again... hehehehe). She met Ren there and there were some “interesting” scenes (Note: I ALWAYS find scenes between our 2 main characters “interesting”, if you get what I mean).

This volume also brought back some important side characters. First up is Kotonami-san (which I will call Moko-san from now on, because that’s the nickname given by Kyouko). Moko-san was at the same interview with Kyouko in volume 1, but she failed as well and is now the official 2^nd member of LoveMe section. Appearing as well is Maria, the grand daughter of LME’s president. It turns out that Maria’s mother died in an accident when on her way to celebrate Maria’s birthday. Therefore, she blamed herself for it and thought that her father hates her for that as well.

LME is coming out with a play which plot coincides with Maria’s story. However, Maria disagree with the storyline in which the child was to believe that her father didn’t blame her at all for her mother’s death. This is why Maria created so much trouble on set. The president requested that Kyouko would draw her out and try to help her.

Things came to a headstand when Kyouko unknowingly got herself into yet another challenge with the actresses of the play. She agreed to play the character of the child’s sister in which she was suppose to convince the little girl that her father doesn’t hate her.

Not surprisingly, Kyouko manage to start off really well (and really scary as well!!!). As for how this new story arc ends, we shall have to wait for the next volume.

Review:

Phew!!! There is a LOT going on in this volume. The ending to the “Ruriko-Kyouko’s challenge” was really good. There was nothing too obvious that will help us predict what is going on. The surprise elements are placed well indeed.Some scenes not to be missed includes the one where Kyouko found out that Moko-san would be a fellow member. It was fantastically funny. I really like both Moko-san & Maria, and I am glad that they will be permanent supporting cast in this manga.

Another thing to notice is the incredible talent of Kyouko in making dolls (voodoo dolls to be exact). She made one of Ren & Fuwa each. It was so detailed right down to the clothes that they wear! And she even have different “face” for different expression. Kyouko sure have a lot of weird talents. I wish I have one of those Ren dolls... Maria asked Kyouko to give the Ren doll to her, but she refused as well. Guess that means I won’t be getting one myself in this lifetime...

Labels: Skip Beat

Posted at 11:08 PM

Skip Beat! Vol.2

Synopsis:

The 2^nd volume opens with Kyouko meeting Sho at the gas station she was working at. It was a really unpleasant situation for her as she was snubbed by him. Luckily for our heroine, the president of LME has taken notice of her, and therefore, accepts her as the first member of the Love-Me section. The members are suppose to accomplish any kind of tasks given to them by others (such as artists, managers etc) and they will be given points based on their performances.

We also have more insights to the thinking of Tsuruga-san as well. He knew that Kyouko’s purpose of becoming an actress is just to take revenge on Sho. But this is against the ethics and beliefs of Tsuruga towards his work– which is why – he doesn’t (seem) to like Kyouko.

Anyway, moving on to one of Kyouko’s 1^st tasks (actually her first task is to carry luggage!) – she is to attend to idol singer and all-round bratty princess wannabe, Ruriko Matsunai who is acting together with Tsuruga-san (such coincidence, ne?). Plenty of incidents happened and Kyouko took over Ruriko’s role in the movie! Read the manga to find out more.

Review:

In this volume, there are more of Kyouko-Tsuruga scenes (thank you Nakamura-sensei!!!) and they’re well executed. Plenty of laughs as well. I love the scenes in which Kyouko was cleaning the floor! The part where Kyouko found out that she gets to wear make-up (because of the movie shooting) was priceless as well. But I think the best scene in this volume is at the ending where Tsuruga & Ruriko saw Kyouko after her makeover. The transformation was amazing!

Ah, and I forgot – Tsuruga & Sho finally met each other!!! It was quite interesting to see how each think of the other. Sho was full of anticipation and wants to show off, but Tsuruga just coolly brush him off (kyaaa!!!! How cool is that!)

Labels: Skip Beat

Posted at 12:28 AM

Skip Beat! Vol.1

Synopsis:

The main character, Mogami Kyouko is a polite, nice young high school girl - except that she doesn't goes to high school. Instead, Kyouko is working 3 part-time jobs and slaves away everyday, just for the sake of her prince charming – Fuwa Sho. Sho is an idol singer who on the surface is a perfect guy in every way, but in reality is a selfish and egoistical bastard who’s only using Kyouko as a servant.

Finally, Kyouko finds out the truth – and did she break down and cry? NO! She did a 180 degrees change of personality. Her only purpose now is to get revenge on Sho – and the best way to do it is to get into the entertainment circle and beat him in it! And thus, began the adventures and struggles of our heroine in her quest for revenge!

Review:

This manga is hysterically good! It has a nice pace for the storyline, and most of the main characters are introduced well enough. There’s loads of humours as we get to see Kyouko transform from a weak girl (who’s only purpose in life is to serve Sho) to a demonic person. We also get to meet the super uber cool Tsuruga Ren (which I am definitely falling in love with!) although most of this volume revolves around Kyouko & Sho.

The art is clean & nice – not too much mess around although Nakamura-sensei tends to add some bits & pieces to explain the feelings & thoughts of the character. I particularly love the Kyouko demons (they are a character all by themselves!) and we will definitely see more of them in future volumes.

I also like the fact that the storyline isn’t too shoujo-ish . Kyouko was unable to pass the acting test at LME (the company where actor Tsuruga is with). It was also nice to see that even with so much determination & will, one still cannot get through that easily. In Kyouko’s case, it was because of her lack of love.

And before I end this review, I must add one more thing.BAKA-SHO!!!!!!!! I hope you will rot in hell for how you treated Kyouko. You will never be the lead character in this manga!!!!! That honour will go to Tsuraga-san!!!!

Labels: Skip Beat

Posted at 11:51 PM