Ashita no Ousama Vol. 1

Synopsis:

Sasaya Yuu, a college girl who had just moved to Tokyo recently from the countryside, finally watch her first stage play. She was entranced by it, especially by one of the characters and decided then & there to be an actress! However, because of her country girl ways (tying 2 pigtails, wearing boring clothes, and even writing every single expenses she made into a notebook!), she was laughed off by her friends. One of them has connection to a stage troupe company and decided to bring her there for a tour and to show to her the reality. Not just anybody can be an actor!

Yuu was naturally denied by the company. However, she was steadfast in her pursuit and gave an impressive speech about how she will not give up. She was overheard by one of the actors there who praised her speech. Yuu realizes that the actor, Ichii Touya, was the same man who had entranced her in the play she watched earlier on. Touya was shocked that she recognizes him, and requested for her to keep silent regarding this matter because he was not suppose to be acting in another troupe’s play. In return, he gave her a contact of another company troupe (Garandou Company) that is currently searching for actresses.

The next day at Garandou, Shimamura Shougo (the head) gave Yuu a chance because she was after all recommended by Touya. However, Yuu couldn’t act at all. She was so bad, she was worse than an amateur. But she gave another impressive speech about her will to be an actress and Shougou decided to allow her to stay. The next day, Yuu was already helping out with the costumes while watching the troupe rehearse. They were having problems with the script, but during a small talk with Shougo, Yuu unawarely gave him a great idea. When Touya later came over to look at the rehearsals, Shougou told him that he don’t understand why he kept Yuu eventhough she is useless as an actress.

The play was very successful. After the curtain closes, Yuu and Shougo discussed about it, whereby Yuu tried to reenact her favourite scene. She showed great understanding about the script but still couldn’t act it out. Shougo later brought Yuu to watch Touya rehearse. Yuu felt very envy of Touya who is so talented eventhough he is still a rookie actor. Shougo also explained to Yuu the role of the play director and how each director has his own style & direction.

Later, an acquaintance of Yuu asked her to be a stand in for a play because they’re short of actresses. They thought that since she is from Garandou, she wouldn’t be bad. But during opening night, Yuu not only made a big mistake, but even fell down in front of the audience. Luckily, the mistake was covered by another actress. But this experience made Yuu think that she is not suitable for acting no matter how hard she tries. She went to discuss this with Shougo, but ended up talking to Touya (who happens to be there) instead. Both of them also overheard Shougo saying that Yuu is his rival. Angrily Yuu announce that she is leaving the troupe and stomped off. Both Touya & Shougo agreed that Yuu would definitely be back.

Yuu went back to her old routine, but she misses the theatre world. She went and watch Touya’s play and met him by accident after that. He persuaded her to return to the troupe. After thinking over their conversation, Yuu realizes that eventhough she can’t be an actress, she could still work backstage and be a part of making a play. She decided to go back to Garandou. When Yuu went to Touya’s apartment to thank him for his help, a beautiful stranger slams the door on her. But luckily, she met Touya who fetch her home and even fell asleep there.

Review:

Wow, I manage to squeeze one last review for the month of March.

What is it about manga with the entertainment industry as is backdrop theme that attracts me so? I’ve been addicted to series like Glass Mask, Skip Beat!, Penguin Revolution, etc. But this series is different in one sense. The main protagonist, Yuu, is not cut out to be an actress!

The drawing style is the usual shoujo style. Not especially nice or different enough to be eye catching, but still pleasing enough. The story is indeed quite interesting. In my opinion though, it will never be as good as Skip Beat! There’s a lack of tension, and the humor is not as funny. But still, it makes a good read when I am craving for something new.

Labels: Ashita no Ousama

Posted at 10:55 PM