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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Looking good so far!, May 26, 2009
This review is from: Honey Hunt, Vol. 1 (Paperback)
The story centres around Yura, a high school girl with famous parents, who has lived her life trying to avoid attention. Volume one basically starts with problems between her parents leading to her deciding to try and enter the entertainment industry.
I picked this up as a fan of Hot Gimmick and haven't been disappointed so far. The artwork is pretty and the characters are interesting and seem to be well developed. The tone can be serious but is pretty light hearted too, which makes this a fun read overall. As far as shojo series go, Miki Aihara's work is definitely among my favourites and so far, Honey Hunt seems like a solid read. This series already has me hooked- I definitely recommend it!
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sweet, Sassy Shojo, May 10, 2009
This review is from: Honey Hunt, Vol. 1 (Paperback)
When I first heard that "Honey Hunt" was going to be serialized in "Shojo Beat," I was a little worried. I loved "Hot Gimmick," Aihara's previous work, but was bothered by the passive heroine and selfish love interest. Fortunately, the characters in "Honey Hunt" are much better than those of that series. They're balanced instead of stereotypical. Yura is kind of shy and doesn't have much confidence in herself, but she's not down on herself, and she doesn't mind standing up for herself once in a while. She reacts to her situation in a realistic way.
The story is hard to judge at this point. There's not a whole lot going on in the first volume, but it's only the beginning. Yura finds out that her parents are getting divorced AND that her mother has been having an affair with her (Yura's) crush. Feeling rejected by her selfish mother and her absent father, she decides to get revenge by becoming famous herself. This sounds a little like another "Shojo Beat" manga, "Skip Beat" (which I highly recommend), but the tones are different. "Skip Beat" focuses more on the acting aspect of the story, while "Honey Hunt" focuses more on romance. There is some drama, but it's not over the top like in "Hot Gimmick." I thought Yura's situation with her parents was realistic enough, and the problems she encounters in her path to stardom all help to show and develop her personality. The romance is sweet, and, although I have a favorite, I like all of the love interests.
Like Yura, they're balanced. Q-ta, a musician, is cheerful and laid back, but he's a little clueless. It's hard to tell whether he's really interested in Yura or just trying to get close to her father (and his idol). Haruka, Q-Ta's twin and the lead singer for a boy band, is a little rude, but not mean-spirited. He's a little unnerved by his interest in Yura. Haruka and Q-Ta don't get along so well, but they don't hate each other. They can have a conversation without being at each others' throats. Finally there's Keiichi, Yura's manager. He seems to be all about business, but he might be keeping his true feelings hidden... The most recent chapter serialized at this point is chapter 10, and I'm still not sure who Yura's going to end up with.
So far, I'm enjoying "Honey Hunt." I really appreciate the balance in the characters and story. Shojo characters tend to go to one extreme or another- really strong or really weak, really sweet or really mean- so the realism here is refreshing. The lack of extremes doesn't make the characters any less distinctive, either. The plot's a little under-developed in this volume, but the story is still being set up. It's not too slow or too fast. "Honey Hunt" is off to a good start and has the potential to become a great manga. Definitely one to keep an eye on.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Recommended to Teen Readers and Fans of Shoujo Manga, November 23, 2009
This review is from: Honey Hunt, Vol. 1 (Paperback)
Her mother is a popular actress, and her father is an award-winning composer. But daughter Yura Onozuka is just an ordinary schoolgirl who keeps out of the spotlight. All this changes, however, after she learns that her parents are getting divorced and catches her mother getting hot and heavy with the guy she thought was her only friend. She allows high-powered talent agent Keiichi Mizorogi to convince her to try to become a star herself. Now it's time for revenge!
Yura is not long in the biz, having landed her first gig as a Noodle Girl before she meets twin brothers and rival musicians Q-ta and Haruka. The former seems easygoing and eager to please, and when he finds out Yura's father is a famous composer, he proposes to her on the spot in order to become the man's son-in-law. Haruka, on the other hand, has nothing but contempt for her in the beginning. Nevertheless, both seem affected strongly by her presence.
There is something vaguely distasteful about the creator's choice of title for this manga--it sounds like something that ought rightfully to be labeled adults-only. Fortunately, Honey Hunt's heroine is quite likable and has a bit more backbone than Hatsumi Narita, the heroine of Miki Aihara's previous series, Hot Gimmick (also published by Viz). The creator shows marked improvement here with respect to character development, and you don't have to feel like you are betraying your feminist ideals while reading it. And although many readers familiar with shoujo manga will note substantial similarities to Yoshiki Nakamura's Skip Beat!, that series is much more about show business than it is about burgeoning love between man and woman, whereas this one clearly puts teens and their torrid relationships first.
Indeed, Aihara is the undisputed master at creating characters of monstrously reprehensible proportions--world's worst parents are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg of Aihara-style Titanic-sinkers--and you will find yourself feeling most sympathetic to Yura's plight. The narrative ploy that drives her into showbiz, the desire to get back at her mother by becoming a better actress, is little more than domestic psychodrama rationale, yet you cannot help but root for the otherwise ordinary, good-hearted Yura. Happily, the story does not tease, and she has an improbably big break within the first 200 pages. While you may not be convinced by her sudden success, you will be pleased to see the manga's plot progressing apace.
As always Aihara's artwork is a reliable source of reader pleasure. She has a clean yet reasonably detailed style of line work that is both easy on the eyes yet not so minimalist that you feel like the artist is trying to cheat you out of a fully imagined sequential art world. Her character designs are always especially appealing. She draws a good range of facial expressions, and female fans tend to go especially gaga over her male characters, even when their only redeeming personal features are their pretty faces. Recommended to teen readers and fans of shoujo manga.
-- Casey Brienza
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