Customer Reviews

Hot Gimmick, Vol. 1 (VIZBIG Edition)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

First thing's first: I'm not really big on the whole romance/drama genre. Granted, I like romance within a plot, but as long as that plot also consists of clashing swords, firing guns, explosive magic, and/or a large dose of kicking and punching. Hot Gimmick has none of these things.

So why am I...so...addicted...to it??

The answer lies within the characters. They are down-to-earth, real people with down-to-earth real problems, complicated and yet sensible at the same time. (Well...sensible most of the time, at least.) I know you've probably heard that statement said a hundred times over before, but I really believe it. I personally can relate to Hatsumi and some of her problems, and therefore the overall tone of the manga gives you a sense of...reality, even though you are just reading a manga.

Then again, I've never really become a slave to my neighbor bully. Nor has one of my childhood friends returned as a very handsome model and practically comes to live next door.

That is just a preview into the life of the mild Hatsumi, who very much indeed finds herself being blackmailed by her neighbor Ryoki, and has to be at his beck and call. It's a good thing that Azusa's come back to protect Hastumi from Ryoki's "bullying", and look pretty while doing it. So is this a romance in the making between Hatsumi and model Azusa? Hmm. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

I can't stress how addicting this premise itself can be. This, combined with humor throughout, makes for a greatly interesting read. The artwork is very clean and not sketchy at all, and I found it very appealing. Hot Gimmick is suited for the 16+ range, mostly just because of the open discussions of sex and whatnot.

In any case, I'm really enjoying this series. And I believe that anyone who finds this type of manga interesting should at least give Hot Gimmick a look.

I do not like Hot Gimmick even though I believe I am in its intended audience. Perhaps it's just because I've always preferred more intellectual science fiction over gushy shoujo, who knows. But even I can bring myself to enjoy some forms of gushy shoujo.

I just don't enjoy Hot Gimmick.

The art is nice, original, and simplistic, and that's about all that Hot Gimmick has going for it. Maybe I'm biased; the storyline is okay and the characterizations are good--I just don't LIKE the characters. It's all good but I myself as a person, non-objectively, cannot bring myself to love any of the characters. Reading Hot Gimmick makes me sick. Reading it makes my stomach turn.

Frankly, it's probably because of the pseudo-abusive pseudo-bondage themes that permeate the book. Hot Gimmick almost seems to endorse abuse against women, because of course Ryouki's so "hoooottt". Unfortunately, I don't think so. Ryouki is an annoying, heartless chauvinist who needs to be locked up in jail for a couple of years to set himself straight. Hatsumi is a doormat who is far too considerate for her own good and needs to take self-esteem therapy. If she had any sense she'd have callen the cops on Ryouki ten thousand years ago. In fact, I think all of the characters' problems, deceptions, and hypocrisies could be solved if only they decided to visit a shrink.

Some people think that abusive, possessive boyfriends are "hot". I don't. It's abuse, in every way shape and form. Women all over the world are trapped in abusive relationships with men because they've deceived themselves into thinking their boyfriends/hubsands "loooooove" them. In a world like ours, we don't need something like Hot Gimmick to just endorse that view.

Why did I, then, if I hated Hot Gimmick so much, give it three stars? Because I understand that I'm not part of the intended audience (same age group and gender, but let's say I think Isaac Asimov is godlier than say, Yu Watase), and that for teenage girls who DO like this sort of thing, they will eat it all up. Plus the art. Objectively Hot Gimmick gets three stars but viewed non-objectively by my feminist self, it receives zero.

Let me start off by saying that I'm writing this review because I feel that Hot Gimmick has been done a big injustice by reviewers who seem to be saying it's bland.

It's not! What got me into Hot Gimmick was its *originality.*

Hatsumi is a 16-year-old girl living with her mom, little sister, older brother, and younger brother in company housing. The floors are parallel to the company hierarchy--with the CEO and his family living at the top and the less-important employees and their families living in descending order. Hatsumi and her family live somewhere in the middle, and their position in the complex is very dependent on the words of Mrs. Tachibana, the CEO's wife.

Hatsumi is out buying a pregnancy test for her younger sister (scandalous, I know!!) when she runs into Ryoki Tachibana (the gossip queen's son), who finds her with it and threatens to tell his mother unless she becomes his slave. To protect her sister's reputation and her family's standing in the complex, she agrees to his conditions. To complicate things, Azusa (Hatsumi's childhood friend) returns, with a modeling career and a mysterious past, and seems intent on wooing Hatsumi. However, we soon come to realize that his flirting is more calculated than it is playful.

Ryoki's true feelings for his "slave" are revealed gradually, and we learn that he isn't cruel and perverted, but rather naive and inexperienced in love and the idea of "family." While he is learning about these things through Hatsumi, the situation gets even more complicated when Hatsumi's mother discourages her from seeing Ryoki for the sake of their family (because Mrs. Tachibana is strongly against it).

When Hatsumi's father returns from working abroad, we begin to understand why Azusa is playing Hatsumi (while she still blindly cares for him), and this arc reveals itself even more gracefully than Azusa vs. Ryoki.

Hatsumi's younger sister, being far more experienced sexually than Hatsumi, starts to fall for Hatsumi's friend, much to her surprise. We see a slow-but-steady turnaround from her looseness towards innocence.

*Warning: Slight spoiler ahead.*
Shinogu, Hatsumi's brother, is very protective of Hatsumi throughout the series, and then he suddenly moves away. The reason for this is deep and has a strong emotional effect on Hatsumi.
*Spoiler End*

It is true that Hatsumi is more of a passive character than an assertive one, but that is true of a lot of manga and manwha heroines. Is it so shocking to think that perhaps Miki Aihara isn't copying other manga-kas, but is actually creating a story based on a prevalent personality trait of schoolgirls in Japan? Is it even more shocking to believe that perhaps Japanese schoolgirls aren't the only ones who are tense about revealing their desires? I don't think so.

Hatsumi isn't difficult to relate to; after all, we all have moments when we really want to say something, but don't because we are nervous or shy. The more profound aspects of Hot Gimmick, like learning what "love" is, discovering what "family" means, trascending social structure, discerning between sibling love and romantic love, and making peace with the past, all make this series worth reading. If that doesn't get you, then the love triagle between Hatsumi, Azusa, Ryoki, and Shinogu ("Love Square"?) will.

If it helps you to know, I have 11 of the 12 volumes, and I've already pre-ordered the 12th. Some other manga I have enjoyed reading include: Mars, Her Majesty's Dog, Kare First Love, Peach Girl, Tokyo Boys & Girls, MeruPuri, Paradise Kiss, and Absolute Boyfriend, to name a few.

Do yourself a favor, and pick up the first 2 or 3 volumes of Hot Gimmick ASAP!

From it's very first few pages in Volume 1, Hot Gimmick never ceases to keep you from being fervently interested and wanting more.

The artwork, for the most part, is pretty and chic: the characters are stylish and unique looking. However, Aihara sometimes hits or misses in the panels where a character's face is turned at a 45 degree angle; in these cases, the eyes closest to the 'camera' appear unnaturally larger than is typically drawn by other "manga-ka" (comic artists) of the same field. After seeing many of these sort of panels, it can get mildly irritating.

Story-wise, it's highly engaging and even sinfully indulgent; it's reminiscent of a trashy romance novel that's so good, that you just don't care what others might say! Even though it uses some cliches of many shoujo manga series, it manages to deliver a sassy, fun story in a very refreshing way. I would highly recommend it to any manga fan who enjoys a spicy romance.

While the cover page of volume one screams out "Pink!," don't discriminate. It's a quirky, unusual love story about apartment complex romance and the twists and turns that come along with it. Hot Gimmick is clearly considered my favorite manga, japanese comic novel.

When Hatsumi Narita hears of her younger sister's, Akane's, supposed pregnancy, she rushes to the convenience store to purchase a pregnancy test, only to bump into the apartment complex's tyrannical bully and son of the landlord's wife, Ryoki Tachibana.

He finds out about Akane's dirty, little secret and blackmails poor Hatsumi into being his slave. It all goes downhill from here as Hatsumi's life-long crush, Asuza, comes back to the complex after nine years.

After a few incidences of sexual harassment and false pretenses, Hatsumi finds her life complicated as she faces three men vying for her heart: Ryoki Tachibana, Asuza Odagiri, and Shinogu Narita.

This book has great art but it sanctions bondage, rape, and abuse and excuses it because of "feelings" and cute guys.

Abuse is nothing to joke about and Hatsumi only reminds me of millions of sad abuse victims all over the world who settle for so much less because they are caught in some sick fantasy world that abuse = love. The effects of such a distorted view of love is felt everywhere in our society--all the brokeness and heartache and yet we refuse to see the cause begins with such flawed views of love. This series had nothing but animalistic lust. The only excusable characters in this whole thing was probably Subaru and Shinogu (MAYBE Shinogu).

What annoyed me was Hatsumi kept on putting herself in stupid and vulnerable situations. She shouldn't have been seeing that abusive, rapist Ryoki, yet she kept going to his place ALONE and fueling the fire even more. What she should have done was back off and stay away. For goodness sakes, call the cops! Get a restraining order! Feelings are a mile a minute and they can change rapidly. Romance minus WISDOM is suicide.

Ryoki . . .ugh, he disgusts me so much (that was probably the author's aim). He didn't care about the girl at all, it was just sexsexsexsex, and yet they end up together in the end. What a twisted message to send to teens. He may have looked drop dead handsome, but his behaviour made him very ugly to me. To force someone into sex is rape, pure and simple. Good looks do not excuse abuse and girls, stop trying to "change" bad boys. They won't (unless God does it or something).

Reading it also violated my conscience and got me thinking on relationships in an unhealthy way. I'm sad this misguided book is aimed at impressionable teens.

It's ironic that people shun the Biblical view of relationships where true, unselfish love is promoted. Where a husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church and died for it, and for wives to respect their husbands. There was zero love and respect between the main "couple" of the story.

Next time I see a manga going in this plot direction with sexually explicit scenes, I'm slamming it shut. I've finally learned my lesson.

Taz

this manga sickened me. don't get me wrong, i read the whole thing and thought it had the potential to be kind of romantic, but it ended up being a story about unhealthy obsesstion and relationship abuse. i understand that love is a passionate affair of swirling emotions and non-sensical actions and what not, but there is a fine line between a healthy realtionship and an unhealthy relationship, and HG is an example of the latter. Hatsumi was treated with no repect by ryoki and was refered to, and considered a slave (which has the potential to be interesting, but was just exploitation in this instance), a dog, and a piece of luggage. she was also admitedly afraid of ryoki throughout the entire story and because of his insistance, began believing that she was stupid and worthless. this is not love. and i understand that ryoki's childhood was in some way deficient and may be the cause of his actions and thoughts, but its not ok just to accept that as an excuse for his behaviour. one of the cool things about stories is watching the characters develop into new people by learning some life lesson. Hatsumi did not grow, and neither did ryoki. this was an example of an emotionally abusive (and sometimes physically abusive) relationship that was applaued by friends and family. They show movies in high school warning kids about this kind of thing because it is wrong and all people, no matter their gender, should be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve as a human being. i shudder to think that this is socially acceptable and hope that no young girl gets a hold of it.

Like my title says: I'd have given Hot Gimmick 5 stars if it didn't have so many ALMOST rapes. I read the first 4 Volumes and quit because it was too upsetting. I like the art, the characters (mostly), the storyline... It's really interesting and well-done. But when (spoiler) the main character was very nearly gang-raped, it was just too much. I couldn't read any more. If you get to that part and you're not upset, then you'll probably love the series. But if you're just considering buying it... I'd say read some in a store, to see what you think, before putting money into it.

I borrowed this series from a friend and I read it all the way through. It really isn't anything unique which is fine...that's not the reason I hate it. The main character Hatsumi is an idiot. She can't think for herself and lets all the male characters push her around. She's a terrible female lead. Read a shoujo manga or any other manga for that matter, that has a smart female character in it. Hatsumi's idiocy is just too much--just sickening. I read it all to see if she grows a damn brain but she remains an idiot forever, it seems.

There is no growth for her character or for the other characters either. Her sister is a far better character than her. If you want some good shoujo manga read Ouran Host Club instead. The female protagonist-- Haruhi has more brains in a strand of hair than Hatsumi has in the vast empty space which is her skull. Hot Gimmick is poo.

"Hot Gimmick" is definitely one of my favorite shoujo manga, if not my very favorite. I absolutely love it.

First, the story. It may not seem like much in the first volume, but it gets better. Hatsumi and her family live in company apartments, and everyone is always trying to stay on the good side of Mrs Tachibana, the company owner's wife. One day, Hatsumi's sister, Akane, makes her buy a pregnancy test for her because she is "late". Hatsumi is seen by Ryoki, Mrs. Tachibana's son, and he forces her to become his slave in exchange for his silence. But just when things are at their worst, Hatsumi's child-hood crush, Azusa, shows up, and he isn't too happy with Ryoki. Did I mention that he's a model? This is all kind of cliche, but after volume 1, things start changing. There are plenty of huge plot twists, and characters are not always what they seem. This manga is just like a soap-opera, only without the bad acting. There is a lot of language and suggestive stuff, so it's not something for children or younger teens.

Next, the characters. This is my favorite part. Hatsumi starts off really shy, but she's not self-loathing and altruistic like so many shoujo heroines. The problem is that she's too shy to stick up for herself, and she can't say no. It's a common character type too, I know, but as the series progresses, she gets bolder. My favorite character is Ryoki. He's very stuck-up and childish, and he seems to have trouble expressing his feelings. Next there's Azusa. He's the nice type, and is always considerate and protective of Hatsumi. There's also Akane. She's pretty, but because of this, she's rather promiscuous. Ok, rather is an understatement. She loves boys, and her biggest concern is fashion. Last, there's Subaru, Hatsumi's child-hood friend. He's an otaku, and he gets teased at school a lot. He's a pretty nice guy.

Now for the art. It's really unique. The characters are beautifully drawn. They still have the usual large eyes and mouths and stuff, but it's different. The scenery is detailed. In fact, the artist lives in the area where the story takes place, so a lot of stuff from the real world shows up.

Overall, this is an excellant manga. I'm not so in to soap-operas, but the characters make it worth it, I think. If you don't like anything racy, then this will probably offend you. There's a lot of talk about sex, but as the story goes on, certain characters begin to understand that it should be with someone you love, so it's not so bad. You should definitely give this series a try.