Customer Reviews

Miki Falls: Spring

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I won't go into the storyline (except to say that Mark Crilley is every bit as good of a storyteller as he is an excellent Manga artist!) Once you've read Miki Falls - SPRING, you'll be hooked and want the other 3 immediately so you might as well get all 4 now.
:-)

OKAY ~~ Now a Review from the VIEWPOINT of a PARENT:

I bought the "Miki Falls" series for my daughter after watching several of Mark Crilley's "How to draw Manga" videos that he is kind enough to create for his many fans on YouTube.

Let me just say that the "Miki Falls" series is both CLEAN and Very Entertaining.
...The storyline is deep, thoughtful and touching
...The artwork is great quality & often breathtaking
...The series is packed with adventure, mystery, suspense, action, and True Love

For those who don't know, Mark Crilley has a huge (teen / young adult) following on YouTube by kids who are simply interested in improving their art skills (and those who want to learn the necessary skills to be a "published" artist someday). In today's "anything goes" culture, it's really refreshing to find an author (and artist) like Mark who goes that extra mile to assure that teens and young adults are viewing / reading principled and respectable artwork and stories.

In short, I admire Mark for many things, but mostly because I can TRUST his artwork and "how to draw" videos with my own child.

Keep up the Great work Mark Crilley!!
~~ I truly hope that more Miki books are somewhere on the horizon!!

Miki Yoshida is about to start her first day as a senior in high school. She is resolved -- no more Mr. Nice Girl! From now on she's going to just be herself and not try to please everyone else. On the way to school she gets an earful from her boy-crazy best friend, Yumi, who is determined to find her a boyfriend. Miki isn't interested, but Yumi is not convinced. There's a new boy in town, and maybe he'll be just what Miki needs. I guess they'll find out when he starts school the next day.

As it turns out, Miki won't have to wait till the next day to meet him. She runs into him after school, knee deep in a rice paddy. She was practicing archery when a fly buzzed in her ear and her arrow went right out the window. Instead of the lost arrow, she finds Hiro Sakurai. Talk about an embarrassing way to meet someone. Especially a really cute someone, of the dark and brooding variety.

Hiro, however, is beyond antisocial. To the point of being rude. But, Miki is sure that there's more to him than the face he shows to the world. She is determined to be his friend. The less he wants her around, the harder she tries to break through. It's obvious that there is more to Hiro than meets the eye, and Miki has every intention of figuring him out. No matter what it takes.

First off, I have to say that I'm not a huge fan of Manga. It's actually a bit unfounded as a prejudice, since I've never actually read any of it. Reviewing these books has opened me up to pop fiction, but I still wasn't sure about actual Manga. Low and behold, this book and its sequel arrives, and they look kind of like comic books. So I put off reading them. Finally I get to opening the book, and the next thing I know I'm done with both and wondering when the next one is coming out!

MIKI FALLS: SPRING is a quick, fun read, with an unexpected twist. Actually, the themes are pretty familiar: wanting the boy who doesn't seem interested, resolving to be a stronger person... That's kind of what high school is all about! Definitely a "chick" book, and great fun, much to my surprise. Give Miki a chance -- you'll be glad you did.

Reviewed by: Carrie Spellman

Miki Falls: Spring is the first manga that Mark Crilley has done, and is the first in the four-part series. Miki Falls' story line follows the seasons of one year to present the story seasonly. This book may be written by someone in the west, but it takes place in Japan and looks a lot like a Japanese manga; but Crilley has thrown a unique style into the mix. His characters and artwork will have you dazzled that will keep your hands glued to the book until you've read every page twice. The story is about Miki Yoshida, a girl in Japan who hopes to make her senior year her best. Rumor has it that there's a new boy in town, Hiro Sakurai, who catches Miki's interest. At first she really isn't interested in romance, but a friendship so that Miki can find out who this guy is. She discovers that there is more to Hiro then meets the eye, and she wants to know desperately what it is Hiro is hiding. Miki Falls is my first manga and is a great introduction to this style of comics. Miki Falls may seem like a girls manga at first, but as characters develop, boys and girls will enjoy this short read equally. Miki Falls combines romance, drama, suspense, and super-natural things all in one beautiful book. The romance isn't really that big of part of the book, but expect some. Miki Falls is clean of curse words and other inappropriate things, so this also a good choice for those who don't appreciate when a good manga is ruined because of inappropriate drawings, story lines, scripts, or anything else. This is a great book and I look forward to buying Summer, Autumn, and Winter.

What a wonderful good read Miki Falls: Spring is! I wished it were twice as long, so very much did I love every page. To be honest: I hated for it to end. I look forward to devouring the next three books.

This is a book boys will enjoy equally with girls. Hiro is a strong character and very compelling. Miki is beautiful, thoughtful and deeply caring. Is it worth the money? Absolutely. The dialogue is pitch-perfect.

Those who aren't familiar with Manga will find Miki Falls a perfect introduction to this exquisite art form and those seeped in Manga will readily conclude this book to be among the best examples of it.

It is exquisitely well drawn. The representations of Japanese landscapes are breath-taking in their beauty. When one is finished with Miki Falls: Spring you feel like you have been living in Japan a long time.

Its kinda my first manga book i read and i was excited by the story. Nice High school teengirl. Nice teen-atmosphere and all that. The only thing that i felt out of balance was that Miki falls (obviously) in love with this guy who don't even want to talk to nobody and on top of that, she said that she wouldn't fall in love with no one. Hiro its cool but kinda touchy. Its a good Story and i'm planing on reading the rest chapters or whatever they called.

I didn't know what to expect when I picked up this manga novel written and drawn by a fellow American. However, I just had to give it a go after watching Mark Crilley's art tutorials on YouTube and hearing all the positive feedback. Plus, I'm a huge sucker for Japanese comic books. I just wanted to see how the medium fares here.

Long story short, Miki Falls is a fun and unique read, but not something everyone will enjoy.

First of all, the artwork. I love it. Most manga I read tends to be inked, usually looking really splotchy, possibly due to the ink being applied to too rough of paper. Here, however, Mark relies on pencils and pencils only to make his art. Everything is clean, clear, and fun to look at. Another huge plus is the panel layout. It's not plain, but it's not complex either. Sometimes a book will have a style where the page is obliterated by oddly placed panels and characters. In Miki Falls, I never had that problem, and it held my attention throughout.

The artwork is not perfect, however. Characters seem to have a nasty habit of changing their looks. At one point, their eyes seem small. The next, they're either bigger or even smaller. I even ran into a section where, at first glance, Miki's chin inflated to a size comparable to Jay Leno. That's a hyperbole, obviously, but the case here is that there's a lack of consistency, and it shows. Also, the characters are in dire need of expressions. When up close, their eyes really convey emotion, but from afar, they appear really stiff. This is a problem with the mouths, as well. There are times where characters are supposed to shout or grit their teeth, but the mouths don't change in size; they just sort of open. The skin just doesn't have that elastic feel like it can really stretch and squash.

Now, for the story. I don't want to talk about it too much as I really hate spoilers and hate to give even the littlest bit to other people. All I can say is that it's one of a kind, at least in my experience, and thanks to the western comic styled narrations, you're always on the same page as Miki. Everything is understandable, easy to follow, and well paced.

But here's the big problem: there's no subtlety. I'm no stranger to manga that takes place in a realistic world and then throws a few twists at you. But the reason why these stories worked was due to factors like suspense, foreshadowing, and characters reacting realistically. Here, Miki takes things in almost too easily. Not only is she very impulsive, but when she makes some kind of unworldly connection, she doesn't have any doubts. She doesn't think that it's just a coincidence, nor does she become the least bit frightened. There are some instances later on where characters like Hiro drop important plot information and twists, but it's done so bluntly. You just don't have the opportunity to accept these points, and it loses what could have been camp value and just becomes cheesy.

I hate to be critical, because I really liked Miki Falls, and I'll definitely buy the sequel real soon. However, I just have to give a fair warning to everyone. This book isn't perfect, but if you can look past a few flaws, you'll really enjoy what it has to offer.

its a great love story once you read all four of the books. i saw them at my high school library read them and just flat out love them.

I'm not that much of a manga person when I started looking into this book for our library. But being the inquisitive person, I decided to at least look at the first five pages. (Always a tell all to me...) Before long it was almost closing time in the store. I ended up buying the whole series in a matter of days.

Miki the ever sweet and strong character decides to become the tough girl, no Misses Nice Girl. It's true, although we didn't see what Miki was like before she made this resolution, you can tell throughout the book how she is trying to becoming a better person, a stronger person. In some places she is put into some pretty awkward positions that if any girl in high school had to deal with would have run away crying. But she was stronger then I've ever seen in any story, (especially manga, and the genre itself)I've read.

Unlike so many, where the heroine is the clumsy, always flighty girl, Miki is steady and level headed. A little over the top at times, but truly this story was worth every minute. I would suggest this to anyone who likes a good love story without all the cursing and innuendos.

I also enjoyed the wonderful artwork, (not as flat lined and uncultured as most manga are) it was very detailed, and almost life like in some parts. So if you like good clean stories of love, life and the ever noble search for the one we all hope to be 'Prince Charming', you will love this book.

I loved it when I checked it out at the library and I just had to have it. It's such a good series with an amazing story line and this will forever be my favorite anime book. :]

Mark Crilley's Miki Falls series is chock full of gorgeous drawings. Readers will enjoy the expressions on the characters faces as well as the sweet and heartfelt story. It's the perfect gift or treat for yourself.