Customer Reviews

Otomen, Vol. 1 (v. 1)

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

 

 

Otomen is the story of Asuka, manliest of manly high school students on the outside, but on the inside he's a romantic, shojo manga reading, cooking, sewing dynamo. He would like nothing more than to sew cute stuffed animals and make delicious bento lunches. Unfortunately because of past events he feels that he has to keep his "girly side" locked away and put on a front of extreme masculinity. So begins our story. Asuka is hard at work being his manliest when he meets Ryo, the new girl in school. He likes her and it awakens his inner romantic. Suddenly he's buying shojo manga and making pot holders. He just can't help himself. If Asuka is the romantic then Ryo is the clueless one. She has absolutely no idea that Asuka likes her as more than "just a friend." Then we add Juta, the school flirt, to the mix to make things more interesting. Juta has decided to pursue Ryo too. He comes right out and tells Asuka even.
This could be pretty cliche and to some extent it is. However, there are some interesting insights into what is and is not "manly" in Japanese culture (apparently real men don't like sweets) and there are some legitimately entertaining and funny parts. A lot of the best parts are in the latter half of the book. Namely Asuka's attempt to win over Ryo's father and the bit about fortune telling. Asuka is just adorable when Juta catches him being "girly". It's very endearing when he blushes. In fact, Asuka and Juta are my favorite parts of the manga. Ryo just seems a little TOO clueless. She has two gorgeous boys around her all of the time and she doesn't feel ANYTHING? Seriously. Poor Asuka. So I give volume 1 of Otomen 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5. I would knock off a half of a star for what's lacking in Ryo's character.

I read a ton of manga, but I recently stumbled across this one & picked it up because of the cutsey artwork. The characters are very well made, it is very funny, and the relationship aspect is very sweet. I wouldn't be into it if the main character acted 'girly' but he just has girly hobbies.. he is actually quite manly in the way he speaks and treats others.

I HIGHLY reccommend this manga to anyone looking for something funny with great characters. The artwork is just great too :)

Everyone knows that Asuka Masamune is the manliest man around. He's cool, good-looking, and expert at martial arts. Girls want him, guys want to be him. But what they don't know is that Asuka has a secret- underneath his masculine exterior, Asuka is a girly man who likes cooking, sewing, and shojo manga. He keeps his true self hidden to please his mother and to avoid criticism from his peers. But things get more complicated when Asuka falls for a tomboyish girl named Ryo who brings out his girlish side...

The plot is a little stereotypical, but somehow, these shojo cliches take on new life when the protagonist is a guy. There's something very funny and endearing about seeing Asuka comparing his own life to his favorite shojo manga.

The characters in this manga are good. Asuka is funny, awkward, and sweet. You almost can't help but like him. Juta, a boy who befriends Asuka, is a light-hearted playboy, but he's more serious than he seems. He gives Asuka helpful advice along the way. The least developed character was Ryo. She's has more masculine interests than Asuka, and she's oblivious to his feelings. She's a funny, sweet character, but she's not given enough scenes to really get any development. It gives me the feeling that Asuka may end up with someone else...

Despite some cliches, "Otomen" is a funny, cute manga about a guy who just wants to be himself. It's very entertaining, especially to those familiar with shojo manga who will pick up on the twisted cliches. Great for a light read.

Otomen is about Asuka, a cool, handsome high school student, who's been forced by his mum to do `manly' things all his life. At heart, he actually loves cute things, cooking, shojo manga etc, so he's always had to suppress his true nature. The story is about Asuka slowly coming to accept himself, trying to reconcile what seem to be conflicting interests.

Overall, the series is really light-hearted and fun. The characters are all well developed and likeable- especially Asuka, whose innocence and sincerity are really cute. The two other main characters are Ryo, a new girl who Asuka befriends and has a crush on, and Juta, an outgoing classmate who knows Asuka's secret.

I really enjoy reading this series. It always makes me laugh- somehow watching Asuka strive to accept himself is inspiring, moving and hilarious all at once. The storylines are sometimes a bit crazy and exaggerated but I think that's part of the series' charm. The artwork and characters are beautiful as well. As far as I'm concerned, everything just comes together and something about this series really works.

If you're looking for a shojo series that's light-hearted, fun and entertaining, I definitely recommend picking this up!

Part of Viz's "Shojo Beat" line of manga (Japanese comics) aimed at girls and women, volume 1 of Otomen introduces readers to an unlikely teenage trio. Asuka Masamune is a decidedly heterosexual guy who loves girly things, from sewing and knitting to making stuffed animals and reading girls' manga; he has a severe crush on Ryo Miyakozuka, a girl who can't sew or bake at all, and who likes guy things such as martial arts. Their mutual friend is a playboy who secretly uses them both as inspiration to create his own best-selling shojo manga! Trapped in a culture that values men who act manly, how can Asuka learn to accept his own "otomen" (i.e. guy who likes girl stuff) nature, when almost no one else will accept it - not even his own mother or Ryo's father? Otomen is a lighthearted romantic comedy with a serious underlying message - that it's okay to be secure in one's gender and sexuality without conforming absolutely to rigid gender roles. Highly recommended to shojo manga fans.

My friend got this for me for my birthday quite a few years ago. Now, I am awaiting the release of volume 12.
This is -not- a story for everyone. All, if not most, of the characters are exactly the opposite of how they appear (ex. a pretty girl who loves fighting and is very simple-minded, a manly guy who secretly likes to cook and sew), and do not develop fully in the first volume... depending on your opinion, they may not develop for the first -couple- volumes. This will get very irritating for impatient readers.
If you are willing to stick with it, though, the story gets very involved and interesting. The situations the characters get into from time to time are so crazy that you really do end up wondering how on earth they'll be able to get out of it this time.
One thing I noticed, which is not so much a complaint as an observation, is that the art changes very drastically after the first couple of volumes. In the first couple, the art is darkly lined and rather sketchy, like in another series written by the same author called "Blank Slate". After those the drawings become very light, simple and more shoujo-style.

It's not for everyone, but if you're one who likes this type of story, you will REALLY like this series.

Instead of all those manga where the girl has guy hobbies and wants to get a boyfriend, its the other way around! This guy has girlish hobbies! The story plot is so surprising and unpredicatable, and the art is great! I would reccomend this to anyone who absolutely loves a great story with a great purpose. When I first saw this book at the bookstore, i thought,"hmm the art looks intresting, but the books description doesnt sound exciting". So I put it down. That was a mistake. 3 weeks later the library got it, I read it and was hooked forever!
So to simple things up:
Unique book
Great art
Surprising story
AMAZING for ANYONE to read.

Seriously, I LOVE him.

OK, this manga is a bit slow to get started - if I hadn't known the plot, I would have been very confused about it. Luckily I read the synopsis a couple weeks ago, before buying the book. The artwork is very nice. As a woman I find the female character Ryo to be a bit weak - perhaps it's simply that she doesn't get enough screen time (so to speak), but I look forward to her future development. But Juta is a hilarious friend and character.

I have come back to edit this review after making it to Otomen v.8. I still love this manga, and what is important to know is that it's very wholesome indeed. Manga like "The Wallflower" or even "Hana Kimi" have a lot of drinking, sex jokes, stuff like that...whereas Otomen is very clean-cut, and only has a tiny bit of crossdressing which is always done to high comedic effect. I'd feel safe letting my 10YO read it.

I thought the biggest problem with Otomen was the characters. They were really underwritten to the point where they would literally come to terms with their fears or insecurities within two or three pages. I mean, great if a character can find it in themselves to change for the better, but it doesn't do much in the way of conflict or interesting storytelling (or believable characters).

The pacing is strange, it seems once Aya Kanno got what she wanted to do most with the characters out of the way (a love story, fighting bullies, potential blackmailers, that sort of thing), she didn't know where to take the story and so what happens for the next hundred pages feels like pure filler.

Also as a strange technical issue, it's sometimes difficult to tell when a character is actually speaking something or thinking it. This is because of the irregular use of transparent word balloons and opaque ones. In my (rather small) manga reading experience, the transparent balloons are used for internal dialogue and opaque for spoken dialogue. In Otomen, there is no set rule, and as a result, it becomes annoying to read.

That being said, the art is lovely. The character designs are bland, but attractive, and I'd like to see another, better developed, series from the author/artist in the future. Just not this one...

"Gasp!"

I'm actally happy about that since I'm not a fan of yaoi... but anyway onto the review!

I do not like to give any of the story but the basic plot is about a guy who likes to do things that are considered "girly" like "knitting, sewing, cooking,reading girly manga, and enjoying cute stuff animals!

I personnally love this story because its not yaoi, he doesn't want to be a girl, theres a chick who can't cook (yeah I'm not the only one), there are knitting scenes (yay! I love to knit), and well its diffrent.

That is book is Craft-friendly! I just wish knitting could be seen as an activity done by both genders...but that has noting to do with the manga.