Customer Reviews

Otomen, Vol. 2

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

 

 

The irony continues to pile on as Asuka Masamune continues his reign as macho man on campus even as he secretly longs for all things cute and girly. He's even picked up a disciple, Yamato Ariake, a young boy who is constantly misaken for a girl, and has been teased about it ever since he was a kid. Ariake sees Asuka as the masculine ideal and sets out to be just like him. Of course, the reader knows that Asuka is anything but the embodiment of manly men. Ariake also wants to man up so he can confess to a girl that has stolen his heart. The relationship between Asuka and Ryo appears to be taking a romantic turn as Christmas approaches, but Asuka's mom, ever watchful for even the slightest bent towards transsexualism, arrives on the scene and tells Asuka that he has a meeting with his FIANCEE! And just wait till you see the wacko his mom has set him up with in an effort to save him from his father's fate and also to cement a business alliance.

I will say this about Otomen. The series is hilarious. Most of the humor in this volume, and a lot of weirdness, concerns Asuka's fiancee, Iruka Sakiyama. She is like the Messiah of Cuteness and Asuka finds himself hard pressed to reject her interest. She actually lives in a life sized magic castle dollhouse in her vast room inside her family's mansion. And she sees Asuka as her Prince Charming.

Kanno uses Otomen to parody shojo manga, actually gently poke fun at its conventions would be a more accurate description. Until you got to the Iruka section, Otomen has been pretty realistic without using many over the top elements. Kanno's main device of comedy has been the irony of Asuka's character and she has done very well with it. She is still using it, but she's coming up with more interesting situations to exploit it. I really like Otomen. It has been the biggest Shojo Beat surprise I've gotten this year.

I really can't get into this girl. She seems much more a minor supporting character. The main focus of the Otomen books (and I say this after reading the first three available) seems to focus primarily on Asuka's otomen-ness (which it should) and secondarily on Juta's interactions with Asuka. Which is great, because Juta is such a funny character. But the relationship between Asuka & Ryo is not good at all; she's so bland, although nice, that I just keep wanting to flip ahead to the Juta-Asuka parts.

Also for some reason I can't seem to remember Asuka's name. I just had to go back and check. I keep thinking it's Asoka or Anuschka or something. Perhaps it isn't mentioned enough in the book. I've read all three books three or four times since I got them and it just doesn't stick in my head.

However, this is a really funny series if you're focusing on the Juta-Asuka stuff and I do recommend it for that.

great illustrations and a great story,i love her work. not quite as good as vol 1 but still a great series with beautiful drawings, worth collecting.

With the second book comes the introduction of an apprentice for Asuka, Asuka's mom, and Asuka's fiance.

Asuka's apprentice is a very cute boy that has always been mistaken for a girl. He is saved by Asuka and decides to emulate the very masculine (or so it seems) Asuka.

Also...

Asuka's mom returns from her work to prove that Asuka really is manly. She does this by setting him up with a girl from a very wealthy family, Iruka. When Iruka plans an impromtu wedding, Asuka is the one needing to be saved. Guess who comes to the rescue? Read and find out!

It's unusual for me to dislike a manga, but the high expectations I had for Otomen 2 were not met. I really was expecting something better because the first one was quite good.