5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well done. Well done, indeed, February 5, 2010
This review is from: Otomen, Vol. 5 (Paperback)
By now, I'm sure everyone is familiar with the story of Otomen. Asuka Masamune is a high school student, manliest of manly men on the outside and domestic dynamo on the inside. Returning this time around are Ryo Miyakozuka (his love interest), Juta Tachibana (womanizer, closet shojo manga artist, and Asuka's best friend), Kurokawa (new friend and flower enthusiast), and Hajime Tonomine (kendo rival and secret makeup artist).
In book 5, Aya Kanno really seems to have hit her stride. The first chapters deal heavily with Ryo who thus far has been thoroughly underused. It was nice to see her grow a bit of a personality. Ryo is chosen to represent the 2nd year class in Ideal-Con during the school festival. Ideal-Con is a contest to see which girl is the most feminine, the ideal girl. Unfortunately, Ryo doesn't know anything about cooking, tea ceremony, or flower arranging. Asuka volunteers to be her "assistant" for the competition. This is the story described on the back of the book.
The next chapter features Juta whom I love and have missed in the last few books. It was good to see him make a comeback and I loved the backstory. It seems that "Jewel Sachihana" (Juta's pen name) is winning an award for her manga. Wonderful news, except that "Jewel" is supposed to give a speech. Juta has kept his identity a secret because A) he based his manga on Asuka's life and B) he thinks his fans would be horrified to find out that "Jewel" is, as he puts it, "a frivolous womanizing ladies' man". Juta refuses to out himself and convinces one of his sisters to take his place. Problem solved, right? Well, of course not. This was easily my favorite story of the book. It was funny and reminded me of just how much I liked both Asuka and Juta. I hope Juta will show up more in the next book too. I've missed him.
The final chapter of the book brings Asuka and Hajime Tonomine back together. Back in volume 3 (I believe) the two of them were forced to team up for a beauty makeover and became "the Beauty Samurai". The video of their makeover is all over the internet and a magazine is after them to renew their characters. Asuka and Tonomine are reluctant but the promise of getting to do what they love AND remain anonymous is too wonderful for them to pass up. But when their popularity sky rockets people start wanting to unmask them. One person in particular has a curious interest in Asuka. This was another great chapter. There was humor, character development, and even a pleasant cliffhanger.
Volume 5 has once again confirmed my love for Asuka and all his friends. The art is great (as if that was in question) and this time the storytelling was good enough to match. Some of the plot twists might be a little cliche but they've been done well and I'm happily waiting until the next book comes out. This one definitely earned all five of its stars for me.
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