Sugar Sugar Rune 1 [Paperback]

Moyoco Anno (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 27, 2005 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Sugar Sugar Rune (Book 1)

QUEEN OF HEARTS

Little witch-girls Chocolat and Vanilla are best friends, but only one of them can be Queen of the Magic World. To determine who deserves the title, they must go to the Human World and enter a strange competition. Whoever attracts the most human boys . . . wins!

Here’s how it works: When a boy falls for a witch-girl, she utters a few mystic words and the boy’s heart will be hers in jewel-like form. It may sound simple, but winning hearts is tricky business. While Chocolat had no problem enticing witch-boys with her forthright personality, human boys seem to be drawn to shy and modest girls like Vanilla. And to make matters worse, Chocolat is finding herself increasingly drawn to the cool and mysterious Pierre–who feels nothing for her! The girls had planned to be best friends forever, but both of them want to be Queen. Will their rivalry ruin their friendship?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Following in the witch-girl subgenre, this manga is the story of Vanilla and Chocolat, two best friends competing to be Queen of the Magic World. They go to earth to see who can attract more boys and capture their hearts as jewels of different colors. If your teeth aren't aching yet, then you may be the target audience for this book. At first, Chocolat's too brusque and Vanilla's too shy, but the outgoing one quickly learns that human boys prefer a demure, suggestible girl, always thanking people and apologizing, so Vanilla gathers hearts more easily. Chocolat, meanwhile, may be falling in love with an older student called the Ice Prince, but if magical girls fall in love, they could die. The leads' huge eyes and hair makes them look all of their 10 years old, which contrasts oddly with the beautiful boys hanging around them and the strange, cynical views of emotions and manipulation. This attempt at a modern fairy tale is trying too hard, especially with the message that quiet girls make more friends.
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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (September 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345486293
• ISBN-13: 978-0345486295
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #824,377 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read between the lines, August 17, 2006

By 

M. Levitan (Chappaqua, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sugar Sugar Rune 1 (Paperback)

I personally love this manga, and I don't think that it tells girls to be quiet and demure to get boys. Yes, initially the shy and delicate girl gets all of the boys. But she's not the heroine of the story, and if you read more than a few chapters you see that she's much more likeable. Unlike her manipulative, paassive-agressive friend Vanilla, Chocolat is brave and loyal. Yes, she has trouble in Japan because that's not what they expect in girls, but over time she starts to become more popular. Since Moyoco Anno is known for her satire I wonder if perhaps making the outspoken girl the heroine is a way of criticizing society's ideals that say women should be meek and cute.

A lot of people seem to look at this and immediately write it off as a drippy romance with sparkles and flowers. It is about romance, but there's so much more. Yes they're having a competition to steal hearts, and maybe it does sound vaguely like a wierd cross between Pokemon and Sailor Moon, but at the heart of it all Sugar Sugar Rune is about love, friendship, loyalty, and discovering one's own place in the world. From Chocolat's quest to learn about her mother to Vanilla's self-identity crisis, each character has a problem they need to work past and Moyoco Anno handles their problems with humor and sympathy. Maybe I'm being too serious about this comic, but it just pains me to see people write off a great manga series just because they can't get past the surface.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cotton candy, pickle chaser, January 17, 2006

By 

JennyN - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sugar Sugar Rune 1 (Paperback)

At first sight, SUGAR SUGAR RUNE looks like nothing more than its title implies: a collection of the lightest, fluffiest, most nauseatingly saccharine clichés in the shoujo manga genre, prettily presented in artwork featuring the usual huge eyes and floating stars and sparkles. Two young "magical girls" (witches, in this case), one sweet and passive, the other tough and forthright? Check. Friends, but competing against each other to become queen of the magic world? Check. Oh, and the contest involves - literally - capturing the hearts of young human boys, so cue sentimental mushiness and romantic misunderstandings: what else did you expect? However, when the author/artist concerned is Moyoco Anno, who also created the satirical sex comedy HAPPY MANIA, it's worthwhile taking a closer look.

To begin with, it does seem as if Anno's simply reinforcing some of the most traditional Japanese stereotypes about the proper behaviour for young girls: quiet, shy Vanilla has no difficulty capturing hearts at their new human school, while Chocolat's aggressive bluntness scares both girls and boys. As the story unfolds, however (and with the help of some wise advice from Vanilla's mother, the reigning queen) they realise that they have to both stay true to themselves and to change: Chocolat needs to become more sensitive to others, Vanilla has to grow a spine. They begin to question the terms of the contest, too: what good is a boy's heart glowing with love if he loses all feeling for you the moment a spell has captured it? In any case, what kind of world demands that its inhabitants take others' hearts, but never surrender their own? Behind all the pink-sugar-candy flourishes and jokes about the Magical Artifacts Mail-Order Catalogue, Anno seems to be setting up something with rather more substance than usual for the pre- to early-teen crowd. Meantime, thanks to Del Rey's usual impeccable presentation and generally smooth translation, the rest of us can enjoy an agreeable diversion as well.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Manga, July 2, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Sugar Sugar Rune 1 (Paperback)

I love this manga so much. It gives girls the power they diserve. This time WE get to break mens' hearts.

I don't care what you others say, you are just being sexist.

The lovely artwork is well done, as most of you can see. And the main story is perfect; just enough details, just enough exitement.

This manga reminds me so much of Sailor Moon, so that's another reason why I like it.

I love the way she makes every-single character have a personality and side of the story. The book is almost flawless, so I don't know what you picky people were reading, but it was NOT Sugar Sugar Rune.

If you are against Witch Craft, Magic, or cuteness, then don't buy the book!