Manga Mondays: Boys Over Flowers Vol. 4

Just a quick note: I'm attending my last day of the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago and will be on vacation when this review posts. I may not or may not have internet access during vacation, but I will play catch-up with your blogs and comments when I get back. 

 Manga Mondays is a meme hosted by Alison at Alison Can Read where bloggers can share their passion for reading mangas. It's a great place to get new manga titles to try and to meet new bloggers. The Boys over Flowers manga series has been highly recommended to readers who would like to read a manga that falls in the romantic comedy genre. This series has been a bestselling manga series and is extremely successful with many TV adaptations in Japan as well as in Korea.

Description: Tsukushi realizes that she would have Rui to herself if Shizuka left for France as planned, but she doesn't want to be like the other scheming girls at her school. So she begs Shizuka to stay in Japan for Rui's sake. Domyoji asks Tsukushi for a date at the airport that Shizuka is leaving from, but his sweet words are drowned out by the sound of jets passing by.

Review: As I mentioned in my earlier reviews of this manga series, Boys Over Flowers walks the line between serious and silly. Though it is marketed as a romantic comedy, it does give you food for thought in regards as how cruel we treat one another. 
  Volume 4 picks up right where we left off in volume 3 where Shizuka has made a huge announcement of leaving Japan in pursuit of a modeling career in France and demonstrated how serious she is by chopping off her gorgeous hair in front of a crowd. While her news may not be as much of a shock to us as readers, it opens a big opportunity for our heroine, Tsukushi, who has a huge crush on Rui. Rui hasn't given much attention to Tsukushi because he has been openly shown his interest in Shizuka ever since they were young children. One has to wonder if Shizuka's sudden movement to an entirely different continent is due to Rui's ardent affection for her. Shizuka obviously has feelings for Rui but more in a fraternal kind of way, which is of course what any guy does not want to hear. 
  I really like Shizuka as she doesn't fit into the caricature of a popular, rich, mean girl. She treats Tsukushi very kindly, which is why Tsukushi feels a bit guilty about feeling happy that Shizuka will no longer be competing with her to get Rui. Unlike Shizuka, I couldn't really get a good read on Rui as his personality is a bit standoffish. He is obviously hurt by Shizuka's sudden departure since she is really the only person he truly opened up to.
  What I found to be very interesting is Doyoji's quiet transformation from a rich, dumb, bully to a person who is insecure, vulnerable, and maybe a little bit likable. Though I hate how harshly he treats Tsukushi in the previous volumes, he does have some good moments that make me hesitate in completely writing him off as evil. Unbeknownst to Tsukushi, she does have a big influence on Doyoji's growth as Doyoji tries to understand her in order to win her affections. 

  I have a feeling that the love triangle? rectangle? is only to get messier and a whole lot of drama is going to come our way as the series continues. Normally, I would get annoyed by all of this, but I think this is what makes Boys Over Flowers an enjoyable read. 

  Some of you have asked about the artwork in this manga series. Though it is not the best that I've seen, it does improve with each volume. Doyoji's "Christian Slater hair" (the writer has a big thing for the actor) gets less annoying though I still can't really see the resemblance. There is more concentration of what the characters wear which is an indication of their social status.  

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is some language and sexual innuendo in this volume. Recommended for teens and up.

If you like this book try: Boys Over Flowers Vol. 4 by Yoko Kamio, Ouran High School Host Club by Bistco Hatori, Kodocha by Miho Obana, Kare Kano: His and Her Circumstances by Masami Tsuda

Manga Monday: Boys Over Flowers Vol. 3

   Manga Mondays is a meme hosted by Alison at Alison Can Read where bloggers can share their passion for reading mangas. It's a great place to get new manga titles to try and to meet new bloggers. The Boys over Flowers manga series totes the line between silly and seriousness and this third volume is a perfect example.


Description: Romantic complications occur when Kazuya, furious about the kiss between Domyoji and Tsukushi, challenges Domyoji to a squid fishing competition. Domyoji starts spreading rumors that Tsukushi is in love with him. When he discovers she's in love with Rui, he goes on a rampage - a rampage that turns into an attack on Tsukushi.

Review: While Boys over Flowers is written as your typical shojo manga, it does address some important social issues such as class conflict and bullying. The comedic moments might seem to allow the underlying serious issues to go undetected, but in my opinion it helps to make them standout much clearer.
  Volume 3 picks up exactly where the last volume ended. Tsukushi realizes that the mysterious stranger she kissed on the cruise ship turns out to be Domyoji and not Rui like she hoped. Tsukushi is shocked, humiliated, and heart broken since she clearly has eyes only for Rui. Meanwhile Rui is sending Tsukushi mixed signals and also tries to persuade his longtime best friend, Shizuka, to be with him. The romantic tangles get even more confusing when Domyoji seems to be falling for Tsukushi though he admits he is only having fun teasing her though there is a softness in his eyes whenever he sees Tsukushi.
  I'm not really on any teams regarding Domyoji or Rui. Domyoji has clearly anger management issues. He goes on a tyrant when he finds out that Tsukushi has a crush on Rui. He picks on a random boy to bully and to assault. He even goes so far that attempts to sexually assault Tsukushi but realizes he is making a mistake and stops. It's important to note that many readers felt uncomfortable with this scene. I did too at first, but I did read about this aspect in articles written by manga experts. Almost all of them point out that this technique is commonly used in shojo mangas and point out that the almost assault is to show sexual intimidation. What I find interesting is that another form of assault occurs later in the volume when Tsukushi fights a man who is pushing a girl to have sex with him. Perhaps this incident is make us aware that both Tsukushi and Domyoji have violent tendencies and nothing more.
  Unlike Domyoji who has aspects we can pinpoint and not like, Rui is much harder to figure out. He is the quietest out of the F4 bunch and he has lots of calm moments shared with Tsukushi. His feelings for Shizuka is very clear and I don't see him stringing Tsukushi along. I'm curious to see how his character develops.
  Boys over Flowers has a lot of things happening plotwise and I'm sure it will focus more on characters once the overall story arc is established. I'm not a fun of the manga's illustration as they seem much more cartoony to me than regular mangas. I do plan on either watching the anime or the drama series based on the manga once I finish it.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There are incidents of bullying, attempted sexual assault, sexual situations, language, and underage drinking. Recommended for teens and up.

If you like this book try: Boys Over Flowers Vol. 4 by Yoko Kamio, Ouran High School Host Club by Bistco Hatori, Kodocha by Miho Obana, Kare Kano: His and Her Circumstances by Masami Tsuda

Manga Mondays: Boys Over Flowers Vol. 2

 Manga Mondays is a meme hosted by Alison at Alison Can Read where bloggers can share their passion for reading mangas. It's a great place to get new manga titles to try and to meet new bloggers. Normally I get manga recommendations from friends or what's been popular in libraries. I stumbled upon Boys Over Flowers when I was listening to segment on NPR called "You Must Read This". This short piece caught my attention and I had to find out why it was so strongly recommended. Boys Over Flowers is one of the best selling shojo manga series of all time in Japan and it has been adapted into dramas and animes in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. Thankfully, the series is now complete so I don't have to wait to see how it ends!

Description (from the book's panel): Tsukushi continues to fight back against the F4 and protect an old friend who has also been given the infamous "red flag." Rui's old flame returns from France. Can Tsukushi really compete with this "perfect girl"? Meanwhile Tsukushi's resistance to the F4 seems like it might actually work.

Review: In the second volume of Boys over Flowers, the relationship triangle that will move this series forward is starting to quickly take form. Tsukushi has developed a crush on Rui, the quiet and most unlike of the stuck-up and hormone-driven of the F4 group who has saved her from humiliation more than once. I like Rui so far. He really reminds me of Jordan Catalano from My So-Called Life, the misunderstood slacker who has so many mysteries behind his gorgeous eyes. Like our heroine, I want to know more about him.
  Under the pretense that Rui would attend a party, Tsukushi allows herself to get excited to attend a party hosted by the richest kids of her school, but soon she realizes that she was only invited to serve as live entertainment as the mean girls publicly belittle her and dump champagne over her head. Instead of running away crying, Tskushi holds her ground and fights back with her words and calls out on the mean girls snarky  and earns our support more than ever.
  Interesting developments happen the next day where Tsukushi finds out that Rui is in love Shizuka, his childhood best friend who has become an extremely popular model that is returning to Japan after a photo shoot in France. Tsukushi is very much aware that can not compete with Shizuka's beauty, popularity, nor social status yet a small part of her hopes that Rui feels something toward her. It's pretty evident that Shizuka only loves Rui as a brother, but maybe it's just me having wishful thinking as I think Tsukushi and Rui would make a great couple.
   Things get more dicey as we find out that Domyoji starts to have feelings toward Tsukushi. He is completely confused and fascinated by her as she is the first girl who calls him out on being a jerk. He tries to win her over by changing his appearance such as straightening his curly hair thinking Tsukushi would see him differently. I'm sure there is more to Domyoji's character than being a clueless jerk. You do see glimpses of her vulnerability and he clearly uses his anger as a defense mechanism. He definitely has a hot temper that gets him in trouble especially when it involves Tsukushi. For example, Domyoji gets jealous and angry at anyone (particularly if it's a boy) who gets close to Tsukushi. He blindly hands out a red slip to the new boy in school. That new boy is actually Kazuya, an old optimistic, yet clueless childhood buddy of Tsukushi who harbors a crush on her. He even has a huge fight with Rui when Rui refuses to join in the bullying. 
   The volume ends on a very interesting incident as Domyoji over hears Tsukushi's Spring Break plan of meeting up with Kazuya at Atami and decides to vacation there as well. Needless to say Tsukushi and Razuya are less than thrilled when they notices Domyoji and the F4 clan. Tsukushi is stunned when Shizuka offers her to join their party and realizes that she really is genuinely nice to let Tsukushi borrow her clothes and help her get dressed up. Suddenly an announcement is made that the lights will be off and everyone needs to choose a person to kiss. The person who kisses Tsukushi is who we do not expect! I'm really curious to see what Tsukushi's reaction will be in the next volume.


Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is some language in this volume. Recommended for teens and up.

If you like this book try: Boys Over Flowers Vol. 3 by Yoko Kamio, Ouran High School Host Club by Bistco Hatori, Kodocha by Miho Obana, Kare Kano: His and Her Circumstances by Masami Tsuda

Manga Mondays: Boys Over Flowers Vol. 1

 Manga Mondays is a meme hosted by Alison at Alison Can Read where bloggers can share their passion for reading mangas. It's a great place to get new manga titles to try and to meet new bloggers. Normally I get manga recommendations from friends or what's been popular in libraries. I stumbled upon Boys Over Flowers when I was listening to segment on NPR called "You Must Read This". This short piece caught my attention and I had to find out why it was so strongly recommended. Boys Over Flowers is one of the best selling shojo manga series of all time in Japan and it has been adapted into dramas and animes in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. Thankfully, the series is now complete so I don't have to wait to see how it ends!


Description: When her only friend, Makiko, accidentally offends F4 leader Tsukasa, Tsukushi boldly defends her. Enraged, Tsukushi puts the dreaded red tag in Tsukushi's locker -- a sign that she is now a target for the abuse of the F4 and the entire school. But when Tsukushi fights the gang with their own weapon, Tsukasa finds himself falling for her!


Review: Tsukushi Makino, our heroine and the protagonist of Boys Over Flowers, is a scholarship and transfer student in one of the most expensive and private schools. On her first day of school, her friend Makiko accidentally offends one of the F4, the clique that rules her private, super-rich high school. Shocked and furious that no one would come to her friend's aid, Tsukushi comes forward and protects her friend. Little did she know that her act of bravery has set off a taboo in her school. You see you don't mess with the F4 at any cost otherwise your life will become hell.
  The next day the F4 had Tsukushi a red flag, a symbol that she is to be bullied by everyone in the school. She is ostracized by her schoolmates and subjected to increasing abuse—her desk is stolen, an egg is thrown in her face, and someone writes that she had a pair of abortions on the school blackboard. Instead of backing down and crying, Tsukushi fights back with her fist, flyswatter and foot.
  As you can see bullying and an insight of the clash of social classes create the foundation to this series. The F4 stands for "Flowery Four," (which sounds stupid and weird but I'm sure will make sense as I continue this series). The members of the F4 are all rich and good-looking, dress like supermodels, and strut around the school like they own the place. They have an aura that is both attractive and repellent, the pull of which both Tsukushi and the reader feel. The F4's leader is the creepy Tsukasa Domyoji, who wears pseudo-dreds and is constantly mixing up his phrases. Domyoji is suppose to look like Christian Slater the mangaka's celebrity crush (I don't get it) but he reminds of me of a young Jordan Knight from New Kids on the Block. Tsukushi has a strange affect on Domyoji in that she constantly challenges him regardless of how poorly he treats her. It's really no surprise when this volume ends to find out that he harbors a secret crush on her. Thankfully, Tsukushi doesn't reciprocate it and sets her sights on someone else. Part soap opera, part social commentary, and a promise of complex characters, Boys Over Flowers is a manga series that I'm curious to follow.

Rating: 4 stars


Words of Caution: There are scenes of bullying including a sexual assault attempt and some language. Recommended for teens and up.

If you like this book try: Ouran High School Host Club by Bistco Hatori, Kodocha by Miho Obana,
Kare Kano: His and Her Circumstances by Masami Tsuda