Eensy Weensy Monster and the Little Devil

I read Eensy Weensy Monster Volume 2

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE smart phone apps).

I Reads You Review: EENSY WEENSY MONSTER, VOL. 1

Creator: Masami Tsuda with Clint Bickham (English adaptation) and Noi Sasaki (translation)

Publishing Information: TOKYOPOP, B&W, paperback, 208 pages, $10.99 (US), $13.99 CAN

Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-4278-1651-1

Comedy/Romance; Rated “T” for “Older Teen 13+”

High school student Nanoha Satsuki is a plain Jane. She happily lives in the shadow of her two pals, blonde bombshell Nobara Ryuzaki and brilliant student Renge Mido. The one thing that irritates Nanoha is the new student, a guy named Hazuki Tokiwa. Known as “Prince,” Hazuki has a snobbish, arrogant demeanor that infuriates Nanoha. The little monster that lives in all of us lives in Nanoha, and it wants her to attack Hazuki.

In Eensy Weensy Monster, Vol. 1, Nanoha unleashes a mini-tirade at Hazuki, and it makes him a changed man. Now, the Prince just wants to be pals with Nanoha. Maybe Nanoha’s tantrum also made her a changed young woman, but Prince’s many admirers don’t like change and plan on doing something about it.

Eensy Weensy Monster is strange, not in its concept. After all, this is the umpteenth shojo manga about boy and girl high school students who despise each other before falling in and out and in and out of love. What is strange is how interior this story is. So much of the narrative and dialogue happens behind Nanoha and Hazuki’s expressive eyes. Creator Masami Tsuda presents a surprising reading experience in which the reader is constantly sharing the leads’ innermost thoughts. Quite frankly, it is a delight to see how close Nanoha and Hazuki are to each other, yet also how far apart they are.

I would say that this intimate look at the leads, however, comes at the expense of a supporting cast with a lot of potential. Hopefully, we get more of them, but in the meantime, shojo fans should try this beautifully drawn comic drama of the minds.

A-