VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
MANGAKA: Mika Yamamori
TRANSLATION: JN Productions
LETTERS: Inori Fukuda Trant
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0667-9; paperback (July 2019); Rated “T” for “Teen”
200pp, B&W, $9.99 US, $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK
Daytime Shooting Star is a shojo manga from creator Mika Yamamori. The series was originally serialized in The Margaret, a Japanese manga magazine, from 2011 to 2014. VIZ Media is publishing an English-language edition of the manga as a graphic novel series, entitled Daytime Shooting Star.
Daytime Shooting Star, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 7) introduces 15-year-old Suzume Yosano, a girl who lives in a small rural town that does not have convenience stores, cafés, or traffic lights. When her parents suddenly announce that they are moving to Bangladesh, they also tell that Suzume that she will be moving to Tokyo to live with her uncle, Yukichi Kumamoto.
Not long after arriving in Tokyo, Suzume has a fainting spell. She is rescued by a odd young man, who turns out to have a surprising connection to her uncle and to her high school.
In some ways, the Daytime Shooting Star manga is a typical high school shojo manga. It is about a girl who falls in love, after all.
Daytime Shooting Star Graphic Novel Volume 1, however, strikes many odd and offbeat notes. I don't want to spoil anything just yet, but Suzume's new Tokyo home offers surprising relationships. Suzume even forces a taciturn boy to be her friend, and she also makes a “frenemy.” And there is a shocking confrontation.
Mika Yamamori's wide-open illustration style and pretty figure drawing (especially the nice-looking characters who have big eyes) are attractive on the page. As far as the art goes, Daytime Shooting Star reminds me of Io Sakisaka's Ao Haru Ride. As for the story, JN Productions throws down a tart translation that captures the narrative's edginess which bubbles beneath the surface. I think shojo fans will latch onto this series, especially for its potential to surprise.
8 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.
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