#IReadsYou Review: LOVE ME, LOVE ME NOT Volume 1

LOVE ME, LOVE ME NOT, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Io Sakisaka
TRANSLATION: JN Productions
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Nancy Thislethwaite
LETTERS: Sara Linsley
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1309-7; paperback (March 2020); Rated “T” for “Teen”
200pp, B&W, $9.99 US, $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Love Me, Love Me Not is a shōjo manga written and illustrated by Io Sakisaka, the creator of such manga as Strobe Edge and Ao Haru Ride.  Love Me, Love Me Not was serialized in the Japanese manga magazine, Bessatsu Margaret, from 2015 to 2019.  VIZ Media is publishing an English-language edition of Love Me, Love Me Not as a series of graphic novels.

Love Me, Love Me Not, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 4) opens the spring before Yuna Ichihara enters her first year of high school.  She is pained that her best friend, Satchan, is moving away.  On her way to the train station to say good-bye to her, Yuna meets a strange girl about her age, and the girl asks Yuna for money.  The girl, Akari Yamamoto, promises to pay Yuna the following day, which she does.  When they leave the train station, however, they discover that they live in the same apartment building.

The girls instantly become friends, but discover that they explore and look at love in completely different ways.  Yuna is an idealist, and Akari is a realist.  Throw in Yuna's childhood friend, Kazuomi Inui, and Akari's brother, Rio, and this becomes a complicated case of love and friendship.

The Love Me, Love Me Not manga is like creator Io Sakisaka's other manga.  Sakisaka's shojo romances are sweet confections... on the surface, but bite enough times and you, dear readers, will find a pungent or tart side.

Love Me, Love Me Not Graphic Novel Volume 1 offers so much of Sakisaka's lovely, ethereal art.  It looks like a film shot through greased lens.  The heart of the story is a bit more solid.  Yuna and Akari are teen girls in a state of growth and change, and as they navigate their first year of high schools, their thoughts and feelings don't fit simple descriptions like “idealist” (Yuna) and “realist” (Akari).  The “tart” or edgy elements arrive at the end of this first volume.

JN Productions (translation) and Nancy Thislethwaite (English adaptation) do excellent work capturing the nuances of this story.  While reading Vol. 1, readers will find that Yuna, Akari, Inui, and Rio are four distinct personalities, and, as these characters are endearing, they will want to meet again.  Also, Sara Linsley strikes the perfect tone with her lettering... especially for that killer ending.

8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.


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Review AO HARU RIDE Volume 1

AO HARU RIDE, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Io Sakisaka
TRANSLATION: Emi Louie-Nishikawa
LETTERS: Inori Fukuda Trant
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0265-7; paperback (October 2018); Rated “T” for “Teen”
184pp, B&W, $9.99 US, $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Ao Haru Ride (also known as Blue Spring Ride) is a shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Io Sakisaka.  The series was serialized in the Japanese manga magazine, Margaret, from February 2011 to February 2015.  VIZ Media is publishing this manga in English as a series of graphic novels, entitled Ao Haru Ride, available in both print and digital editions.

Ao Haru Ride, Vol. 1 (“Unwritten” and Chapters 1 to 3) introduces Futaba Yoshioka, a middle school girl who cannot stand boys.  That is the case until she meets Kou Tanaka, and she is immediately smitten with him.  Kou moves away before Futuba can really express her feelings.  Now, she is in high school, and she sees a boy who looks like Kou.  But is he the same boy in which she fell in love?

Shojo readers will recognize the illustrative style of the Ao Haru Ride manga.  Creator Io Sakisaka also produced the manga, Strobe Edge, which VIZ Media also published in English as a series of graphic novels.

Ao Haru Ride Graphic Novel Volume 1 is a little different from Strobe Edge.  The main characters, Futuba and Kou, are introduced in a short story, entitled “Unwritten,” which, as a read, is as sweet and as comforting as a cup of warm cocoa.

The main story, which is set in high school and covers three chapters in this volume, is decidedly different.  It is a little edgy and is certainly tart, as Sakisaka deals with such themes and topics as friendship, yearning for the way things were, fake friends, and being true to oneself.  After really liking “Unwritten,” I found myself initially put off by the present day narrative.  It may take awhile for me to truly warm up to this, but I like that the characters are stubborn about being true even if its means being standoffish.  I am curious to read future volumes.

7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint syndication rights and fees.

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Manga Review: STROBE EDGE Volume 10

 

STROBE EDGE, VOL. 10
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Io Sakisaka
TRANSLATION: JN Productions
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Ysabet MacFarlane
LETTERS: John Hunt
ISBN: 978-1-4215-6448-7; paperback (May 2014); Rated “T” for “Teen”
184pp, B&W, $9.99 US, $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Strobe Edge is a shojo manga (comics for teen girls) from Io Sakisaka (the creator of Ao Haru Ride).  VIZ Media sent me a copy of Strobe Edge Volume 2 for review in late 2012, which was my first experience with the series.  Now, with the release of tenth volume, the series’ North American publication comes to an end.  I can say that in terms of graphic style and tone, Strobe Edge never changed.

Strobe Edge focuses on Ninako Kinoshita, a 16-year-old who falls crazy in love with fellow high school student, Ren Ichinose.  Just before summer vacation begins, Ninako first tells Ren how she feels about him, and that begins a complicated romance.  Things get even more complicated, but Ren changes Ninako’s world.

As Strobe Edge, Vol. 10 (Chapters 35-36 – the Final Chapter) begins, Ren wants answers from Ninako.  She’s not ready to give them.  Now, she fears that Ren is out of her life.  Is that what she wants?  That can’t be what she wants.  Takumi Ando, a boy who also loves Ninako, decides that now is the time to make his move.

[This volume includes a side story, “Strobe Edge ˜Manabu Miyoshi˜;” a “Strobe Edge Bonus Chapter;” and a bonus story.]

The North American version of the Strobe Edge manga comes to an end.  It is a typical high school shojo romantic manga, and Strobe Edge Volume 10 offers a typical happy shojo ending.  Creator Io Sakisaka ties up loose ends, but she offers a lot of extras for readers as she ends the story.  I am guessing that I am as satisfied with the resolution as anyone who has followed this series since the beginning.

Strobe Edge takes the easy way out to satisfy readers, but the lead characters go through enough, even in the end, to make readers earn that sweet happy ending.  I think that fans of Shojo Beat high school romance will want to try the Shojo Beat title, Strobe Edge.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Strobe Edge: Ren is Ready

I read Strobe Edge, Vol. 9

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

Strobe Edge: Ninako the Cheerleader?

I read Strobe Edge, Vol. 8

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free smart phone apps and comics).

Strobe Edge: The "Just Friends" School Trip

I read Strobe Edge, Vol. 7

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

Strobe Edge: I Want Jessie's Girl

I read Strobe Edge, Vol. 6

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which has free smart phone apps and comics (or buy comics here.)

Strobe Edge: ...but you say he's just a friend

I read Strobe Edge, Vol. 5

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free comics).

Review: STROBE EDGE Volume 2

STROBE EDGE, VOL. 2
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Io Sakisaka
TRANSLATION: JN Productions
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Ysabet MacFarlane
LETTERS: John Hunt
ISBN: 978-1-4215-5069-5; paperback; Rated “T” for “Teen”
200pp, B&W, $9.99 US, $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Strobe Beat is a shojo manga from creator Io Sakisaka. Its premise asks, what if the guy that the heroine falls in love with is not available? That heroine is 16-year-old Ninako Kinoshita; the guy is Ren Ichinose. Just before summer vacation, Ninako tells Ren how she feels about him. But he turns her down...

As Strobe Beat, Vol. 2 begins, summer vacation is over and Ninako is ready to see Ren again. She hopes that she can still be friends with him. Will their first meeting since he rejected her at the train station be awkward? As if she didn’t have enough on her mind, there is a new boy, Takumi Ando, who keeps getting under her skin and in her way.

Ando isn’t the only new thing in Ninako’s school life. She meets the Rejected Alliance and also Ren’s girlfriend, Mayuka Korenaga! Plus, the bonus story, “Strobe Edge ~Another Light~” tells the story of how Mayuka and Ren met.

The Strobe Edge manga has some beautiful art, like so many Shojo Beat series. Graphically and visually, it reminds me of Miki Aihara’s shojo series, Honey Hunt. Like Honey Hunt, Strobe Edge has mean girls and impolite boys. This series is driven by the conflict within Ninako Kinoshita: how can she remain friends with Ren without bringing up the fact that she still loves him. Her obstacles are that she gets in her way and that the other students also make things difficult or awkward between Ninako and Ren.

Well, I’m a sucker for Shojo Beat teen romance, so perhaps, dear reader, you can take whatever I say with a grain of salt. I do think that this series must do something to stand out from the pack. Still, I look forward to the inevitable you-took-my-man confrontation between Ninako and Mayuka Korenaga.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux