Mega Manga Challenge (10): Peach Girl, vol.2 by Miwa Ueda

Title: Peach Girl 
Author: Miwa Ueda
Demographic: Shojo
Series: Peach Girl #2
Format: Manga
Pages: 184
Genre: School Life, Romance
Publication Date: December 7th, 2004
Publisher: TokyoPop
Rating: C

Summary:
From Goodreads: The dastardly Sae has gone too far! First she sabotaged Momo's blossoming relationship with Toji, now she's trying to embarrass Momo in front of the school at the swim meet. Can anyone help Momo? Well, "Wiley" Kiley seems eager to help, but can Momo trust that he's really looking out for her best interests, and not just trying to get into her pants? And poor Toji-will he ever see through Sae's veil of lies and be able to trust Momo? The Peach Girl soap opera gets is about to get a little meaner in volume 3 of Miwa Ueda's high school drama.

Why did I read this book? For the Mega Manga Challenge!

Source: Bought

My Review
In my review of volume one I said I shouldn't like this manga like I did because of all the annoying high school drama it portrayed. In this volume, I think it annoyed me even more. Momo and her boyfriend Toji are constantly believing what other people (mainly Sae) say about each other and never just talk to each other. I guess that's part of the plot, that Sae is constantly manipulating everyone, but everyone's common sense is sacrificed in return for that drama. It came to the point of being unbelievable. In fact, I think the only one who knows what Sae is doing is Momo, but since everyone else listens to Sae, she looks like the idiot.

Rating: C
This volume had a lot more drama and a lot less of the humor that volume one had. Sae is controlling everything and it's fustrating to see how all the characters can be so influenced by her. I want Momo to just dump Toji and get on with her life if he's going to constantly listen to Sae over her, or I want Momo to just get Sae to back off. I hope these things happen in the next volumes because I don't know if I will continue reading the series if it's all silly drama like this. I would recommend this only if you seriously enjoy high school drama.

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Mega Manga Challenge (8): Peach Girl, vol.1 by Miwa Ueda

Title: Peach Girl
Author: Miwa Ueda
Demographic: Shojo
Series: Peach Girl #1
Format: Manga
Pages: 184
Genre: School Life, Romance
Publication Date: Januaryy 1st, 2000
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: C+

Summary:
From Goodreads: It's not easy being beautiful. The envy, the jealousy, the vicious rumors spread by your best friend. That's life for young Momo. While everyone thinks that Momo is a wild party girl, the reality is that she is shy and honest. Can Momo confess her love to her classmate Toji, or will her best friend Sae steal him away. It's a bittersweet drama of growing up and fitting in that will charm girls everywhere.

Why did I read this book? I found all 8 volumes on sale at my local comic book store so I snatched them up! I always wanted to read this manga.

Source: Bought

My Review
I really think I shouldn't like this manga as much as I did because it containa a lot of things I find very annoying, usually. Firstly, this manga deals with one girl's (Momo) struggle to accept herself when she's not considered traditionally beautiful. That's an okay start, but Momo is really concerned about what boys think, in particular, Toji, her crush. I wanted her to be less obsessed about what he thinks and what her schoolmates think. I also thought Momo let's Sae (her friend turned rival) control and push her around too much to the point where Momo believes everything Sae says and it really creates a lot of drama. Momo's pegged as a slut by her schoolmates because she has skin that easily tans in the sun and so she's darker than most other girls. I liked how Momo stood up for herself, saying that just because she dresses or looks a certain way it doesn't make her a slut.

I hope that in future volumes Momo learns to accept herself, but not only that, for there to be less emphasis on being or looking a certain way in order for boys to like you.

Rating: C+
Overall I was really into the story despite my many misgivings with how some of the characters act. I think the artwork is beautiful and I also thought that Momo is a good heroine to root for. She stands up for herself yet she struggles with what other people think of her a little too much. I would recommend this for people interested in a quirky school life drama, but beware you might be annoyed by some of the obsession with being liked by boys despite who you are.

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Mega Manga Challenge (3): Arisa, vol. 1 by Natsumi Ando

Title: Arisa
Author: Natsumi Ando
Series: Arisa vol. 1
Demographic: Shojo
Format: Manga
Pages: 208
Genre: School Life, Mystery
Publication Date: October 26th, 2011
Publisher: Del Rey
Rating: B+



Summary:
From Goodreads: Tsubasa thinks that her pretty and popular twin sister, Arisa, has the perfect life. Everyone at school loves Arisa—unlike the hot-tempered Tsubasa, whose nickname is “the Demon Princess.” But when Arisa attempts suicide, Tsubasa learns that her seemingly perfect sister has been keeping some dark secrets. Now Tsubasa is going undercover at school—disguised as Arisa—in search of the truth. But will Arisa’s secrets shatter Tsubasa’s life, too?

Why did I read this book? I thought the art look really good and I wanted a school life/shojo manga to read! Shojo isn't my favorite demographic but I definitely like to get a small fix. :)

My Review

I discovered this manga some time ago before the release date and locked it in my brain because I had a long time to wait until the release date. Then I remembered it a few weeks ago while I was at the bookstore and they happened to have volume 1 (bookstores never have volume 1s)! I snatched it up for my Mega Manga Challenge.

What drew me to this story is the wonderful artwork, but also the "switch" story. Tsubasa trades places with her twin sister Arisa after reuniting with her and finding out her life isn't as perfect as it seems. Arisa has everything: friends, great home life, great grades, popularity, but something is missing after Arisa tries to kill herself. We (and Tsubasa) don't know what the deal with everything is, so she goes undercover as Arisa to her school to find out. I think this concept is actually really fun and different. We have the comedy aspect of Tsubasa trying to get by as Arisa but also the mystery of what is going on at this school.

Some of the mystery is revealed in the later chapters, but I don't want to spoil that. Let's just say the story gets even more mysterious and really left me wanting to read the next volumes to find out what is going on in this high school.

Included in this volume are some great extras. At the beginning there is a article explaining Japanese honorifics (such as using -chan, -sama, etc) and I found that very helpful! I also enjoyed the writer/artist extras at the end. They were very cute and I think these are important in manga, it really allows you to get to know the artist.

Rating: B+
I really liked Arisa. I didn't expect it to be a mystery (I was thinking more just comedy and romance) but there's a certain weight to the plot when students are acting out of character and possibly trying to hurt themselves. I will definitely be reading the next volume to find out what happens. I hope anyone interested in shojo manga with good comedy and a mysterious plot will give this a try!

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