Genre: Manga, Graphic Novel
Series: Otomen
Rating: 2 out of 5
Recommend to Others?: Maybe
ABOUT: Asuka Masamune is a guy who loves girly things – sewing, knitting, making cute stuffed animals and reading shojo comics. But in a world where boys are expected to act manly, Asuka must hide his beloved hobbies and play the part of a masculine jock instead. Ryo Miyakozuka, on the other hand, is a girl who can’t sew or bake a cake to save her life. Asuka finds himself drawn to Ryo, but she likes only the manliest of men! Can Asuka ever show his true self to anyone, much less to the girl that he’s falling for?
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My Review:
Otomen was one of my most anticipated end of the year reads. Perhaps I read this at the wrong time but I did not enjoy this first volume.
I expected more from this story. The premise caught my attention immediately. And I’m always up for a story about characters who learn to won who they are and what makes them special. But the three principal characters you first meet are pretty flat in design. They’re nice but I couldn’t bring myself to care about what was going on. The disjointed writing and transitions between scenes didn’t help either.
I’m still interested enough to give volume 2 a chance. I liked the artist’s style and there were a few laugh out loud moments. But that probably wouldn’t be for many more months.
The Bookshelf Corner 