Manga: Happy Cafe

Shiawase Kissa 3-Choume (幸福喫茶3丁目) by Kou Matsuzuki
US Title: Happy Cafe
Published by Hakusensha/Hana to Yume
English version TokyoPop
Serialized in Hana to Yume
[Years unavailable, first book pubbed 2005]; 15 books complete
Demographic: Shojo
Genre: Romance

Uru Takamura is a 16 year old High School student whose mother recently remarried. Feeling like a burden on her younger new father, she asks to move out on her own. As she is moving in, she notices people coming out of a nearby cafe talking excitedly and looking completely happy. “If only I could make someone happy…”, she thinks to herself. She spies a flier asking for help on the door and decides to start working there the next day.

Cafe Bonheur, though appearing to be a normal cafe, has rather unique employees. Ichiro-kun falls asleep when he is hungry and must be awakened by putting food in his mouth. While awake, he is a slacker and a bit intimidating. Shindo-kun, wearing only dour expressions, is very scary and has a curt attitude even with customers. Uru is confused how these two could have produced the incredible happiness she had witnessed in the departing customers, until she witnesses an act of kindness from Shindo and spies on him while he makes his cakes and pastries. Uru, too, is unique. She looks like a middle-schooler and possesses herculean strength, which also causes havoc with breakable things like dishes, cups, glasses and doors.

She doesn’t know if she will be able to survive her slightly scary co-workers, friendly customers and her own strength, but she is giving it her all. Perhaps she can succeed in making someone happy, but right now she has her doubts.

When I glanced at Happy Cafe when it fell into my hands, I recognised the cover from a series of books I would pick up and put back down at the Japanese bookstore. Curious, I read the first couple pages. Before I was really aware of it, I had fallen easily into the story.

As others have pointed out on other websites, the story is rather simple and without the interesting points of a grumpy, dour, scary pastry chef, a narcoleptic-ish, lazy, slightly scary alternate employee, and a strange little girl with super strength, it might even be average and boring.

However these unique characteristics make it a story I can and do enjoy. I was beginning to feel my former statements regarding liking only unique shojo was starting to become false, so as a check I read a ‘regular’ romantic shojo manga and became bored and just put the manga down. When I picked this one up a while later, I was immediately pulled in. I think I will continue to claim only unique shojo.

The first book contain five chapters, each one a new adventure as is common in episodic series. Through each story we learn more about our heroine, and I think I am not giving much away when I say we also learn more about her mysteriously scary co-workers as well. She gets the job, how else can we talk about the cafe? The fun part is HOW she keeps it.

I have to admit, I don’t really see a romance yet. There is a super hot guy and blushing and moments of weakness, but it feels more like the beginning of friendship. I can’t wait to see how the series evolves these characters and I look forward to the English translations.

In the meantime, I think I will run off to my local Japanese bookstore and grab a couple issues in Japanese and see what I can read.

Recommendations: Its a fun read. I think that it would be good for people who have problems reading as the wording is easy and the story flows well with the art. If I was stocking this in my bookstore, it would be labeled in that mysterious area between pre-teen and teen. I might’ve actually read this when I was in grade school had it existed at that time. It is fluff. Better readers out there might like it for its fast read and open art. If you are serious about your romance and your artwork, you may not be so entertained.

Tags: manga, shojo

Manga: Otomen

Otomen by Aya Kanno
Published by Hakusensha/Hana to Yume
Serialized in Betsuhana
2006- Present, up to 9 volumes with new chapters every month
Demographic: Shojo

I am not a fan of Shojo, I don’t run out to buy the next newest romance as they are published and I certainly don’t go for the typical stories. When I get my shojo, there is something unique about it. Before this particular manga, you might not have heard me admit to reading shojo, with the exception of Fruits Basket. Why is this manga different from the other shojo? It isn’t typical drama.

Asuka Masamune is the greatest jock at his school. Every sport he participates in he excels, he is a manly man and the apple of every girl’s eye, the hero glint in every guy’s fervor…What would they all think if they discovered that he liked shojo (manga geared toward young ladies), cleaning, cooking, arts/crafts and was afraid of scary places and the dark?

When Asuka was young, his father ran away from home because he wanted to become a woman. His mother, afraid Asuka would do the same thing, began coming down hard on his girly ways. Asuka packed up his stuffed animals and cute things and began becoming a manly man. While in High School, while his mother is away, he cooks and cleans for himself and makes sure everything is spotless. When he discovers his mother is coming home, he quickly roughs up the place and creates an artistic manly mess… which reassures his mother.

One day, Asuka is confronted by Juto, a classmate. He claims he’s been watching Asuka for a while now and promises not to tell if he lets him hang around. When Asuka falls for Ryo, a girl who is oddly masculine in demeanor, Juta enthusiastically encourages the romance. Meanwhile, Juta is secretly taking all the scenes and writing his wildly popular new manga–Love Chick–under a well-known nom-de-plume. As it so happens, Asuka is a huge fan of Love Chick… who’s main character is a girl named Asuka who wants to have a romance with a guy named Ryo. .. and he remains clueless.

Hilarity and obfuscation ensues. As Asuka gets more comfortable around Juta and Ryo, he begins to slip and soon his secret is slowing being revealed….

Ok, do you see why I find it interesting? Well, mebbe not. This could be construed as a ‘typical shojo’, but there is enough goofiness, silliness, and just randomness to keep it fun. Every few chapters Asuka lets his girly nature loose at an odd time, depressing himself and someone who depends on him, only to redeem himself with his manly reflexes or abilities.

Here’s an example: Ryo asks Asuka to help at a daycare where she volunteers. He comes in and plays ‘manly’ games with all the children, who end up getting bored, until he takes the eggs Ryo was serving as the snack and makes a lovely board for the children. When they all leaves, one boy remains behind who has ruined a doll display. Asuka shows the boy how to make new dolls with the egg shells and they enjoy their time, but the boy insists that Asuka isn’t a man. The next day the boy has a fit when the other kids go to play with egg dolls, as he is having his fit, he accidentally throws a doll out the window then jumps after it to save it. Without a thought Asuka jumps out after him, rescuing him in a ‘manly’ style. It is amusing, the boy later calls Ryo his papa and Asuka his mama.

I am half reading the stories in Japanese and half in scanlation… though the first volume I read was in English. I ran across the series after I was introduced to Vampire Knight via a cosplay performance by Alone Together at a Kinokuniya Bryant Park event. I was deciding that perhaps I would give shojo a try and this one seems to shown me that all shojo isn’t just drama and soap.

I picked up a magazine this weekend and found that there was an announcement for a live-action drama based on this series that was to begin in August 2009. That would be interesting to watch! I’d love to see how they portray the characters.

Tags: manga, otomen, shoujo

New York Times recognises Graphic Novels

Introducing The New York Times Graphic Books Best Seller Lists – ArtsBeat Blog – NYTimes.com.

I like this concept and I give a big whoop to the New York Times. However, I do have an issue with how they are handling the manga section. Since much manga has many vols in each series, I think they should list top selling series rather than top selling volumes. This first posting is already proof of this flaw.  If was to use the NYTimes to find a manga for someone who I knew liked manga, this wouldn’t be useful at all. Especially if the only thing I knew was that this person did not like the manga called Naruto. Now, where does that leave me? Either picking something called Eden or MPD-Psycho, or not using the useless list. I admit, I am interested right now in checking out this MPD-Psycho, and I would like to know what other non-Naruto books might be interesting.

It works just fine for the other sections, but as long as children, teens, adults and friends of manga readers are buying manga, the topsellers are almost all going to be Naruto or Bleach for a while. That is a little too monotonous for me. I would be turned off looking at the list at all after a few mostly unchanged weeks.

Tags: LinkedIn, manga