Manga Review: Dengeki Daisy Vol. 11

Bad boy/good girl love stories are popular in shojo manga, and for those who enjoy a dash of cyber intrigue in their romances, Kyousuke Motomi’s Dengeki Daisy is worth checking out. Volume 11 has recently been released, and you can read on for the review. (Also, for those who are interested, you can click here for my reviews of earlier volumes).

The story centers on orphan Teru Kurebayashi, who, after the death of her beloved older brother, finds solace in the messages she exchanges with Daisy, an enigmatic figure who can only be reached through the cell phone her brother left her. One day, she accidentally breaks a window at school, and as  a result winds up becoming a servant for Kurosaki, the delinquent school custodian. Although brusque and rude, he somehow always shows up in her time of need, and Teru finds herself increasingly drawn to him.

The RevieW

In terms of relationship, Teru and Kurosaki have pretty much settled into the role of the established couple. Certainly Kurosaki’s keeping his passion for his underage love interest in check, but the two are in each other’s space a lot now. One chapter in Volume 11 opens with Teru waking Kurosaki up from his bed. Another opens with a freshly showered and shirtless Kurosaki walking around his living room while Teru’s there. With most of the mystery and tension in their relationship resolved, Motomi-sensei switches to Kiyoshi, Rena, and Rena’s fiancé Morizono to provide the tension, romantic and otherwise.

Volume 11 provides us with our first actual glimpse of Morizono. He’s an arrogant and somewhat dim rich bully with bad news written all over him. He serves the dual purpose of introducing the threat of a new Jack Frost virus and providing Kiyoshi with a villain that he can rescue Rena from.

To be quite honest, Kiyoshi and Rena have completely transformed over the series’ eleven volumes. As Motomi-sensei points out in the author’s notes, the very first chapter of Dengeki Daisy shows Kiyoshi standing behind Teru as she defends him from Rena and the Student Council bullies. In this volume, he wields a bamboo sword to thwart bad guys and lends a sympathetic ear to Rena whenever she gets weepy. As for Rena, she’s gone from spoiled rich girl that everyone hates to spoiled rich girl that everyone loves. The “Everyone Loves You, Rena” snowball fight is somewhat sappy and contrived, but the plot shapes up once Rena gets trapped by Morizono. As a villain, Morizono’s not the sharpest opponent, but he’s got the resources and clout to cause Teru and company problems, and that’s good enough to drive the story forward.

By the way, for Kurosaki fans, one of the extras included in this volume is a guide to drawing Kurosaki’s face.

In Summary

Akira’s been the bad boy of late, but he fades into the background as Motomi-sensei gives readers a new guy to despise: Rena’s fiancé Morizono. Not only is he a bad match, he’s also trying to set loose a new Jack Frost virus on the world. That of course gets Teru and friends involved, especially when Rena gets abducted by Morizono. It’s a little odd having Rena as damsel in distress and Kiyoshi playing knight in shining armor, but I am intrigued to see how Morizono intends to pull off his “engagement party plot.”

First published at the Fandom Post.

Manga Review: Dengeki Daisy Vol. 10

Bad boy/good girl love stories are popular in shojo manga, and for those who enjoy a dash of cyber intrigue in their romances, Kyousuke Motomi’s Dengeki Daisy is worth checking out. Volume 10 has recently been released, and you can read on for the review. (Also, for those who are interested, you can click here for my reviews of earlier volumes).

The story centers on orphan Teru Kurebayashi, who, after the death of her beloved older brother, finds solace in the messages she exchanges with Daisy, an enigmatic figure who can only be reached through the cell phone her brother left her. One day, she accidentally breaks a window at school, and as  a result winds up becoming a servant for Kurosaki, the delinquent school custodian. Although brusque and rude, he somehow always shows up in her time of need, and Teru finds herself increasingly drawn to him.

Back Cover Blurb

A powerful organization that was after Kurosaki’s “Jack Frost” virus suddenly falls apart, but Kurosaki can’t rest easy since Akira was somehow involved. Furthermore, Akira tells Kurosaki that Teru is still a target! Can Kurosaki protect Teru from Akira’s menacing schemes?

The RevieW

Fans who prefer lighter high school fare will enjoy the first part of Volume 10. Chapter 45 is reminiscent of the early Daisy-looking-out-for-Teru-the-bullied-scholarship-student chapters. Chapter 46 entails a bunch of shojo silliness as Teru’s female friends try to guide her in getting her relationship with Kurosaki to progress. But although neither of these arcs involves Akira, the threat he poses constantly lurks in the back of our heroes’ minds, and not surprisingly, the focus returns to him in the second half of the book.

I mentioned in my review of Volume 9 that with so many issues settled, Motomi-sensei would have to shake things up to keep this title interesting, and she does that with a shift in Kurosaki’s attitude towards Akira. Just before Akira reenters the story, Kurosaki comes to term with everything Soichiro did for him. In one sense, he’s able to put to rest the guilt he’s been carrying, but in another sense, he comes to see Akira with new eyes. Whereas Akira was simply the enemy before, Kurosaki now wants to save him, but given the elevator stunt Akira pulls in Chapter 48, redeeming Akira will be a significantly long project. By the way, Motomi-sensei admits in an author’s note that Kurosaki’s rescue of Teru is improbable even to her but offers the justification that her editor gave.

Another thing Motomi-sensei does to increase tension is introduce a new element of romantic angst. In the spirit of unlikely shojo romances, she throws together Teru’s two friends that fit that bill the best: Rena and Kiyoshi. The attraction forming between the pair feels forced, and to be honest, I’m less interested in how things will play out between them and more interested in the third person involved in their romantic equation, Rena’s fiancé. He injects a new bit of mystery into the story with his connection to Akira, and I look forward to seeing how he might manipulate Rena to achieve his goals.

In Summary

Volume 10 serves up a couple of fluffy chapters where Teru’s main concern is high school finals and perfume before reverting back to cyber-related intrigue. While Akira’s psycho bad attitude is getting old, Motomi-sensei livens things in the intrigue department with Rena’s mysterious fiancé. Between him and the budding relationship between Rena and Kiyoshi, Dengeki Daisy looks as if it could go on for at least a couple more volumes.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Manga Review: Dengeki Daisy Vol. 9

Bad boy/good girl love stories are popular in shojo manga, and for those who enjoy a dash of cyber intrigue in their romances, Kyousuke Motomi’s Dengeki Daisy is worth checking out. Volume 9 has recently been released, and you can read on for the review. (Also, for those who are interested, you can click here for my reviews of earlier volumes).

The story centers on orphan Teru Kurebayashi, who, after the death of her beloved older brother, finds solace in the messages she exchanges with Daisy, an enigmatic figure who can only be reached through the cell phone her brother left her. One day, she accidentally breaks a window at school, and as  a result winds up becoming a servant for Kurosaki, the delinquent school custodian. Although brusque and rude, he somehow always shows up in her time of need, and Teru finds herself increasingly drawn to him.

Back Cover Blurb

As Teru comes to terms with Kurosaki’s past wrongdoings, Kurosaki searches for the culprit who is trying to resurrect the “Jack Frost” virus he created. But when he learns that Teru might be in danger, will he keep his promise to leave her alone, or will the two be reunited?

The RevieW

This volume comes to a climax for Teru/Kurosaki fans. After putting our couple through the emotional wringer for several chapters, they are finally reunited. Their meeting isn’t quite what you’d expect it to be; Motomi-sensei builds up all this dramatic anticipation, making the story look like it’s going to go one way and then shifts it wildly in the other direction. Still, the “low handed” manner in which Teru gets her man back is definitely keeping in character for our couple, and the close of Chapter 41 should be fluffy enough to satisfy the romantics.

Motomi-sensei plays a similar tactic in Chapter 42 with both Teru and Kurosaki falling for a fast one. To be honest, their friends’ actions come across as perplexing, especially given Riko’s strongly negative response to Kurosaki’s question about “the sacred rite between a man and a woman.” Part of me feels as if Motomi-sensei inserted the scene just for the shock of Kurosaki seeing Teru in a bathrobe. At any rate, the chapter extends the fluffiness just a little longer before our cast returns to the regular world.

After all the talk in Chapter 42 about Kurosaki having to go into hiding, it feels anticlimactic to have Kurosaki and Teru back in a normal school setting. Once they had their reunion and heart-to-heart, I honestly thought the series would wrap up. But it continues on, with the scheming Akira as the last bit of unresolved business. But so much has already been settled with Kurosaki’s secrets and our main couple’s feelings for one another, Akira almost doesn’t seem to matter anymore. Motomi-sensei’s going to have to shake things up a bit to keep things interesting for this title.

In Summary

The story builds to a climax with Teru doing all in her power to reunite with Kurosaki. Romantics should be pleased once everything comes to a head, but so much gets resolved that the series feels as if it should conclude here instead of continuing with another volume.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Manga Review: Dengeki Daisy Vol. 7

Bad boy/good girl love stories are popular in shojo manga, and for those who enjoy a dash of cyber intrigue in their romances, Kyousuke Motomi’s Dengeki Daisy is worth checking out. Volume 7 has recently been released, and you can read on for the review. (Also, for those who are interested, you can click here for my reviews of earlier volumes).

The story centers on orphan Teru Kurebayashi, who, after the death of her beloved older brother, finds solace in the messages she exchanges with Daisy, an enigmatic figure who can only be reached through the cell phone her brother left her. One day, she accidentally breaks a window at school, and as  a result winds up becoming a servant for Kurosaki, the delinquent school custodian. Although brusque and rude, he somehow always shows up in her time of need, and Teru finds herself increasingly drawn to him.

Back Cover Blurb

Kurosaki decides that he needs to tell Teru the truth, but little does he know that an unsettling fellow called Akira has other ideas. What is Akira scheming, and how will his actions irrevocably affect Teru’s relationship with Kurosaki?

The RevieW

The way Teru bumps into the weird hoodie guy in the last volume it’s pretty much a given he’s going to return, and he does, in a big way. The shadowy Akira adds on to the cast of bad guys, and though he’s in cahoots with Mori, he is a bit of a loose cannon. He seems less interested in the intrigue surrounding Daisy and more interested in messing with Teru’s mind, which he’s quite effective at, especially since he physically resembles her brother. It’s still not quite clear what he and Mori are after, but we do get more hints about Daisy’s less than upstanding past.

At any rate, Akira’s mischief does the trick of pushing Teru and Kurosaki’s relationship along. When Teru gets her first kiss stolen, her reaction is standard shojo stuff. Kurosaki’s, however, is adorably hilarious, and what follows is an entire chapter of Kurosaki agonizing over the convoluted situation between him and Teru. Despite all the guilt and angst Kurosaki struggles through, Motomi-sensei does a good job of injecting just enough humor so that the plot doesn’t get completely bogged down.

Kurosaki’s ultimate decision to confess to Teru will probably draw a collective “Finally!” from Motomi-sensei’s readers. Of course, such confessions never go as planned, and it’s little surprise when Akira and Mori show up to ruin things. It’s almost too easy how Kurosaki takes down Mori, but with Teru in Akira’s clutches at the end of the volume, the story seems headed toward another big rescue/confrontation in Volume 8.

In Summary

Teru and Kurosaki have been doing the dance of Kurosaki holding back and Teru pretending she doesn’t know Kurosaki’s secret for a while now, but the time has come for the truth to be revealed. As that moment approaches, there’s more than enough emotional angst to satisfy the shojo reader as well as a helping of intrigue as Mori and her shadowy accomplice Akira seek to turn Kurosaki’s confession into an opportunity for themselves.

First published at the Fandom Post.