From Pink Rose Scans 2b5d5h
Mizutani Yoshiki is a 21 year old working as an assistant director for TV shows. His friends from back in high school are all jealous because they think that he's able to rub elbows with celebrities but in reality, he's so far down the TV industry hierarchy that he's more the resident lap dog relegated to doing everyone else's dirty work.
One day, he gets assigned to help out with filming for the latest "it" drama. The lead female actress turns out to be none other than Fujiidera Mitsuko, the girl he had a crush on back in high school who's now become one of the hottest rising stars in the acting world.
As he quickly finds out though, she's nothing like the shy, quiet girl he knew from back in high school. What happened to her for her to have changed so much?
Includes another story
・「My dear B・F」
Ever since the car accident that ended her dreams of becoming a short track athlete, Yumi's been struggling to pick up the pieces and move on. One day, a mysterious boy who calls himself "Jiro" crashes into her in the school hallway. They quickly build up a close friendship---but there's something strange about him that she just can't put her finger on. Who is he really?
2 Volumes (Complete)
1 Volume (Bunko, Complete)
Good pieces of dialogue in this one, but ultimately I echo bahram. The main female MC was too much for me although I will say I think I understand what the author was going for with her. I just flat out didn't like her -- maybe that is a testament to how good the author is.
I usually like this author's work and she had all the stuff that makes her work so great here. It was simply the characters that didn't land with me.
The problem with dramas like this where the author builds up the female lead to be a kind of greater than life figure, is that the actual character is never going to live up to the expectations set with all the build up. Fujidera Mitsuko just wasn't an interesting character, period. Throughout the entire story we're told Yoshiki is deeply in love with this woman and this woman only, but we never get to actually see why. Personality? she had basically none to speak of besides throwing tantrums like a child when something upset her. Morals? Slept with an old producer to get a role in a tv series. Special skill? by all s she wasn't a very good actress. Or maybe she's just a really good girlfriend? we get to see like 2 s of them being a couple so that's not it either. It's obviously just her looks and the MC's lingering childish fantasy from his high school crush.
And that's perfectly fine, but a large portion of this manga's script is dedicated to the MC talking/thinking about how deeply he needs Mitsuko. Instead of using that time to further develop the situation with the side character(s), we just get endless monologues about Mitsuko.
So yeah.. good art and setting but the female lead is so boring it ruins the story.
is exactly what this is for.
The first half delivers exactly what you expect a shoujo to deliver, some decent romance and drama. Later on the though on and off thing kind of gets annoying and development becomes sort of... "seriously, you kidding?"
... Last updated 12 years ago
A gently told tale: the drama is soft-edged and blurred. The art matches the story telling style perfectly. I wouldn't rate it as "bad"--it has a lot of quality manga work in it--but it's just not my type.
Why? Because it was a little too gentle--there wasn't enough drama to keep my interest. After pushing through the entire volume one, I had no compulsion to read further --although I felt I could care with the interesting character profiles, the story telling just ended up flat with little impact.
... Last updated 14 years ago
To say the least, it was depressing. Really depressing. Throughout i was just feeling o dissatisfied and the only reason i kept on reading was to know where the protagonist's feelings would end up.
Spolier - i was hopeing he end up with the short haired girl because the actress's personality was very rotten but i guess thats just how real life is.
I have to it that it took me quite a long time to appreciate fully this work from Ikuemi Ryou from the early 90's. Although this was published in "Margaret," which is a shoujo manga anthology, the protagonist in this story is male, and I found a hard time relating his dry, at times cruel view of the world.
I, however, quite liked the dynamics of the relationship between the protagonist, Mizutani Yoshiki and his high school crush Fujiidera Mitsuko. When they reunite years later on the set of a new drama, at first glance Mitsuko seems to have undergone a complete transformation, but little by little it's revealed that she hasn't changed as much as she thought she had or as much as she thought she had wished.
It was also a refreshing change to see an accurate portrayal of the onstage/backstage action of the entertainment industry.
The one-shot included at the end of volume 2 is one of my favorite one-shots from Ikuemi Ryou. I just found it so touching that the wish of a dying dog would be to become friends with the girl who lived right across the street. And although he didn't know it, by having that wish granted, he was also unknowingly granting the wish of the girl, who was in true need of a friend after being in an accident that forever ended her dream of being a short track athlete. A definite tear-jerker.
The main story, it's good but there are times where it gets a bit annoying, since the main characters are just very indecisive. It's somewhat realistic, and it does touch a small part of the psychological genre. I thought it would have a different ending, but it was a bit cliche.
I actually liked the oneshot, more than the main story. It made me cry, it made me think and it's ending was unpredictable. Such a nice oneshot. :3
