Manga Review: Love Stage!!, Volume 1, by Eiki Eiki and Taishi Zaou

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: SuBLime (VIZ Media)

Release Date: May 12, 2015

Volumes: 5+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Izumi Sena is an average guy born into a family of famous celebrities. A college student and total otaku, he works hard every day with the goal of someday becoming a manga creator.

His father is a singer and his mother an actress, while older brother Shogo is the lead singer for the popular band “CRUSHERZ.” Though his family is packed with famous celebrities, Izumi Sena is just your average guy. Currently a college student, he is a huge otaku with aspirations of becoming a manga creator. But one day he gets roped into participating in a TV commercial and meets popular young actor Ryoma Ichijo. Could this be the same boy he starred in a commercial with over ten years ago?!

Review:

I didn’t know what to expect with this book, aside from that it looked very cute. So I enjoyed it much more than I expected.

The artwork is very pretty, and had a bit of a shojo feel, though that may have been because of the wedding setting. The cover is a good impression of what you’re getting.

Izumi was forced into a commercial, dressed as a girl, when he was little. He hated it, and has since become much of an otaku recluse. He wants to be a mangaka, and doesn’t see how bad he is. His family is filled with actors and singers and he is very much the odd one out, especially as he rebels against them. But then he’s pushed into doing a ten-years later commercial of the first one, with a very famous singer.

Izumi is all right as a protagonist. He’s shy and afraid and doesn’t want to be like his family. Ryoma, the singer, is very fun. He’s a bit exaggerated, and he thinks he’s in love with Izumi, which surprisingly doesn’t lesson when he finds out he’s a guy. Ryoma gets a little bit forceful at one point, but I didn’t mind it as much as I could have. Mostly I just enjoyed watching them both struggle with their attraction, especially Ryoma, who was feeling it more.

I thought that the humor was well done, I liked the characters. Ryoma was great, and Izumi’s brother was fun. I found Rei, their agent, quite an interesting character, and want to know more about him. The ending leaves me hanging, and I honestly can’t wait for the next one.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, and Erik Jansen from MediaLab PR. Thank you so, so much!