Manga Review: Kodocha: Sana's Stage, Volume 10, by Miho Obana

Rating (Out of 5): ~4.5

Publisher: Tokyopop

Publish Date: 2003

Volumes: 10

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Powells. (Out-of-Print)

Volume 1. Previous Volume.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Take one young actress used to getting her way, add a handful of ruthless bullies, some humorous twists, and a plastic toy hammer, and you've got the recipe for one crazy story Kodocha follows the antics of Sana, a spoiled 11-year-old TV star, and Hayama, a 6th grade Machiavelli who terrorizes both his teachers and his classmates. In their classroom war of wills, Sana and Hayama find there is more to both of them than meets the eye.

What Will I Miss?:

• Everything.
• The characters. I loved everyone, pretty much, and will miss all of the interactions: Rei, Sana's mother, their friends.
• Sana and Akito. I love them.

Review:

I’m going to miss this series. It was just so good.

This was such a good ending, too. It was sad and sweet and fitting. There was a lot of crying, some emotional breakthroughs, some very needed conversations. Sana and Akito are just so mature for their age, and so in love. They belong together, forever, because they are completely perfect for each other, and I completely believe that they’d be able to stay together and grow together and help each other through everything. Their relationship just gets me all emotional because I feel so strongly about it.

I’m going to miss each of the characters, actually. Because everyone was so defined, with their own personality and growth. 

I’m just going to miss this series so much, and I’m sure it’s one that I could go back to and re-read, solely for Sana and Akito’s relationship. This was an overly sweet, heartwarming, funny, cute, sad story, in such an even mix. It’s definitely one of my favorites.

Manga Review: Kodocha: Sana's Stage, Volume 9, by Miho Obana

Rating (Out of 5): ~4-4.5

Publisher: Tokyopop

Volumes: 10

Spoilers?: Yes.

Buy it here: Amazon.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Take one young actress used to getting her way, add a handful of ruthless bullies, some humorous twists, and a plastic toy hammer, and you've got the recipe for one crazy story Kodocha follows the antics of Sana, a spoiled 11-year-old TV star, and Hayama, a 6th grade Machiavelli who terrorizes both his teachers and his classmates. In their classroom war of wills, Sana and Hayama find there is more to both of them than meets the eye.

Review:

I guessed, in my review of volume 8, that the tension between Akito and his teacher would be coming to a head in this volume. I was wrong. Instead, Obana threw in something else, something that I was really not expecting.

The first half of this volume was fantastic, it was so much fun. Christmas Eve, also known as Sana and Akito’s halfway birthday, is coming up, and so Sana wants to throw a party like the year before. But all of their friends are busy, so it ends up being just the two of them. Also, Sana realizes that Akito is, actually and officially, her boyfriend now, which puts her up in seventh heaven. This part is just really hilarious and adorable.

There are some super sweet and adorable and hilarious moments between Sana and Akito, but I’m not going to spoil them. They’re having a lot of fun, messing around and hugging and even sharing a kiss, but there are a few moments that are hinting that Sana is trying not to think about the things that depress her: like Akito’s arm and how Akito and Fuka used to go out.

One thing that surprised me, was how Akito and Sana remind me of a married couple that has been together since they were kids. You know, the type of old married couple that found each other young, and somehow stayed together throughout their life. I’ve never really thought that far ahead for most couples in books, and I’ve never had that kind of feeling from one before, how I could actually see them staying together, happy, for their whole lives. But I get that feeling from Sana and Akito. And I love that.

There are a couple of minor plots throughout the book: we see Naozumi for a bit, Sana does some acting stuff, and Akito and Sana work together to try to get Fuka and the boy she liked from her old school together. Apparently, him and the other girl broke up, and he still likes Fuka, and so Akito and Sana get his new number (‘cause he moved) and give it to Fuka. It doesn’t show whether she called him, but we see that she’s thinking about it, so I’m assuming she does.

Now, the big, main point: Akito is moving to America. At first, I was thinking this was a bit cliché and didn’t like it. But it’s actually done in a new way. First of all, Sana tells him not to leave, and so he says that he’s not going to, but his dad won’t let him stay in Japan, so he has to tell Sana that he has to go. Sana tries to stay supportive, and not break down, but the fact that Akito’s leaving is really depressing her.

And here’s the even bigger thing: Sana loses her smile. She is actually unable to smile, to move her expression from anything but blank, even though her voice sounds normal, and she doesn’t realize that she’s not smiling.

We find out that this has happened to her once before, and the reason her expression came back was because of something Naozumi did, when they were little (before Sana actually knew him). Sana doesn’t realize what’s happening, but her acting jobs aren’t working very well, and everyone is worrying about her. Naozumi and Akito try to fix it, but at the moment nothing is working out. And then, the volume ends with Naozumi telling Akito that he thinks himself and Sana are meant to be, and maybe Sana is thinking the same thing. (Ironically enough, before that last chapter, I’d thought about how much I’d grown to like Naozumi. Yea, his declaration changes that real fast.)

So, to sum up: I love Sana and Akito. I love them way too much. They are perfect, and this series is so much more than I thought it would be, and I already have the next (and last) volume, so I will be reading that now, right this instant, now that I’ve finished writing this up.

Manga Review: Kodocha: Sana's Stage, Volume 8, by Miho Obana

Rating (Out of 5): ~4-4.5

Publisher: Tokyopop

Volumes: 10

Spoilers?: Yes.

Buy it here: Amazon. (Out-of-Print)

Goodreads Synopsis:

Take one young actress used to getting her way, add a handful of ruthless bullies, some humorous twists, and a plastic toy hammer, and you've got the recipe for one crazy story Kodocha follows the antics of Sana, a spoiled 11-year-old TV star, and Hayama, a 6th grade Machiavelli who terrorizes both his teachers and his classmates. In their classroom war of wills, Sana and Hayama find there is more to both of them than meets the eye.

Something Specific:

Quote:

• "'But if you have at least one person you can depend on... You'll be able to get through anything. It could be a friend, a lover, family...anyone. As long as you have that person...'" // "'They didn't have that one person in their lives... That person...like you.'" (Two different quotes, talking about the same thing.) I mention this in the review, but I just love it. You can probably understand what they're saying just fine, but the context in which it's used here is just so... special, so significant.

Review:

I’m getting so close to the end! Urghh…

This volume starts right where the last one left off, with Akito going to find Kazuyuki and Sana worrying about it but going home. Akito searches the forest for quite a while, I’m not sure how long exactly, and eventually finds him. And Kazuyuki looks exhausted, drained, and psychotic. This chapter flashes back and forth between Akito dealing with Kazuyuki and Sana telling the adults that she knows where the two are and worrying about when he’ll get back and if he’ll be okay.

He’s not okay when he gets back. Because Kazuyuki gets crazy and sets up how he and Akito are going to die together, but Akito doesn’t believe he’s strong enough to go through with it, so he goads him, and Kazuyuki runs at him with a knife, but stabs him in the arm and cries, because he is too afraid to do anything more. Akito is hurt, but immediately after getting stabbed, he wraps up the wound and tells the kid that they’re going back home now. It’s a treacherous walk back, but they get there, Akito barely holding on. And when they finally get home and he sees his family and Sana, who are all freaking out, he passes out and is rushed to the emergency room.

Everyone is freaking out as they wait to find out what’s going on with Akito, and whether he’s going to live since he’s bled so much, and the tension is high. Which means it doesn’t help when the police try to question Kazuyuki and his mother gets all defensive and yells and blames Akito. Sana, Fuka, Tsuyoshi, and Aya don’t take kindly to that and yell at her. Afterward, Sana’s mother even goes over to Kazuyuki's mother and tells her that she thinks she’s not a very good parent to her son, who is obviously not doing okay, and is feeling bombarded with pressure from her.

During this, Akito’s heart is slowing down, and his ghost tries to move on, only to be stopped by someone… I’ve decided not to say who, even though it’s not a huge surprise, but in the end he goes back to his body and starts fighting and breathing, and everyone finds out that he’s going to live. Although, the talk with that person and the whole experience seems to have made him feel really guilty about everything that he’s done in the past. I’m not saying he shouldn’t be for some of it, but he shouldn’t feel it so overwhelmingly so.

Oh yea, Sana ditched a live show to stay at the hospital, which Naozumi fills in for at the last minute, but she hears that Akito is going to be okay and makes it for the last half of the show. The producers aren’t happy about it, but neither her or Rei care, as long as Akito is okay. The press is also really curious about it, but Sana avoids saying anything about Akito or a friend, just that it was because of personal reasons.

After that, Sana decides that she doesn’t need to see Akito, as long as he’s okay. But, finally Fuka has a talk with him and they break up, and Sana doesn’t know till Fuka tells her that Akito needs her. Akito’s been having some kind of fit every night, including throwing up, and no one knows why. Also, his hand is paralyzed, because the knife hit some nerves. When Sana hears about this, she doesn’t waste much time getting to the hospital to see him. Which is a very sweet scene, and a little heartbreaking, and I love it.

God, the romance between these two is just perfect. It’s a bit unexpected, seeing as this seems like a kids series at first, but the romance… They are just perfect for each other. That scene, and one later in this volume, really proves it, too. They haven’t really kissed, aside from those surprise attacks earlier in the series, and they don’t get affectionate too often, but that doesn’t matter. Really, all that matter is the look on Akito’s face when he sees her, when you can tell that he needs her right then (and not in a lust way, but in a vulnerable way), and what he says in this volume, how he knows that she’s the one, she’s the one that’s capable of keeping him sane and alive… There’s this line, about how there’s that special someone out there for everyone, and Akito knows that Sana’s that person for him, but the way it’s done in this volume is so… So completely perfect. It’s what dreams are made of, you guys. God, they’re just… It’s all just perfect and I love it all so very much.

For the rest of the volume, Sana has another talk with Fuka, Sana and Akito go say farewell to Kazuyuki, who is now officially Akito’s friend (which is really good and understandable, from what happened between them in this volume) but is moving away, and there’s a cute scene between Akito and Sana, and a nice scene between Akito and his family (where we find out some more about Akito’s mom, which, aww…).

At the end of the volume, it seems like the rousing fight between Akito and his teacher (who is a complete jerk) is finally going to come to a head. Also, there’s mention of a Christmas Eve midway-Birthday party for Sana and Akito (and Fuka, who’s actual birthday is that day).

This series just keeps getting better and better. I am really loving it right now. I like the more serious parts, but there’s also been a lot of really sweet moments and funny ones, which oddly seem to work much better than they did in the beginning (the humor more so than the sweet stuff; the sweet stuff has always been pretty good, just seems to have gotten better). Right now this series, as a whole, is at a very high 4 stars, and might even be leaning higher. I’m really surprised, and really glad.

I’m really looking forward to the next volume, even if it is the last one that I currently own.

Sidenote/Update: in the first chapter of this volume, Obana snuck in three ghostly figures, and I noticed one through my first read, but she mentioned it in one of the side panels, which made me go back and try to find the others. I found two, but it was really bothering me that I couldn’t find the last one. In volume nine, though, she says where they are; I was totally off on where I thought the last one would be. Ugh… I’m glad she said, though, because it was driving me crazy. I was about ready to look it up online.

Manga Review: Kodocha: Sana's Stage, Volume 7, by Miho Obana

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: TokyoPop (This has always bothered me: is it Tokyopop or TokyoPop? Does it matter?)

Volumes: 10

Spoilers?: Yes.

Buy it here: Amazon. (Out-of-Print)

Goodreads Synopsis:

Take one young actress used to getting her way, add a handful of ruthless bullies, some humorous twists, and a plastic toy hammer, and you've got the recipe for one crazy story Kodocha follows the antics of Sana, a spoiled 11-year-old TV star, and Hayama, a 6th grade Machiavelli who terrorizes both his teachers and his classmates. In their classroom war of wills, Sana and Hayama find there is more to both of them than meets the eye.

Review:

The series is getting closer to the end, so it’s getting more serious, a bit darker. And while it’s a bit of a surprise at times, it’s so exciting. I’m loving it.

The volume starts with Akito asking Sana how she feels about him, and she questions him back, but in the end they both end up telling each other that they love the other. But when they see that Fuka heard all of it, Sana goes chasing after her, and says that it was all in the past and she’s gotten over it now (which is such a frustrating lie). Sana sees Akito once more and officially says goodbye, then she devotes herself fully to her acting, gets a tutor, and doesn’t come to school for a while. A long while.

While she’s gone, Akito gets in trouble with his new teacher, who has a grudge against mean students because he was bullied as a child and so tries getting Akito in as much trouble as possible (also, because Akito told the class that he wears a wig, which, whatever). It’s obvious that, with Sana gone, Akito is reverting back to his old self, and he gets suspended. Surprisingly, his dad isn’t very upset about it, since he was a ‘hoodlum’ when he was in school (this is revealed during a very entertaining conversation--I rather like Akito's father, though).

While suspended, Akito isn’t allowed to take a test for karate to move up a color, and is super pissed, but he goes out with Fuke and Tsuyoshi and Aya. They go to an arcade, and Akito ends up getting in a fight, and then later says some biting words to Fuka. This is where I realized that Fuka doesn’t know about Akito’s violent past, and that she might not be able to handle it very well.

Sana visits with Tsuyoshi and Aya (who are kind of really sweet together; also, Tsuyoshi seems to have matured a bit, and seems just very sweet and adorable), who tell her about Akito getting in trouble, and she gets super upset. One night, on her way to work, Sana sees Akito running (something he’s taken up because of how he has nothing else to do and can’t sleep for not being able to stop thinking about Sana), and chases after him. They share a very sweet and sad moment, seeing as how they still can’t be together because of Fuka.

After this, Sana decides to start going back to school, and has a talk with Fuka. Sana has finally decided that she wants Akito and is tired of trying to make everyone else happy (finally!), and so she tells Fuka that she’ll steal Akito from her if she doesn’t buck up and actually try talking to Akito. Fuka and Akito haven’t been getting along and Fuka doesn’t know how to talk to him and she has a hard time dealing with his violent tendencies, and while it doesn’t even seem like she wants to try talking to him when he is the way he is, she won’t give him up (but she's acting like talking to him is some impossible chore--ugh! just back off and let Sana and him be together!).

This is where I realized the big difference between Sana and Fuka. They’re very similar, but Sana can deal with Akito’s violence. She has a way of calming him down and getting him to relax and not beat people up or be a total jerk. And she doesn’t shy away from him when he gets that way. Fuka, on the other hand, does. Obviously, Fuka needs to just back off already. Which I think she realizes, when she hears his full past from Tsuyoshi, and what part Sana had in it.

Anyway, there's this guy at their school, Kazuyuki, who thinks that he and Akito are best friends, but when he finds out that Akito never even knew he existed, his dreams are ruined. On Sana's first day back, we find out that he's run away and decided to kill himself. Kazuyuki’s mother is freaking out, Akito’s teacher is trying to blame him, Fuka doesn’t know how to deal with any of it, and Tsuyoshi and Sana are trying to help Akito.

Kazuyuki left his journal in Akito’s locker, which mentions how the guy thought he was getting closer to Akito and how his mother isn’t very nice but he wants her approval and pride anyway. And then how Akito betrayed him, and the guy is going to kill himself because of it. Or kill Akito (as you can imagine, I'm not happy about that thought).

Akito knows that the guy just wants some attention, so Akito talks to Sana before getting on a train and heading to where the guy should be, which is when Sana sees the bit about wanting to kill Akito. And, honestly, the ending picture of the psycho Kazuyuki is not reassuring in any sense. Oh, also, before Akito got on the train, he told Sana that he still loved her, and she cried. But, I mean, we all knew that already.

Now, I don’t believe that Akito is going to get killed (I mean, no way), but I am very excited to find out what happens next. It’s sure to be good. I’m not happy that I only have two books left, and am going to be stuck searching even more for the last one, but I do want to know what happens next. I love how the series is getting darker and more serious; the direction it is taking is very exciting.

It still strikes me as odd that these characters are only supposed to be in their first year of middle school. As I’ve said before, while the humor does seem very middle-elementary school, the characters act much more mature than that. It’s just odd to me, but I do like it.

Sidenote: I hadn’t realized that this series was being released at the same time as Sailor Moon, way back when Tokyopop was still releasing it, but there’s an ad for it in the back of the book. It just caught me off guard when I saw it, and I wanted to say something.