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.

Manga Review: Kodocha: Sana's Stage, Volume 6, by Miho Obana

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

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:

• "'When you feel like things are at their worst, try to enjoy yourself the most.'" (Um, the first chapter of volume 6) I just liked the saying; that's all. I'm sure I've heard something similar to it before, but still.

Review:

So, Naozumi was rightfully pissed at the girls for beating Sana up, but she stops him from hitting them. Sana screamed, so everyone else comes running to see what happened, and Rei immediately takes Sana to the doctor. Turns out those jerks cracked her leg, but she refuses to quit the film. Her legs hurts, and isn’t healing very well because of her constant use of it, and she ends up having to take a few days off from filming, making her feel depressed and useless.

She wants to show up those girls, prove that she can do it despite their hurting her and hate. Her mother immediately flies in upon hearing that something has happened to her daughter, and she succeeds in making her feel better. From there, Sana does pretty well, until they have to set the house on fire for the last scene and Sana has to come outside of the house.

This is crazy, and throughout it, I kept thinking about what their interviews could have been like, what with them saying how crazy and secluded and dangerous the filming was. But anyway, her getting out with a hurt leg doesn’t work out quite as well as it should have, and she almost gives up twice, but it does work out in the end, and the last scene turns out perfect. The cast and crew celebrate, and Sana has one last talk with the girls who beat her up. I am glad that there wasn’t a big lesson-learning moment with the bullies, and that it showed us that Sana wasn’t just going to let it slide. She joked a bit, as she usually does, but she also got serious and didn’t just brush it off; she was mad about it, but she wasn’t going to make it a big thing. Instead, she wanted to show them up with the movie.

Then they all go home and do the rest of the filming on a set.

Sometime through all this, Naozumi confesses and Sana is forced to say no, and they say they’ll still be friends, and they are. Back home, her friends see an article and hear from the boy Sana told, that she’s going out with Naozumi, and they believe it. Akito is obviously upset and gets all moody. Fuka, seeing her chance, asks him to be her boyfriend, and he says yes.

Sana finds out and she’s devastated, and has to fess up to the fact that she loves him. When she finally goes back to school, though, she acts as normal as she can. She gets along with Fuka just fine, is a little awkward around Akito, who has grown four (or two?) inches while she was gone, and who’s voice has gotten deeper.

Sana hangs out with her friends, AkitoandFuka and TsuyoshiandAya, where she finds out that her friends believe she’s going out with Naozumi. She tries not to show how upset she is, but this news crushes her and she excuses herself and runs off. Akito chases after her, but she slaps him and he goes back. At first, I thought she overreacted, and for their part, they weren’t able to get ahold of her and ask, but she did get beat up because of those rumors, so she has her reason for being upset about it.

Fuka asks Akito what this changes, and while I don’t like them going out, I do respect him for responding that it doesn’t change anything because he’s going out with her. Then, in an interview, Naozumi says that Sana turned him down because she likes someone else, and gives a hint of who it is. A hint that only Akito and Sana would understand, so of course Akito sees it and finds out. (After she hears this, Sana charges over to see Naozumi, where they have a small fight, because she’s upset he let out her secret, and he tells her that he’s a little hurt by her rejection. I found his hurt feelings made sense, and liked that it was brought a bit of attention.)

She tries avoiding Akito, but the volume ends with him asking her to tell him if she likes him or not. Horrible ending. I have the feeling that they’re going to get interrupted or she’s going to lie or something, which won’t be nice.

There’s also a short story about when Akito was little, and how his sister hated him and how he first turned spiteful and mean because of some miscommunication and mean words from his sister. The ending was good, though, and overall I just love seeing little Akito. He was so adorable when he was younger.

Now, onto the next volume.

Sidenote: The cover. It really bothers me that this is the cover for volume 6 and not 5, since she's holding up 5 fingers. I feel like it would make more since for it to be the cover of volume 5. Is that just me? Or do other people think so as well?

Manga Review: Kodocha: Sana's Stage, Volume 5, by Miho Obana

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

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.

Review:

I was unable to find this volume for a little bit, but now I have read it, and am only missing volume 10. So, it will probably be pretty quick reading until I finish book 9, then I will have to wait and find the last book. I’m super excited, though, now that I have most of the volumes and will actually get to finish this series. And it’s so good, too.

So, in this volume: Sana’s new friend, Fuka, hates Akito, because he kissed her when they were five and ruined her life. And she keeps bringing up things that he did wrong and yelling at him, and I don’t like it. She just needs to get over it already. And apparently her hate is because it ruined her chance with this guy from her old school, but we meet him and she lets him go; and, really, thank god. She needs to just move on already. Also, it seems like she’s starting to grow feelings for Akito, which is just not okay.

We also find out that Sana is questioning whether Akito does actually like her or not, and that ever since the thing with her manager (from volume 1), she’s just been very confused about love and romance, and whether a guy actually likes her or not. Which is why Akito needs to actually tell her up front, but he’s too chicken. Also, Sana gets confessed to by this guy at her school, and she told him she is going out with Naozumi, so she didn’t have to be mean and reject him, which is sure to backfire later

While some of this happens, Sana is gone on location filming her new movie, with Naozumi and Rei and Rei’s secret-girlfriend Asako. I really like the interactions between Rei and Asako; I wouldn’t mind seeing more of those. Also, it nice to see Sana growing up and getting some advice/having conversations with an older woman (including shopping for her first bra), as well as seeing how upset Rei is that Sana is getting older.

It’s surprisingly nice how funny the scenes with Naozumi and Sana are. I don’t like them together in a romantic sense, but seeing them just be friends and joking around is fun. Plus, it’s adorable how embarrassed and determined Naozumi can get. I’m warming up to him rather well, it seems.

While Sana and them are out on location out in the mountains, they have no cell service, and so have very little/no contact with the world back home. Which means that Sana hasn’t gotten to talk much with anyone, including Akito. This spells trouble, and I’m a little unhappy and suspicious. Akito was going to confess to Sana before she left, but kept putting it off, and then decided to tell her when she got back, which is in two months. I’m sure something is going to happen to complicate things, and I’m not looking forward to it.

Anyway, Sana is also having some trouble with Naozumi’s fans, three of which keep showing up and spying on them. They’re super jealous of Sana being Naozumi’s girlfriend, even though she’s not (magazines keep saying they are). And at the end of the volume, they’re all beating Sana up with a piece of wood or something, when Naozumi finds them and gets super pissed. He looks like he’s going to hit them, but I doubt that’ll actually happen. I am excited to see what he’ll do, though, and what the after-effects of their bullying is going to be. Hopefully it won’t result in some sweet, lesson-learning moment with the bullies.

A tiny bit off topic, but some of the characters cursed in this book. I think it was only twice, but I was a little surprised by it (I don’t think they’ve cursed in the previous books, but maybe they have?). I don’t know if it says the same thing in Japanese, or if they translated it differently, but I was kind of unsure on if the cursing really needed to be there or not, and I don’t really think it does. I mean, the characters are in middle school, and I know that some people do curse then, but these characters don’t really seem the type, and it didn’t really add much emphasis or empower the moment. Plus, I’ve always thought of this series as targeted toward the younger ages. It just didn’t seem like the cursing needed to be there, to me, but maybe I’m wrong.

I already have the next volume, and I’m planning to read it now that I’ve written this up.