Manga Review: Wild Act, Volume 10, by Rie Takada

Rating (Out of 5): ~3 (maybe 3.5)

Publisher: Tokyopop

Release Date: 2005

Volumes: 10

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. RightStuf.

Volume: 1.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ryu and Yuniko’s life in La-La Land has been an emotional roller coaster, but nothing can prepare them for a shocking revelation that might separate the two lovebirds forever! When they run into Goldie, a powerful movie producer, Ryu and Yuniko learn that Hollywood dreams sometimes turn out to be nightmares.

What Will I Miss?:

• I'll miss the way Takada crafts a story, with the characters progression, and chemistry growth, particularly since I know she gets better at it later.

Review:

This series was not nearly as good as I thought it would be. It wasn’t disappointing, per se, and I liked the ending, it just wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be.

This was a fun series, I liked the characters and somewhat plot twists. I think I mainly didn’t connect very well with the characters, or grow as attached to them as I would have liked. However, I did really like the ending. I liked what happened with Yuniko’s mother and her dog. What happened with Yuniko and Ryu was not particularly a surprise (although, at points, I did have some doubts), but I did like their outcome. The ending was good, very satisfying.

I’m glad I read this series. And I have read the other series by Takada that have been released over here and enjoyed them, so I would definitely pick up another by her, were another to be released. 

Also, sidenote: the image on the back of volume 9 and 10 are the same. Did anyone else notice that? It really bothers me that they didn’t use a different picture. Was there a reason for that? Was it a misprint and they changed it later or something?

Manga Review: Wild Act, Volume 1, by Rie Takada

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Tokyopop

Publish Date: 2003

Spoilers?: No/Very Minor.

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

Celebs Rule, Groupies Drool!

Yuniko is your typical 15-year-old girl — except she's obsessed with the late, great actor Akira Nanae. In fact, she'll go to any lengths to swipe anything that belonged to him. She breaks into dressing rooms, sets off fire alarms, and even employs robotic housekeepers to recover his lost possessions.

The only person who stands between Yuniko and Nanae's coveted Academy Award statue is Ryu Eba, and up-and-coming actor who's known as the "New Nanae." He's on to Yuniko's schemes and takes great pleasure in placing roadblocks in her way. When Yuniko's with Ryu, tempers flare and sparks fly—but before long, her anger turns into what might be attraction. Suprise!

But the real suprise comes with Ryu reunites Yuniko with her long-lost mother. This family reunion is nothing like anyone ever expected...

Review:

I’ve read a couple other of Takada’s stories, and have had this on my eye for a while. I finally got my hands on the full series, and plan to be making quick work of it.

This volume started out a bit slow, but relatively quickly got interesting.

Yuniko, a fifteen-year-old, is obsessed with Akira Nanae, a famous movie star who died sixteen years. And she’s determined to get all of his worldly possession, and has ended up having to steal them from the people that have them. Which includes taking the newly-awarded trophy away from Ryu Eba, a newly recognized and popular actor only two years older than her, on the night he’s given it. And that starts their friendship.

He gets it back, but teases her into trying to steal it again, and somehow they end up running into each other several more times, and then he takes a job at the theatre near where she lives, and where her best friend works.

I liked Yuniko. I’d already guessed the reason behind her obsession, but it still left me satisfied and looking forward to more. She has a pet flying squirrel, Kamui, her little apprentice who’s adorable. I like the few friends of hers that I’ve met so far, and look forward to getting to know them better. Her mother is in the hospital, and has been for as long as she can remember, and she goes to see her, for the first time, at the end of this volume and I’m looking forward to seeing how that works out. I like Ryu Eba, and am looking forward to seeing their relationship and attraction develop. Really looking forward to that.

This was a pretty good volume, and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.