Confidential Confessions Volume 1

This is a manga that very few seem to have read or even heard about. It's only got around 300 votes on MAL (which is low when popular stuff can get over 10,000) and only the contents of Vol. 1 have been put on the internet for e-pirates like myself. This isn't really that shocking when you consider what the series is about and the audience it's aimed at, but it's still a shame that it, a series Tokyopop have releashed in English, hasn't received more love when it's a very well-written, very realistic series. Each of the 6 volumes of Confidential Confessions (CC) provide 1-4 stories that focus on a different set of characters and problems. The main character of each each story is always a junior-high school female. As the covers of each volume indicate with words such as "rape" and "suicide" being spread across them in large, faint letters, there's none of the joking or silliness that's often associated with manga/anime included - it's as close to reality as manga can get. Vol. 1 opens with a story about a pair of suicidal high school girls who hate living meaningless, lonley existences. The female lead can't handle the emptiness of life as an adult, her mother making her problems worse by putting on front to the world; acting like her husband hasn't left her. The other girl suffers from bullying, and has done for years. Both end up coming together, drawn to each other by their feelings of depression, and what follows is an insightful look into the minds of people who wish for death and what it means to be truly suicidal. The second story is about a girl who, having left home to live on the streets, selling her body for money, is changed forever by an encounter with somene who sees her as more than just an object to be used. Although it was really just there to fill the space the first story of Vol. 1 didn't fill, it was very good and the author got her message across. The third story lasts fo the entire second volume (the longest story in CC), it being about a girl who has to decide if she should keep quiet about the sexual harrasment of the famous tennis coach that works at her school. Given the way Japanese men grope girls on trains in Japan, the story about a famous high school tennis coach molesting and talking dirty to his students, who feel forced to go along with his actions out of fear of losing their places on the tennis team, never came across as unbelievable. Moving onto Vol. 3, the forth is a 150 page story that deals with a girl who, due to the pressure of her father, enters into the world of drugs and becomes addicted to the point of selling herself. The way an ordinary school girl slowly went from pressured but happy to selling herself for the money to buy more drugs made it one of the most emotional stories of the series, and the way the author detailed what happens when someone takes different drugs made it yet another highly informative story for people who want to know a little more but don't want to read lifeless text to

Confidential Confessions is one of the greatest manga of all time because it deals with real issues. You wont find any magic, superheroes, or bishounen in this series. Instead you will read about girls who have to deal with tough issues such as bullying, rape, sexual harassment, drugs, prostitution, stalking, and suicide. I recommend that every teen read Confidential Confessions. Vol. 1 A strong beginning to an amazing series. The first story in this volume deals with bulling, suicide, while the second story deals with prostitution. Vol. 2 This entire volume deals sexual harassment and is an awesome follow up the first volume. Vol. 3 The first story in this volume is great because it explores drugs and some of the reasons why kids take them, however the second story is forgettable and is overshadowed by its predecessors. Vol. 4 The story in this volume deals with prostitution again but instead of having a protagonist go into prostitution because of bad circumstances, this girl goes into prostitution because she is very materialistic and wants money to buy brand name items. The next story revisits the issue of bullying but in more depth. Both of the stories are remarkable but the next story is (for lack of better terms) lame. It deals with lesbianism but the impact is not hard hitting because the main character seems like a stalker rather than someone who is hiding her true feelings for the same sex. Vol. 5 This volume treads on the tender issues of rape and AIDS. This volume is magnificent and I believe it should have been the last because of the bittersweet ending. Vol. 6 This is the weakest of all 6 volumes and is a pathetic and disappointing end to a great yet disturbing series. The first story is about stalking and the second story involves a girl who is transformed from a victim to a bully. There you have it, the complete mini-guide to Confidential Confessions. Like I said before this is a great manga and should be read by all teens. My only complaint is that this story was meant for the Japanese and so some of the main characters actions wont make sense to Americans (you might say, "what the hell is the matter with them, why don't they speak up for themselves!?)" because the Japanese are much more reserved people who don't like to make trouble for their family of school.

I really liked this manga. It is very good, I just finished Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, both are amazingly great.! As this is a review page for Vol. 1. I will proceed to review that volume alone, and will save the Vol. 2 Review for another day. First, Confidential Confessions is not all dark and horrible. Yes, it is dark, but its not dark to be dark. Its presenting real-life issues. Maybe some issues everyone has struggled with in one time or another(Suicide, depression, feeling unwanted, helplessness, ect.), and it does it in a way that's not preachy or phoney. The characters are very real, they may be going through hard times, but you understand their problems and you care about them. They are not presented as people in these situations are usually presented: As flat, and people whom are completely self-absorbed. Obviously these people are self-involved, but so are all of us, these people are in the skids of life, just like we all hit sooner or later, or maybe we're in our whole life. But in the first story of the first Vol. these girls are sick of the way the world is, they want to make a difference in it. And I know exactly how they feel. I've been going through the exact same stuff as them. hehe And the scene at Asparagus' funeral, that just made me so mad, the way the girls, and everyone else acted. She wanted to make a difference by dying, but it all remained exactly the same... And be insight is to be found. The second story makes me really sad, it really made me think a lot. Yoshioka had a broken home life, she thought it would be better to live life on her own terms and do what she wants, so she left home at 13. So she turns to prostitution to make quick cash, the no-commitment sex gives her her fix without having to give them her name. And she is okay doing this until she meets Ryo, a guy who plays guitar on the streets, and takes her in without asking for anything in return. She changes the way she thinks more by what he doesn't do, then by what he does. But it is the decisions she makes after he has begun to change her that made me cry. :( The consequenses seemed all to real, as my friends mother is a counselor at JDH. :( Don't let my descriptions turn you off, because these stories are really good. They will make you think, maybe even lend you a new perspective. So don't be shy, give Confidential Confessions a try today.! :D God Bless & *Enjoy* ~Amy

So many different ways to describe this book, it is like no other manga that I have read. For a start, there is no magic of any kind, or any special circumstances. It is about normal teenagers, and therein lies the brilliance. It still maintains to be about normal teenagers, but delves right into the dark heart that exists in all of us, it takes us into a world filled with pain, a world that our main characters want to end. The first story in the book is the longer, and is about two girls trying to commit suicide. That is the book in a nutshell. It is brutal, there is no mincing of words or beating around the bush, it simply tells their story while they try to end their lives. It is a gripping, and harsh read. I didn't find myself thinking "What are they thinking?" during it, instead I understood their point of view. It is very well done. The second story is about a prostitute who falls in love, but is arrested and sent away from her love. It is not as gripping as the first story, but has a sad ending, like they promise on the cover "Life doesn't always have a happy ending". A great read.

When I first heard about this manga, I have to confess it didn't sound too appealing. One's first impression is of an extremely dark, angsty series, (the "rape" "drug abuse" "suicide" and so forth on the cover is testimony to that!) and if you don't like that sort of thing, you definitely wouldn't be interested- or so I thought. As it turned out, once I read it i realized how wrong I was. The stories are very true to life and compelling, making you want to read more and more. CC deals with characters that may start out screwed up, but they grow and learn and eventually are able to put it behind them- which is very different from the typical angsty stories I've read in the past, which usually involve melodramatic, whiny main characters who come to a sticky (and most often self-inflicted) end. Anyway, this really is a great book. You don't have to be 18 to read it, just make sure you know what kind of content you're getting into, and that whatever your age, you're mature enough to deal with it. ^_^ ciao!