Pearl Pink, Volume 1

I bought this title sight unseen because of Meca Tanaka's other title, Omukae Desu. I loved that series! There is definitely the same "something" in Pearl Pink. The characters are all doing their best and care about one another. Just the kind of people I'd like to hang out with. Its a slice of life written for a younger audience. No "buts."

This is one of the cutest series I have picked up in a while. The story is about a young girl named Tamako who was promised by Kan-chan that he would make her his wife if she grew up strong and didn't cry anymore. Ever since that day Tamako has turned herself in a tomboy trying hard not to cry. One day they meet again... I'd say more but that'd spoil it. You should pick it up. It's a cute series with lots of laughs. The art is beautiful too.

SO MUCH FUN. This is almost a "but" book: I don't normally like we-promised-in-kindergarten, "I will become your bride!", genderbending idol books, but.... actually that last part is a lie, I totally love gemderbending idol books. Momono Tamako, the daughter of pop idol Momono Shinju, has grown up determined to be strong so that she can win the love of Inui Kanji, whose father owns a minor talent agency ("Dog Run"). Of course Dog Run is also the agency that employs Tamako's mother. Of course Tamako ends up living with Kanji and his father. Of course Kanji wasn't serious when he said he'd marry her if she stopped being a crybaby. Of course he's great at domestic things like cooking and sewing, leaving her frustrated in her wifely ambitions. Of course she's an innocent, energetic, immature, half-wild middleschooler (thirteen is middle school, right? Not elementary? ahahaha). BUT, a few make it better than your average run-of-the-mill: 1. Kanji's father and Tamako's mother are nuts in an exuberant, dramatic, embarrassingly-over-the-top way. In the case of the mother, it's sweet and a little sad: Momono-mom was in her teens when she had Tamako, and wasn't able to bring her up. Now that they're finally together, she tends to cling, and act childishly, and generally be more like a sister than a mother. In the case of the father...he likes to crossdress. (The author's note at the back says, "Crazy parents are so much fun to draw!") 2. The author really, genuinely, honestly loves idols. And boybands. And cheesiness. *g* 3. Kanji's unexpected strength as a character. You know when you pick up one of these titles that the guy will be noble -- or the author will say he's noble -- but, placed in a situation that continuously offers opportunities for non-noble behavior through (of course) no fault of his own, a bit of inner pervert is bound to show up in any red-blooded teenager. But...not so here. Kanji is really just a decent guy. He really just likes dressing girls up with no designs on their (underaged!) bodies. He really is quietly macho in a way that does not rule out sewing, cooking, and being idolized by the teenage boyband member he saved from a life on the streets. *g* And so on. Honestly, it's a little unbelievable, but everything about the character is so consistently UN-sleazy that you just want to go along with it. The author's note, predictably, describes Kanji as "Serious, something of a busybody, and secretly a little perverted." However I prefer to IGNORE this last part, because it doesn't show up anywhere in the story. This manga is basically a fairytale about how a selfish, fearless prepubescent monkey-girl can win the heart of a responsible, talented, self-possessed guy who is NOT into shota. But it's a nice fairytale -- and by the end of the volume, Tamako shows real signs of growing up.