Pretty Face, Vol. 1

This is even funnier than Ouran High School Host Club, and that's saying something! There is plenty of comedy for everyone. I'm going out to buy the rest of them right now.

It's hard to describe Pretty Face. Masashi Rando was once a typical shonen (boys) manga hero. But the brash karate club leader suffered horrific burns in a bus crash and fell into a coma. He wakes a year later with everyone thinking he died, including his family. And the doctor who reconstructed his face worked from the photo in his pocket - a photo of his crush Rina. When he stumbles into Rina, he's shocked to find she isn't surprised by her doppelganger. Her twin sister Yuna ran away two years ago to become a beautician and she thinks Rando is Yuna returned. Rando does not particularly like his new role, but if pretending to be Yuna makes Rina happy, he will do it. Now he just has to find the real Yuna so he can regain his identity. There are the expected hijinks: Rando must keep his male identity secret despite the fact he's walking around in a miniskirt. But his failure to act like a nice, sweet girl creates the best comic moments. He understands the power of cuteness but just cannot resist using his feet and fists on jerks. There's also a great deal of fanservice and ecchi moments some readers might be uncomfortable with. I am just curious as to why the girls always manage to flash their panties when they kick someone but Rando manages to keep the family jewels covered despite the fact he beats people up multiple times a chapter. (Okay, he doesn't always manage, but he does more often than not.) One main problem with the manga is the real Yuna. She leaves without a word and never writes or visits. But all evidence in the story shows that she cares deeply for her twin as well as the rest of the family. It doesn't really add up. However, it's that sisterly relationship that allows PRETTY FACE to work. Rando truly cares for Rina, and in his disguise he does his best to be a good older sister. He doesn't take advantage of the fact they live together. (He just beats anyone who looks at Rina the wrong way.) I like gender bending comedy. I think PRETTY FACE does it well, with a good blend of violence and sweetness. I do not think people new to manga should start with this title. There are less absurd titles that might be a better place to start. (For girls, the reigning gender bender comedy is probably Hana Kimi.) For those who don't mind a crazy plot and a little fan service, PRETTY FACE is a pretty good title to relax with. From In Bed With Books

This has got to be the funniest manga I own at the moment, unless Pretty Face volume two is funnier. Rando was just a regular male. Well, not really. He was the strongest guy in the Karate club and he beat people up. He also had a crush on Rina. Well, when he awakes from a bus crash, a doctor mistakes him for her and does plastic surgery to look like her. Now Rina thinks Rando is her twin sister who's been away for about a year or two. This is funny stuff. The characters are perverted and hilarious, and there is much suspense going on. In fact, the end leaves you hanging for a sequel which is the second volume. Rando gets into sticky situations that almost get him caught of being a male and considered the biggest pervert in Japan. Wow. Very funny manga. I recommend it to Older Teens.

I found myself in B & N a few weeks back browsing a large shelf of manga. I have not been keeping up with my series lately and just wanted somthing fesh to get me back in the mood to read. I saw this lovely little cover upon the shelf and almost set it back before catching a glance at the summery on the back cover. Interested immidiately I bought it and read it all the way home. This manga is wonderful in everyway! I think it is one of the most original plots I have read in years. It is hilariously funny and entertaining. The art is just perfect! Yasuhiro Kano is an amazing talent! I will buy every book in this series with haste! I am in love! ^_^

Well, it's not exactly a novel idea in manga / anime to have a guy 'become' a girl - Ranma 1/2, Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl, etc. among the notable ones along that theme. But Pretty Face does a surprisingly good job at taking that same beginning and giving the story a whole different perspective. As a lead character, Rando has surprising depth. In our first introduction to him, he comes across as an egotistical, shallow bully with no real friends. In fact, even though his fellow Karate Club members cheer for him at competitions, they are really only civil to him at all out of fear of getting beaten up by him. Oblivious to all of this, he goes on with his life thinking that he has the respect and admiration of his classmates, when it really is just fear and intimidation. After his accident, and circumstances causing him to become 'Yuna', he gets an outsider's look at his former life - and really doesn't like what he sees. Pretty much the whole first volume is the struggle of him fighting his instincts and trying to do the right thing this time around. But before it sounds like this is some great highbrow philosophical epic, let me say that they are definitely playing it for laughs. The plastic surgeon, Dr. Manabe, is a great recurring character, as he persists in his pervy efforts to persuade Rando to let him 'finish the job' and do a full-blown sex change. And the artwork is superb - the facial expressions are over the top throughout - especially in the chapter involving 'Yuna' suddenly gaining massively enhanced breasts overnight... From what I have seen in this volume, there's a lot to look forward to in the upcoming releases. (In fact, I now have Vol. 2 on pre-order...)