Suppli, Volume 1

Volume 1 of Suppli centers around Minami, an unmarried woman in her late 20's who works a demanding office job for an advertising company and has been with the same man since college. When he suddenly leaves her, she must learn to cope with loneliness and an unfamiliar social landscape as she tries to balance the many tasks of her daily life with her fears of becoming an old maid. The art was fairly nice in this volume, and the plot was developed well enough to help overcome the enjoyment-obstacle of those few confusing panels. I related to Minami; she seemed realistically beset by worry but not to an annoying degree, and she had a streak of confidence that came out just often enough to have the reader cheering for her. It's a solidly josei work, lacking the sometimes-distancing idealism and frustrating perkiness of shoujo romances. All in all, Volume 1 of Suppli is a lovely beginning to what I hope will evolve into an even more engrossing storyline.

Suppli has beautiful art, a great realistic story and soul. This manga, is the study of the life of adult working woman in modern time. It's not trashy like "tramps like us" or "happy mania". Fujii and her co workers, can be anybodies co workers. After her boyfriend of 7 years breaks up with her, which really was going to happen no matter what, Fujii realizes that she doesn't have much of a life. She uses her work to keep herself busy, and starts to develop a better relationship with her co workers. After you turn 25, dating is no longer a game. and she is already 27 with absolutely no idea how to thread the waters of adult love. Fujii's misfortune happened to me, and it was thanks to my work that I was able to forget and survive the experience. I see myself in her shoes and that's what makes it even more special to me.

This book really gave me a pleasant surprise. The main character is very interesting. I also really like the style of the artwork. The story makes me smile, and I enjoy the romance without the juvenile gimmicks of shoujo stories. I'd recommend it if you want to read about someone older than 16

I got this manga on a whim. I didn't really read the description of what the series was about. I just liked the cover art and thought, "Why not?" Sometimes (but not often), this strategy works for me because I was pleasantly surprised by this opening volume. With a main lead who is 27 years old, this story does not fall into the shoujo category of manga but the josei in that it is geared towards an older audience. But that's not what works in its favor. What works is that the writing and art are pretentious free. Minami is 27 years old and works too much. Her workaholic ways leads to a breakup with her boyfriend of 7 years. This breakup, although not surprising, leads her to re-evaluate her life. What is refreshing that while she does not change her routine completely, she does become more observant of the people who inhabit her work world. Equally refreshing is that while she has inner monologues, they don't go on forever and thankfully, they are situation specific. She is, in her way, a soul sister of sorts to Sumire of Yayoi Ogawa's fabulous josei series Tramps Like Us Volume 14 (Tramps Like Us (Graphic Novels)) except that Suppli Volume 1 (Suppli) doesn't employ the plot hook that "Tramps" uses. Instead, author Mari Okazaki plays it straight and lets an almost natural and believable situation unfold as Minami starts to wake up from the slumber that she has been unwittingly in. The first volume of this series understandably focuses on Minami but also introduces us to the interesting people in her life: Yuri, Watanabe, Ishida and Ogiwara. Each of these characters get a solid characterization so that they are memorable and unique. No one who is introduced feels like a throwaway character. They each have reason to be there and that's another plus in this series favor. I've already tagged Suppli Volume 2 for my Wish List so I can keep an eye on it when it comes out. I hope that Vol 2 continues to fulfill the promise of the first volume.

When you're 20 years old you get tired of having to read mangas that always have a 4th grader or an 8th grader as the lead protagonist. And as much as i love Shojo..i'd like more selection and those of you who, like me, are growing up this is a great Josei title where there is little Josei to be found. I really really liked it and can't wait for volume 2. The art work is really sketchy and expressive and i feel it developes at a slow enough pace that it takes time for you to see actual character development and for you to care about the main character by the end of the first volume. Also, this is rated M for mature but there is absolutely no objectional content in this first volume. However because it does chronicle the life of a working 28 year old single woman i'm sure it's just a preemptive move for what is to come. If only it would get here faster.