Otomen 6

Aya Kanno – Viz – 2010 – 11+ volumes

This volume does different things and focuses on side characters, which is good, because after the conclusion to the “Beauty Samurai” story… not that I didn’t like it, but there’s only so long the story can be about Asuka worrying about not being manly enough. I know that’s the joke, more or less, but there’s so much potential for bizarre parody, and this volume is a great example.

Of the four chapters, the first finishes up the Beauty Samurai story (and it doesn’t go where it promises, annoyingly… at least this series has the shoujo tendency to drag things out perfected), the second is about Yamato trying to figure out how to be more appealing on a date, the third features Kitora, and the fourth introduces an Otomen-ish Visual Kei band where the lead singer apparently hates Visual Kei and loves super girly music.

And yeah, the amazing side characters are a big part of what keeps this episodic comedy rolling and so incredibly good volume after volume. The Yamato chapter was pretty funny, since Yamato had a really strange idea of what girls liked and how to be “manly” on a date, and also because he kept unintentionally saying things that made him and Asuka seem like a couple.

But the clear winner in this volume was the Kitora story. Kitora really is a great character. He loves flowers, and he doesn’t care who knows. He loves flowers more than girls. It’s a shame that he crosses paths with Juta’s sister, since she’s afraid of flowers because of bees and they both wind up attracted to one another. It’s sweet, and also a little messed up, in true Otomen style. Kitora, Juta, and Asuka try desperately to get her over her fear of flowers, everything from goofy stuff to good ideas, all the while both she and Kitora looking genuinely disappointed that the obstacle can’t be overcome. Hopefully Juta’s sister is here to stay, both for Kitora’s sake and because she seems to be Juta’s primary assistant on Love Chick. The fear of flowers also means she fits right in with the crazy cast of characters, all of whom are very unique.

I’m intrigued by the rock star in the last chapter. The volume ends on a cliffhanger, so we don’t quite learn as much as I’d like about him, but it’ll be interesting to see if he goes forward with his Visual Kei personality, all the while secretly confiding in his doppelganger Asuka about the girliest of girly music. I did like his split personality, though. As comfortable as he was hamming it up for his lady fans, he was hilariously meek and submissive when in his regular personality. Even Asuka seemed taken aback.

So, six volumes in, and the jokes are still good. Ai Morinaga good, maybe, but slightly less crude. And I think this series has the edge over an Ai Morinaga series since the characters are far better. I’m interested to see how many ideas and twists Otomen can throw at its characters before all is said and done. It’s formulaic for sure, but it’s not old yet, and it’s still one of my favorite current shoujo series.