meganbmoore: (next stop: amnesia)
meganbmoore ([personal profile] meganbmoore) wrote2009-08-27 11:03 am

manga: Ultimate Venus Vol 3-4

Now that I am reading the mangaka’s better known Tenshi Ja Nai, I feel less shameful about enjoying this! I’m also relieved that I hated a short story that was included in volume three. It was about a college student whose boyfriend cheated on her and told her that she was oh-so-frigid and the usual, and then she basically leapt in bed with the manslutty high school student she tutored and he made her feel all womanly and sexy. It made Takako Shigematu’s ongoing stories look so much better in comparison! (Though nothing will make me get King of the Lamp, or whatever it’s called. It just looks awful.)

These volumes have less of Yuzu kicking people for being idiots, but more of her plotting to avoid having her life micromanaged, so I will accept the tradeoff. I am also pleased to see that she’s taking self-defense lessons.

In “annoying shoujo tropes” we have, of course, “ZOMG! Arranged marriage! And not with the one she wants!” Though at least she gets to choose between three potential fiancés, only two of which we meet here. One is your typical angsty playboy shoujo jerk, while the other is a horror and romance obsessed guy who’s kinda adorable. He also has an awesome younger sister, Kanna, with an unfortunately huge brother complex. As Iyo, Yuzu’s coconspirator/bodyguard/fake boyfriend clearly will not end up with Yuzu, I’ll root for him and Kanna. Kanna approves.

I remain unimpressed with Kagami as Yuzu’s obvious eventual True Love (Complete with wee!Yuzu bandaging teen!angsty!Kagami in the playground and him developing a lifelong devotion, which led to his current employment.) but at least he isn’t pursuing his employer’s underaged granddaughter! Yet.

 

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