It is fantranslated, but I know you don't read scanlations. But man, it is of THE AWESOME. There is also an anime that is subbed? (Do you watch fansubbed anime? Sorry if you are offended by the question)
Sadly I haven't extensively posted about it, because I wanted to wait until I finished reading it in Japanese. It's basically the story of a girl who wants to become an actress. But it's not only that: acting is her life, her consuming passion. She's not especially pretty, is poor, but has a godlike talent and is noticed by a retired actress, and becomes a candidate, along with her great rival, to inherit a famous role. However, this isn't enough to get her ahead: Maya faces huge setbacks in the harsh theatrical world, but is sustained through them by her need to act. It's also pretty amazing because of the creativity involved in how the mangaka portrays acting: I would ruin it if I revealed the numerous devices. Also, although many of the plays are made up by the mangaka, there are some that are based on famous stories both Western and Japanese, to the point where the plays put on become like stories within stories. The rivalry between Maya and her rival, Ayumi, is almost like one of those rivalries in a sports manga, but what really makes me love it is that their relationship is especially pure and chivalrious. In a lesser manga Ayumi would be stereotyped as an evil, mean girl, but while Ayumi is less scrupulous than Maya (who is more innocent and less worldly), she also loves acting and takes it extremely seriously, and wishes to defeat Maya for the role fairly and squarely, as an actress. However there are less scrupulous people out there.
There are also romantic plots, but the main plot, refreshingly, is about the acting and Maya's struggle as an actress. (Oh yeah, just to warn you, the art is old school shoujo, sparkly eyes and all. Kind of like Rose of Versailles or Utena. And it is SUPER DRAMATIC also.)
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2008-11-25 08:55 am (UTC)Sadly I haven't extensively posted about it, because I wanted to wait until I finished reading it in Japanese. It's basically the story of a girl who wants to become an actress. But it's not only that: acting is her life, her consuming passion. She's not especially pretty, is poor, but has a godlike talent and is noticed by a retired actress, and becomes a candidate, along with her great rival, to inherit a famous role. However, this isn't enough to get her ahead: Maya faces huge setbacks in the harsh theatrical world, but is sustained through them by her need to act. It's also pretty amazing because of the creativity involved in how the mangaka portrays acting: I would ruin it if I revealed the numerous devices. Also, although many of the plays are made up by the mangaka, there are some that are based on famous stories both Western and Japanese, to the point where the plays put on become like stories within stories. The rivalry between Maya and her rival, Ayumi, is almost like one of those rivalries in a sports manga, but what really makes me love it is that their relationship is especially pure and chivalrious. In a lesser manga Ayumi would be stereotyped as an evil, mean girl, but while Ayumi is less scrupulous than Maya (who is more innocent and less worldly), she also loves acting and takes it extremely seriously, and wishes to defeat Maya for the role fairly and squarely, as an actress. However there are less scrupulous people out there.
There are also romantic plots, but the main plot, refreshingly, is about the acting and Maya's struggle as an actress. (Oh yeah, just to warn you, the art is old school shoujo, sparkly eyes and all. Kind of like Rose of Versailles or Utena. And it is SUPER DRAMATIC also.)