manga: The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross Vol 1

[meganbmoore]

Several years ago, Haine’s prestigious family sold her to the Otomiya family for a loan of 50 million yen. Though her new family seems to have treated her well, Haine rebelled and became a yanki (gangster) when her adopted father married a widow with a son and made him his heir. That came to an end, however, when she met Toga Shizumasa once and talked to him the entire night. This caused Haine to reform and enter the exclusive imperial Academy, which has a ranking system based on precious metals that creates a heirachy. Haine, of course, is bronze, the “commoner” equivalent but wants to earn enough points to gain a silver ranking so that she’ll be able to be close to Shizumasa, the school’s emperor. She gets her chance when a student council member makes her a member of the student council and Shizumasa’s bodyguard after she “saves” him from a kidnapping.

It starts with a typical shoujo plot combining both “girl chases after boy and devotes life to it” and “annoying high school hierarchy,” but soon descends into complete insanity. I mean, it starts of with Haine working part time at the school (the Otomiya family now faces financial difficulties) in a maid uniform and her stoic and blunt best friend, Ushio, chasing them off. Ushio, of course, is in love with Haine and buys her way into the student council to stay close to Haine. Shizumasa alternates between appearing to hate and be irritated by Haine and being sweet and supportive. He pretends to have a boyfriend so that the girls won’t fight over him. Except said boyfriend actually is in love with him. And is yakuza. And is regularly in competition with-and loses to-Maora, the other member of the student council who is frighteningly smart and has a brain like a computer. There are secret societies and rebellions and attempted coups at the school.  Haine’s adopted brother is possibly in love with her.

And did I mention that our former yanki heroine who was sold as a child also kicks snakes and is the hero’s bodyguard? Actually, while I wish Arina Tanemura’s heroine’s weren’t always (in what I’ve read, at least) so dim, I’m glad they’re pretty gutsy, and seem to always be able to back up their claims.

I still die from the EYES and how overwhelmingly busy the artwork is (Calm down! Whites and blacks are not bad things!) but there’s a certain insanity to Arina Tanemura’s stuff that I don’t seem to be able to resist.

Comments

[swanjun.livejournal.com]

Lately, I haven't seemed to like Tanemura's stuff much, but this is the first review that makes The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross actually sound kind of good.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I've been avoiding it for years, but was recently sucked in.

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

wow that sounds pretty crackful, yet entertaining.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

A very accurate description!

[musouka-manga.livejournal.com]

I didn't like Gentleman's Alliance from the first volume I read of it, but I have to give her props for maybe-sorta-kinda-a-little-bit trying a gay couple. I think it was editor interference, though.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Editor interference in what regard?

[musouka-manga.livejournal.com]

Tanemura isn't into male/male at all, so I'm assuming an editor told her to add it to capitalize on current popular trends.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Ah. I did think it seemed odd, as she seems o be into f/f, but that the only time I've seen m/m, and she certainly seemed less interested in it. But I'm new to her stuff.

[musouka-manga.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't even say she's really into "f/f". Her female characters tend to have close "almost-romantic friendships", but that's a shoujo staple in general and they're almost always mutually paired off with their separate guys by the end of the series. There's some subtext, but no more than your average shounen manga, imo.

[mistaria.livejournal.com]

Have you read up to the current US volume? O.o Because there is a gay couple. I won't say more than that because I don't want to be spoilery but yeah.

[musouka-manga.livejournal.com]

That's the gay couple I was talking about. (Knowing she didn't like m/m at all, I was curious to see if she chickened out in the end and did a little digging. Technically, I think she did in a sense, but, eh, kids manga and all...)

Like I said, I give her some props, but I think Tachikawa gets my most props for "homosexual couple in a children's manga series" because that was seriously adorable and surprisingly even-handed for a series aimed at nine year old little girls.

[mistaria.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, my bad, I thought you meant the whole fake relationship between Shizumasa/Miguri.

Yeah, I agree. I didn't know she wasn't into male/male pairings so I definitely give her props for actually developing a relationship between the two.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Only this 1 volume.

[mystickeeper.livejournal.com]

IT'S SO INSANE.

I keep getting volumes from the library, and basically flip through them to go, "Wow, what great artwork! .....WTF. WTF. Okay, pretty artwork."

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I'm learning that "insane" is very descriptive of Tanemura's stuff in general.

[ladysaotome.livejournal.com]

I've been really enjoying Gentleman's Alliance - it's definitely insane but has a serious undercurrent that really grips me. Full Moon grabbed me the same way - I honestly think that buried underneath the insane are themes that Arina's trying to convey/teach to her readers.

[mistaria.livejournal.com]

I like it. It's pretty and cute and keeps me entertained with its insanity. :p

I think you get used to eyes? Or I did at least.

[sexynun.livejournal.com]

I'm on Vol. 7 and still loving it. :)

I am used to the eyes for the most part, except for the pages (at least one per issue) where Haine is thinking about something or is giving someone a smile and her hair is all over the place and everything is just crazy. :P Now and then my fiance (a professional artist) looks over my shoulder and says, "GOD how can you even look at that?? There's no face! It's all eyes!"

I still really enjoy this series because it doesn't take itself too seriously but takes what the characters are feeling seriously. When I first started reading it I felt like it was very near being a sort of parody of Utena, and to some extent still do, but I feel like despite that, the characters are still very real.