About the Mangaka

Not a whole lot available on Hidaka Banri, other than a list of her previous works, including the “I hate you more than anyone” title.

About the Mangaka

vb rose 01

This was another title picked up just to fill up my special offer basket, and only because it looked so damned nice.

This is a pretty damn good shojo series, though if you’re looking for anything original you wont find it here. It uses all the same old cliches that’s been used through shojo titles, and does so well.

One of the areas I especially found myself liking in this volume was the cleanness of the character designs and the drawings. I found them very easy to follow, and to actually feel something for.

It’s far from perfect by any means, there were a few time I found the art failed a bit, however I feel these are just down to the normal quirks of a mangaka’s style.

The personalities of the characters are pretty well developed already, which is unusual for a first volume. The story does stutter a bit at first but settles down very swiftly.

The story doesn’t really fit my style to be honest, but I was impressed with it’s flow, and the consistency. Hidaka’s writing style is similar to her art, light airy, and free flowing.

As I said, she struggles setting the story up at first, but within a short time Hidaka resolves the problems she has and settles down.

Tokyopop prove that they can put some effort into their releases when they want to. The cover art for this volume is astounding, pure white with faux gold leaf, and soft colours. The dark blue rose on the cover stands out clearly, as it was meant to.

Translation wise they did an excellent job of it, a few minor things here and there, but nothing glaringly wrong. They even used a higher grade paper than usual, though it’s not up to the level of say Yen Press.

While I admit this series isn’t one that I’m head over heels for, it is one I’m curious about, and I have ordered the next two volumes in the series. As such it’s not on my list, we’ll see how it goes.

Where to Buy

  • Share/Bookmark