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Reviewed by Ryan Huston Seiji Sawamura is the toughest seventeen year-old in town, feared by all for his fighting prowess and his deadly "devil's right hand." But at heart, Seiji is a softy, and all he wants is an end to his seventeen-year history of being a lonely single guy. Unfortunately, his tough-guy reputation only serves to decrease his popularity with the ladies. Then one day, Seiji wakes up to discover his "devil's right hand" has turned into...a miniature gal named Midori! I must admit that I'm relatively new to anime and manga. I've always liked certain Japanese cartoons, but the passing fancy only became a very serious interest about a year or so ago. Because of this, I have not yet reached that jaded plateau where nothing surprises me. So, a few months back when I heard about "Midori no Hibi" and it's hilariously perverse concept, I sat for several seconds, puzzled and speechless... "So," I finally blurted, "...it's about a guy who's hand turns into a girl?!" And indeed it is. In v1, the Midori Saga begins with Seiji awakening to find Midori attached to his hand. After several minutes of screaming hysteria, he discovers that Midori is/was an actual girl who had a crush on him. Now, however, the 1:1 scale Midori lies in a coma and by some inexplicable somehow a miniaturized version is fused to his wrist. As the book progresses, of course, several girls begin to take an interest in Seiji now that he can't actually hook up with anyone, lest they see his hand... er, girl... um... girlhand? Whatever. It sets the state for some pretty amusing - though somewhat predictable - situations. Case in point, when the scene in which Seiji goes to see the comatose Midori reaches it's darkly humorous conclusion, the fact that you saw it coming for the last three pages won't diminish the comedic value. That said, I have some complaints about this book, one being the inherent dark side of its premise. After all, Midori is small and it inevitably makes her appear childlike. As a result, some of the situations she's placed seem a little creepy. Maybe that's an intentional commentary on the Otaku fondness for revealing trading figures, I don't know. Still, I enjoyed most of the book but some parts were just straight-up unnecessary. One area where this book really succeeds, though, is the artwork. It's the cute, zany, and exaggerated artwork typical of the medium, of course. But it's VERY well done here. This story presented in a book with bad, or even mediocre, art would have been a dismal failure, but Kazurou has done a fabulous job of lining up his words and visuals in a way that makes both work perfectly. In a nutshell: It's a cute, and funny read. I think pretty much anyone could find something giggle-worthy here. Violence/Gore: Some fighting, and blood. Nothing serious. Fanservice: Some mild and wholly unnecessary boobage. Comment on this review of Midori Days v1 on the Manga Life Forums. |
29 September 2009
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