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Reviewed by Brigid Alverson Ultra Maniac is frothy and funny, easy to read and not too demanding on the intellect. The basic plot is tried and true: a bumbling witch tries to use her magic to help people but keeps getting things wrong. It’s a plot that has been used a lot because it presents so many possibilities. In Ultra Maniac, the possibilities all boil down to one thing: embarrassing seventh-grader Ayu Tateishi. Ayu is one of those highly suggestible girls that keep popping up in manga: A chance comment by a cute guy has led her to a major life change. In this case, it was Tetsushi Kaji, who complimented her one day on staying calm during a math quiz. Because she has a crush on Tetsushi, Ayu takes this as a mandate to be cool and sets out to appear unflappable. As the series opens, she has mostly succeeded. Along comes Nina Sakura, who threatens to blow Ayu’s carefully crafted image to smithereens. Nina is witch who transferred to Ayu’s school because she was flunking out of middle school in the magic kingdom. Her goal is to build up her magic skills so she can return—and she has decided Ayu will be the beneficiary of her efforts. Nina uses a tiny hand-held computer to concoct her spells, but it’s often her approach, rather than the spell itself, that goes wrong. When Ayu wants the strength and skill to beat a boy at tennis, Nina simply turns her into a boy, not thinking about the consequences. When Ayu complains about boys poking her, Nina gives her a ring that delivers an electric shock to any boy that touches her. In addition to not thinking things through very well, Nina is not very good at undoing her spells, so Ayu has to do some fast footwork to cover up the magic from other people. While the premise is good, the plot is wobbly in places. When an eighth-grader makes a fairly obvious play for Tetsushi, inviting him and a friend to a party for eighth-grade girls and seventh-grade boys, Tetsushi seems to be at a loss for two other boys to invite. Nina offers to help, then turns herself and Ayu into boys so they can go to the party. Everything in this episode works except for the notion that Tetsushi, the king of cool, would invite two total strangers, sight unseen, to a party. The art is clean and easy to read. Perhaps because the humor in this book revolves around awkward situations, the characters spend a lot of time as chibbi, childlike and overly emotional versions of their real selves. Artist Wataru Yoshizumi has a nice, very clean way of drawing chibbi that conveys emotion with a few simple lines. The weakest drawing in the whole book is the cover, which seems stiff compared to the art inside. And the back cover image of Nina in Goth Lolita garb is quite inexplicable, as she never dresses that way inside the book. Ultra Maniac takes a simple premise, adds a few likeable characters, and delivers an enjoyable, light read. At the very end, Yoshizumi throws in a hint of complications to come, but for now, it’s just good, old-fashioned fun. Comment on this review of Ultra Maniac v1 on the Manga Life Forums. |
27 October 2009
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