Imadoki (Imadoki)

Rating:
Summary: Imadoki!!!
Review: When i first saw the cover of this book, I quickly realized the art was Yuu Watase's *_*. She has written many manga, like: Fushigi Yugi, Ceres: Celestial Legend (which I still don't get :p), and Alice 19th, but her newest work, Imadoki, (I have to say) is the best one! ^_^<br /> I personaly LOVE manga about girls with magical powers, alternant demensions, and end-of-the-world consencvenses (Forgive my spelling! ^_^') but sometimes it's nice to relax with some original, normal high-school life stories, and this manga doesn't disappoint!*sigh* <br /> I am SOOOOOOOOOOO glad I bought it ^___^!!!! I'm going back for Vol. 2!!!! The art has cute girls, some best drawn boys I've ever seen, a great original story that grabs you, and the over all book is just GREAT!!!! You won't be sorry! ^_~

Rating:
Summary: Change is scary...but sometimes it's good!
Review: All right, I will admit this: I bought Imadoki because of the manga-ka's name on the front: Yu Watase. Watase-san has never disappointed me, and I have read all of her works that have been translated into English up to this date. (July 2004). However, I was a little surprised when I started to read. No fantasy world? No magical powers? No "ultimate destiny" like the ones faced by Miaka, Aya, and Alice? This is definitely different than Watase-san's other works. I'm not going to give you a plot summary, that's what the little Amazon review thingy is for up above. But, I will tell you this: Yes, this book is not like Watase-san's other works. Heroes and villians aren't exactly defined, the world isn't in danger, and golly, there are an awful lot of flowers.

However, the elements that Watase uses to tell her story are still the same ones she uses in Fushigi Yugi, Ceres, Alice...she gives us a protagonist (female, of course!) that is struggling with something other girls in the world can relate to. Only this time around, the girl isn't thrust into this sudden alternate universe to help her solve her problems and realize her self-worth; this heroine does it on her own turf, with her own hands. There are the beautiful drawings and the handsome bishonen ^_^, and the fact that Watase-san puts a new spin on a pretty-much used up misunderstood-girl plot.

If you are a Watase-san fan, then I don't hesitate to recommend this to you, although if you are going to be disappointed by a lack of fantasy genre and short length (this series is only 5 books long), you might consider picking it up at another time. If you are a shoujo manga fan in general, then this title won't disappoint. It has enough cuteness, and you might be turned on to Watase's other titles. Personally, I loved it!

Rating:
Summary: A disappointment compared to Watase's previous novels...
Review: I've read (and own) all of Watase's translated novels that are currently out (July 2004) and I must say that reading Imadoki is definitly a disappointment compared to Watase's other novels. All Watase's other novels captured me within the first novel and sent me begging for more because of the creative storylines, universal themes, and believible characters, but Imadoki lacks all of these along with a missing major conflict. First off, Tanpopo (protagonist of Imadoki)is flat with a positive, naive attitude which misses the realism of negative features in her personality . Another negative feature of the protagonist's bubbly attitude is that it provides no REAL conflict in the novel. The supposed conflict is of Tanpopo's struggle to make friends in her new school where everyone's a snob. But there really is no conflict because the protagonist is so naive she doesn't realise her conflict and makes friends anyway. Because there isn't a struggle in the novel so far, there's no hook that captures the reader and leaves them wanting more.

Another great setback of this novel is that it's not a fantasy like Watase's other works so the plot (there's a plot?) is further bored down.

If you haven't read an Yu Watase novels yet, I recommend Alice 19th, Ceres, or Fushigi Yugi instead of Imadoki. These are all captivating (even though all have a love triangle in them which is so obvious you can tell who the heroine ends up with without a brain) :P.