Hot Gimmick S
Posted: March 9, 2007 Filed under: Hot Gimmick S 18 Comments »Yeah. I think this doesn’t really have an audience. The way it’s written is kind of like… I don’t know, seriously for about a kid in 6th grade or younger, but Hot Gimmick is definitely above that age bracket as far as the manga goes (you know, the sex slave stuff, the attempted rape et al). It was really hard to read.
The beginning is basically just a recap of the series. You realize that Ryoki beat Hatsumi a lot, and it’s harder to take in novel form because Hatsumi just kind of tells you (which is another thing that made it weird: the book is in first person from Hatsumi’s pov, so she’s just relating everything to you). A lot of the events in the series make you cringe a little when recounted in this way. It was hard to get through this first part.
The part I did like was about Shinogu’s past, which was the part in the middle. The novel goes into more depth than the series, and describes Shinogu’s parents and how it was that the Narita family came to adopt him.
The last part… ugh. It’s just Hatsumi and Shinogu stressing over each other, except it’s harder to take because… it’s just different as a novel. Plus, Hatsumi stays true to character throughout the book’s duration, so it’s kind of ditzy and lame even at its coolest parts, and this tone definitely does not help the not-so-good parts. I was no Hatsumi/Shinogu fan, but even taking that into account, the romance at the end was kind of lousy.
Yeah. Mostly my problem was that the writing was way, WAY too young for the series, and it was hard to read because of that. The young audience also kind of skewed the content (though the sex slave stuff and attempted rape remain intact), so there’s just a lot of hand holding and angst, plus a lot of internal monologues and indecision from Hatsumi.
In short, I hated it. There, I said it. What a lousy book.
Thanks for the review. I loved Hot Gimmick but I was kind of wary of reading the novels. Now I know I can skip that.
Yeah, it’s bad. Not even bad in a “only for fans of the series” way. Bad in a “if you felt totally wronged that Hatsumi didn’t wind up with Shinogu, maybe you might like it, but probably not because it’s pretty bad” kind of way.
I really enjoyed the series, but I couldn’t find a place to get Hot Gimmick S. After reading your review, I would still like to read it, but now I just have really low expectations. It’s too bad that it’s poorly written, I was in favor of Shinogu over Ryoki.
It’s at least a quick read, and I’ll admit I read it after being duly warned, and I wasn’t Shinogu’s biggest fan. It definitely begs a read from anyone who liked the series, but it is pretty awful.
I haven’t seen it too many places myself, I got it at a discount online.
I ended up buying it to complete my collection, but I have to admit that if it wasn’t for the artwork in the manga series I probably would never have collected the series to begin with. If Hatsumi had shown the inclination of being someone who likes a little S&M in her relationships, then the abuse wouldn’t have been so bad. Instead she just “hopes it’ll get better”.
In this book I was dissapointed. Even though they gave good reasons why she should be with Shinogu, it still creeped me out that he was her brother. I couldn’t help but think that Shinogu only fell for her b/c she was some symbol of goodness up on a pedestal to him. I really doubted the true sincerity of the relationship. I just couldn’t see it lasting.
I know! Even with the whole adoption thing it always made me feel really dirty when anything was implied between Hatsumi and Shinogu. I can understand they’re not technically siblings, but I could never separate that fact from them myself. That was just icing on the cake for me when I read the book, since it was all about that relationship.
i really want to read it…please…can you tell me where can i read it for free online? PLEASE!!!
It’s rare that you find a novel like this translated online by fans. I’d say you’ll probably have to find it in a library or something if you wanted to read it.
I really liked the Hot Gimmick series, it was a nice,cute manga series. I was kind of rooting for Shinogu and Hatsumi though, and as I read that there was going to be a Hot Gimmick S for that, I was excited. I guess it’s not worth it. I’d like to see Aihara Miki write one herself! That’d be totally great! Or maybe somebody else can write one Shinogu & Hatsumi…
Yeah, I’d have to say, unless you were really desperate to see the two together, this is definitely worth passing on. I think I would have liked it much better in manga or doujinshi form… then at least we would have been spared the lengthy text recap of the series.
Dudes your all gay in sexual term especially you Connie who has no life but to continue to agree with other people that Hot Gimmick S is the worst book ever printed IN LIFE. But I have to say that there are more worser books than Hot Gimmick S, at least give credit to the publisher and the people who worked hard on it(and the original auther/Miki Aihara)to give the people who wished Hatsumi to be with a “different prefence” in the manga series. I have to say no matter how awful and/or bad a book is there is no reason for sombody else to truly cherish that one special book. I say not as a Shinogu Fan but as a critic for the books in the world that were founded as horrible and stupid in the first place. Every book is unique as every person is in their own personality and we all have different tastes for what we call a “good book”. No matter what anybody crtic’s for Hot Gimmick S I say that it is the most beautiful book I have ever read. I’m Hatsummi 333 and I say,”Read on for the blood! And Goodnight.”
I personally liked the book. Yes the word choice, I will admit it,was poor. But it’s the story line that counts. If you wish to be a critic of a persons book, of which they have put hard work and time in, create your own and then you can decide if yours is any better.
Oops and i forgot to add something…
It just might not make as much sense in the english language.
I’ve read up to volume 7.
The book is not all that great ><
It totally did not live up to my expectations, with all the abuse going on :l
Thanks for the review. I'm going to stop reading it. lol
I just finished the series today and personally hated how it ended.
I had been looking forward to the novelization, but I don’t think I’ll bother now. I don’t think I’ll be happy with any outcome, given the character choices.
Shinogu was always kind to her and didn’t treat her like a retard. Now, I understand why Hatsumi didn’t choose the guy who she was raised to think of as her brother, but honestly I was rooting for Shinogu. He was the only one of her love interests that wasn’t a complete fucktard. Ryoki is a typical abusive asshole. I mean- Azusa would’ve been better for Hatsumi and he tried to get her gangbanged for crying out loud!
I was kinda rooting for Subaru to go after her in the beginning, until he ended up with her sister. I admit Akane and Subaru made a cuuute couple, and had they not given that extra chapter devoted to those two at the end i think i would’ve really hated the series. :(
wow… i guess i really needed to vent eh? all well.
The series tends to be pretty divisive, I think. It’s been a number of years since I read it, and as much as I absolutely inhaled every volume as it was coming out, something tells me that the terrible boyfriend choices would really bother me this time around. Unfortunately I can’t really get into her new series, Honey Hunt, either, for many of the same reasons (wimpy heroine surrounded by jerks).
The novel was awful, though. I think a lot of people have expressed their opinion of it here, but I still think it was a terrible novel, regardless of how the plot went.
First of all, I’ve got to say thanks for the review. It’s the most informative one I’ve come across with regard to a plot summary (the rest just basically says “Look, this is the book where she ends up with Shinogu instead!”).
Although I’m not a fan of Shinogu/Hatsumi pairing (I just can’t get past the notion that it’s some sort of psychological ‘incest’- I mean she thinks the guy as her older bro for the past 16 years!), I was originally curious about this novel and thinking of getting my hands on a copy (but I’m now saving the money for other stuff). The reason, though, is not because you said it’s crappy, but because I can’t stand the notion she actually only gets to choose between abusive guy (I leaned more towards Ryouki in the manga because there wasn’t that physical violence as ‘ordering’ around which I took to mean that he was awkward at expressing himself) or her ‘brother’. I’m really not a big fan of Hatsumi who seriously needs to learn to become stronger.
I suppose a good alternative ending would have been one where she displayed gradual character growth and learn to be on her own instead of having to choose which guy to rely on.
I’m glad you found it informative. It’s been so long since I’ve read either the series or the novel, but aside from the terrible writing, the Shinogu pairing put me off quite a bit for the same creepy incest factor. I think he got a terrible resolution in the series itself, but this wasn’t much better.
And you’re probably right, it would really have been great to see Hatsumi learn to not rely on the terrible men in her life. It’s a shame there wasn’t another novel or two, as much as I liked Hot Gimmick, there were a few different ways it could have ended, and it might have been interesting to explore them.