High School Debut 8
March 26, 2009
Here’s another one of the high school romances from Viz. I think the reason I didn’t initially pick any of these up was because the stories all ran together and they sort of came out at the same time. But another good reason is that I probably knew somewhere, in the back of my mind, that I would secretly like all of them, and I really read too many series as it is.
I was under the impression that this series was more of a straight high school romance than, say, something like Beauty Pop (about the stylists) or Hana Kimi (which has the sports elements). I was right, since the initial plot of the series was mostly just about Yoh teaching Haruna how to blend in at high school better with the inevitable romance following.
I was actually quite put off by the beginning of the volume, which started out with a handful of admirers of both Yoh and Haruna following the latter around, and an accidental kiss happening as a result. Not only was the kiss itself totally unbelievable, Haruna’s reaction was totally out-of-proportion, and it drove me crazy waiting for the issue to be resolved (and I’m glad it was, I was a little worried it would drag out and become a huge drama point). Yoh’s solution to the problem was probably worth sitting through the story though, it was actually kind of clever. Unfortunately, it did leave me with an unpleasant impression of Haruna.
The second story was much better. It was about Yoh agonizing over what to get Haruna for her birthday. Initially he agonizes because she tells him to get her “whatever,” with no hints. Then he agonizes because the things that Haruna tells him she wants are really embarassing. The eventual birthday date was totally awesome and understated though. Usually these things are fancy and elaborate, but it worked out how you can imagine it might between two high school students, and the end of the volume was quite touching.
Yoh really makes things work for me. He’s quite devoted to Haruna, doesn’t have an over-the-top personality, and I really enjoyed the fact that their relationship seemed totally stable and they were always on the same wavelength. It’s rare to see a series with a steady couple, so I feel like I could really get into this.
So yeah. Unfortunately, I found another one I’m going back to the beginning of and consuming as fast as I possibly can. I just can’t resist this type of thing, and High School Debut is certainly far above average in the high school romance category.
This was a review copy provided by Viz.
March 26, 2009 at 12:22 pm
[...] Girl’s Familiar Diversions) Jillian Steinhauer on Good-Bye (The Daily Cross Hatch) Connie on vol. 8 of High School Debut (Slightly Biased Manga) Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Kuriousity) [...]
March 26, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Yoh really makes things work for me. He’s quite devoted to Haruna, doesn’t have an over-the-top personality, and I really enjoyed the fact that their relationship seemed totally stable and they were always on the same wavelength. It’s rare to see a series with a steady couple, so I feel like I could really get into this.
I think Haruna must come off a bit badly in this volume–I haven’t read it yet–’cos I normally like her, too.
But yes, I love that we get so much from Yoh’s point of view and that you can see WHY these characters are good together. It’s not aloof boy + klutzy girl.
March 26, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Haha. The Shojo Beat line is dangerous. They’ve got a ton of awesome titles, most of which I haven’t touched because I just can’t let myself get hooked!
Haruna’s reaction to the kiss is a pretty good example of her reaction to everything… so hopefully you won’t get too fed up with her in the preceding volumes ^^; I’ve gotten used to her spazzing constantly making problems bigger than they should be, but I think Yoh is an excellent balance for her, usually able to figure out what the problem is and how to deal with it (and also keeping her somewhat accountable for her reactions when they really get out of hand). And then when Haruna does come through on things, it’s just awesome because it takes me by surprise. I really do like their relationship.
March 27, 2009 at 1:59 pm
[...] Biased Manga is slightly biased towards the awesomeness of High School Debut vol. 8. So am [...]
March 28, 2009 at 1:40 pm
HSD is great… The best thing about it is that even though they have problems in each volume, they’re always resolved by the end, so it’s just a happy story about people who really like each other. It’s nice that they’re so normal!
March 30, 2009 at 5:15 am
It’s true. I hadn’t considered the fact that this is one of the more normal, non-dramatic series I’ve seen lately. As silly as the drama was about the kiss, nobody was moving away or breaking up or anything like that, which was a nice change of pace.
March 30, 2009 at 5:23 am
I do like that Yoh seems to take her seriously and balance her out. Hmm. I do like her over-reaction when it comes to things like happiness. The baseball game that they went to at the end of the volume was a near-perfect shoujo moment just because it was so understated and touching in the way both characters seemed to be getting so much out of such a small event. It also made me secretly happy that the birthday present didn’t involve any sort of overblown, elaborate scenario.
I do wonder how Haruna will work out in other types of stories. I like the general set-up an awful lot, though.
March 30, 2009 at 5:27 am
Yeah, I would peg Haruna as a bit of a klutzy girl after the first situation, but having Yoh around as her balance is wonderful. I did like Haruna in the second story about her birthday though, and seeing her and Yoh on a date towards the end of the volume made up for a lot of the sins in the first half.