Monkey High 5

I was pretty bummed when this volume started out with a Romeo & Juliet story.  Romeo & Juliet… performed at a school festival.  I almost couldn’t bring myself to continue, even after liking the last volume so much.  Oddly enough, the Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve dates later in the book didn’t really bother me, and I didn’t even realize they were there until I started reflecting on shoujo manga stereotypes.  But I don’t know… guess I just have a special pet peeve about Romeo & Juliet.

Other than the fact the book is exploiting shoujo manga plot devices like nobody’s business, I actually still enjoyed it quite a bit.  I quite liked Macharu’s meetings with Haruna’s dad.  I’m not exactly clear on who Haruna’s dad is (some sort of politician?), but it made me happy when Macharu had no problem speaking to him when everyone else seemed to avoid him/respect him.  Better yet, Macharu’s boldness didn’t melt dad’s heart, and dad actually spoke quite badly of Macharu right to his face, but it didn’t seem to deter Macharu’s desire to get along with him.

Really, Macharu is just awesome.  He really is super-positive, and he makes every situation a pleasure.  The fact that his best friend seems to want to steal his girlfriend would be pretty overly-dramatic in any other series, but in this one, the two still get along with each other even though they occasionally butt heads over Haruna.  Atsu’s a bit too easy to dislike… he does seem to have Haruna’s best interests in mind, but his teasing and treatment of Macharu can be a bit much, and he’s the type of quiet character that broods and makes you assume the worst about him.  He’s not really such a bad guy, though.

Better still, Haruna genuinely appreciates Macharu’s positive attitude.  Also, the two really seem to take care of each other, and one of the best scenes in the book happens when Haruna comes to pick up a snoozing Macharu on Christmas Eve.  It was really very sweet.

But yeah, other than the Romeo & Juliet, I actually enjoyed this volume quite a bit.  I’ve got one more volume to read with me here, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to go back and pick up the first three next time I see them.  Macharu’s just too much fun.

This was a review copy provided by Viz.