Magic Touch 6

Izumi Tsubaki – Viz – 2010 – 9 volumes

Reading only even-numbered volumes of this series is a good idea.  It’s okay, but I have a feeling I’d get tired of some of the filler if I read more of the stuff that goes on.  Even in this volume, the first couple chapters build a nice romantic vibe, and that’s immediately thrown off by switching over to minor characters from a different school (I don’t know them, but I think they were a rival massage team that appeared briefly in volumes 3-4) and dealing with a subplot that Chiaki is eventually called upon to solve.  I almost quit when I got to this part, especially since it was a clear diversion to take my mind off of the more serious plot development that had been going on regarding secrets between Chiaki and Yosuke.

More acceptable filler follows towards the end of the book, with a story dealing with graduating seniors in the massage club and some drama involving the club captain, co-captain, and another senior member.  I don’t know these characters that well, but I did like the little romantic triangle they had going on.  Something tells me this won’t be nearly as drama-tastic in the end as the characters are making it right now, but that’s okay.

The better part is at the beginning, which is major relationship development between Chiaki and Yosuke, first while at a camp-out and later while on a nice date at a beach.  It’s implied that both have things that the other would rather not know, but the fact that Yosuke goes AWOL after this is very interesting.  My bets are that he’s some sort of heir that can’t be with Chiaki in the end, but that’s the subplot of the romantic triangle that comes up at the end of the volume, so I can’t imagine it would be used twice.

Again, I’m always kind of sad to see this series badmouthed, because it’s not really that bad.  It is certainly middle ground shoujo, but there are things to like about it, and the theme is unique (no massage happens at all here, but it’s discussed in the sidebars).  It’s kind of like a shoujo version of Gimmick, a shounen series about a boy who makes movie special effects with a similarly half good, half boring plot.  Both have their charms, but neither are really going to rock anyone’s world, even with their unique premises.  Keep that in mind, but you might find it’s a fun read if you’re the kind of person that can’t get enough shoujo romance.

This was a review copy provided by Viz.