B.O.D.Y. 8
Posted: February 1, 2010 Filed under: B.O.D.Y. 5 Comments »Ao Mimori – Viz – 2010 – 15 volumes
Let me say this again: I am a complete and total masochist for reading this series. It is shoujo crack, certainly, but not the good stuff like Peach Girl or Hot Gimmick or Gakuen Prince, where it’s trashy and you’re kind of ashamed to read it, but it’s so good that you’ll keep reading and not think too hard about it. B.O.D.Y. is like that. I have to keep reading. Except all the drama is literally just misunderstandings between Ryoko and Ryunosuke. If they talked to each other more, there would be no series. It’s super-dark too, and I’m just… there’s a voice in my head screaming “broach the subject!” the entire time I’m reading it. The characters never do, and then they just continue to think that they cheat on each other. Bah. Of course, maybe Ryunosuke won’t fall into that trap as quickly as Ryoko, but that’s a cliffhanger for next volume, which I will most certainly pick up.
The volume starts off with a simultaneous love confession for both Ryunosuke and Ryoko. Ryunosuke’s is the one that gets the focus in the first half of the volume, since it involves the former tutor/current teacher that was introduced last volume. Lots of hand-wringing and ridiculous baiting by the teacher gets Ryoko all worried, but this time, Ryunosuke is indulgent and pretty understanding. I do like Ryunosuke, since he acts more like a real person than Ryoko, and this particular storyline did raise my opinion of him quite a bit. I think it’s little scraps like this that keep me coming back and not giving up entirely. I mean… Ryunosuke’s not all bad, maybe things will get better once he and Ryoko learn to communicate? Haha. Ha. Yeah.
Once that minor fire is extinguished, the boy who confessed to Ryoko takes center stage. This situation could have been easily avoided if Ryoko had just said something, ANYTHING to Ryunosuke before things snowballed like they did. Bah. Then the teacher gets in on it… and I hate this teacher so much. She just… she would be fired if this was how she actually acted. Adults just don’t do this type of thing. Clearly I strive for only the most realistic characters in my manga.
Infuriating as always, but man. I’ll keep reading. I mean, Ryunosuke just walked in on a bad situation at the end of this volume, and I have to see how that works out, right? That probably sounded a bit mean-spirited, but despite how I meant that, the answer is “yes, yes I do need to know how ditzy Ryoko gets pulled out of this sticky situation.”
This was a review copy provided by Viz.
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What volume is this up to now? (you didn’t say in the title for the review)
I have serious respect for you for still reading this series. I got to vol 5 (I read scans way, way back when. the beginning was interesting and amusing, but I don’t think I would’ve paid to sit through five volumes) before I gave up. I’ve never ever liked the way lack of talking leads to huge misunderstandings in shoujo manga, and this series, like you point out, is extreme with that. Infuriating, yes. I couldn’t handle it. So, thank you for persisting in writing these (highly entertaining) reviews, helping me to imagine all the fun I’m missing out on :D
Oops, thanks! Volume 8 is the newest one. The English release is more than halfway through now, I guess.
I don’t blame you for giving up. I think I had promised myself to stop reading around volume four or five, but I’m not sure what part of me keeps reaching for the next volume. I’ve got plenty of other stuff to read, and I really do get so angry when reading this series. I guess some reaction is better than a completely middle-of-the-road title, in a way.
I guess I’m the only one who loves sappy, trashy, mangas like B.O.D.Y. it’s true you almost feal frustrated at the end of a volume from Ryoko’s lack of communacation. But I am a B.O.D.Y. fanatic! I love it! I just can’t stop myself from reading more.
I wouldn’t say you’re the only one. I love Hot Gimmick, Peach Girl, Gakuen Heaven, and a bunch of other really trashy, soapy, over-dramatic series. I can definitely see how B.O.D.Y. is cut from the same cloth, I just don’t like how all the drama is always based around the same things. Of course, it’s been a long time since I read Hot Gimmick and Peach Girl, and I’ve only read two or three volumes of Gakuen Heaven, so it’s possible I’ve lost my taste for this type of series over the years. That would be a shame, because there’s a lot of fun to be had.