Maid-sama 4
Posted: June 28, 2010 Filed under: Maid-sama 5 Comments »Hiro Fujiwara – Tokyopop – 2010 – 8+ volumes
There are two major stories in this volume, one breaks the school formula but not the manga formula (the employees of Maid Latte go to the beach on a company trip), and the other involves taking care of a problematic student from the previous volume and forcing him to work for the better of the school recruitment rally.
There were lots and lots of Misaki/Usui moments in this volume, and I was slightly taken aback by the hints of progression we were getting. Not only is Misaki right on the cusp of admitting she may not hate Usui (her actions in one story speak louder than her words when she goes to great lengths not to hate Usui forever), Usui is definitely taking his game to the next level. The beach is the perfect setting for such things, and not only does he get to give her a nice, forced, very very romantic kiss while she’s wearing her two-piece swimsuit (as opposed to her school suit… there was some joke that missed me about her wearing it, but everyone on the beach seemed mortified), he also gets a story full of pouting when she doesn’t want to be beach queen to his king. It was ADORABLE.
There’s also still plenty of humor, but the slapstick seems toned down a bit from previous volumes, which is fine by me. That’s a big part of the personality of this series, but all the same, I think the amount that sticks around is just enough.
The end of the volume was filled with… well, what seemed like short gag chapters and filler and whatnot. It wasn’t all that great, but you got to give the mangaka a break sometime.
I really enjoy this series, but actually the beach chapter(s?) in this volume had me so annoyed with Usui. I thought he went overboard with the protectiveness—it’s one thing if he wants to be pouty and jealous, but I felt like it was passed off as “I’m doing this for your own good” and it made me mad. Misaki’s pretty good at taking care of herself most of the time! (when she’s having trouble, I don’t mind a cute heroic-rescue scene, but one of the cool things about her character was that she didn’t always need to rely on a guy.)
I think the thing with her school swimsuit is just that it’s seen as so plain and unattractive (the swim cap and goggles don’t help). Why would you go to the beach in something drab and practical? The whole point of beaches is to wear something ultra-revealing to get all the boys’ attention! (also, it didn’t specify here, but in other manga that use that joke, it’s sometimes a middle school swimsuit, so it makes the character appear extra-immature/clueless.)
I really liked this series as well. It’s one my favorite on-going shoujo right after Nana and Kimi ni Todoke. Agree with most of your review that it’s mostly a series that excels in its execution rather than innovation or story-telling. And for some reason, perhaps it because of the atmosphere and it’s light-heartness, it reminds me heavily of Lovely Complex, another of my favorite.
I don’t know if you keep up with the current story. [I'm followint the Chinese releases] The series does explain [to a degree] on why despise the obvious attraction Usui seems to refuse to take the next step. [or more often, took a step back after he's taken a step forward] One thing I will say about Misaki as a character is that the series does a great job on showing how Misaki’s tough exterior is slowly breaking down by Usui, despise the fact Usui seems to hold himself back everytime when he became closer to her. Because of this, I consider Misaki to be one of the most developed and well written tsundere character currently in any shujo manga.
Lys: That’s true, Usui’s white knight syndrome did get a little worse here, and you’re right about Misaki’s independence making her more likable than most. The jealousy stuff was cute though, especially the whole volleyball game. I got a mostly spiteful vibe off of that, even though it did wind up being some sort of noble sacrifice. I like to think his intentions were not pure, and that makes me smile a little since he so rarely shows emotion.
I thought the plain-ness might have been the issue with the swim suit, and I have seen pity during similar situations in other series, but never the outright shock and horror it was in this one, with the main character completely oblivious. I think I like that scene way more now that I know that’s all it was.
Taker: I haven’t read any further ahead than this, but the details on Usui sound interesting. I’d never really seen the lack of progress as a lack of initiative on Usui’s part, but the way he keeps to himself does beg a lot of questions.
And I completely agree with you about Misaki. I love seeing her take care of herself and standing up to all the boys, and while it doesn’t seem like the story is going anywhere soon, the little hints that Misaki is slowly coming around to Usui are really cute.
I agree that the blame of lack of progress should mainly put upon Misaki than Usui at first glance. However, Misaki’s character from beginning is that she is EXTREMELY SLOW when it comes to relationships, and she has a “I am the savior of all girls” complex and think of herself as a guy more so than girl even those she hates guy.
It’s actullay pretty interesting comparing her to Haruhi from Ouran. Misaki still think of herself as girl who hates all male population, yet act like a guy herself without realizing it. While Haruhi was mistaken as a guy due to her indifference to gender.
Getting a bit off track here,
As I mentioned, since slow is part of Misaki’s characterization, the lack of progress between her and Usui really comes down to one thing. And that is while Usui’s advance is obvious, he always took a step back and important spot or when he advanced to certain point. Threfore confuses the already slow Misaki even more.