okay, i've started this a long time ago... i finished it last year. tbh, it took awhile before i could continue back into reading it again, but not because it was not interesting. (actually, back when i finished it, it wasn't even the translated releases, they were the raws since i couldn't wait and there were just around... 4 volumes(?) left until i'm done.)
actually, this is one of those "saving grace" shoujo mangas, it's like the diamond in the sand, that kind. i've read so many shoujo titles, from oneshots to multi-chaptered ones, i'm getting sick of the same thing over and over - which makes it hard for me to actually look for real good ones.... i get this itch whenever i read those really cliche ones to the point i want to hit myself over the head with something hard when i just can't stand what's happening...
first off, TRUE, there is a whole bunch of cliche in this. pretty much the concept at the beginning, to be precise.
BUT! as so many of you has complained about Ninako, and i absolutely don't know why. at least she actually does NOT make bad decisions in her life, and to be perfectly honest, her love sprung in such a detailed manner, that even though it's pretty much the same formula in this kind of genre, it wasn't the same annoying "i am going to confess my feelings, and maybe...i'll be able to capture his heart" but unfortunately, even after she'd confess, did you think they'll quickly get together? um, NO. it was NOT that easy.
this manga isn't just about "falling in love" and you "get together" as quickly as one volume. this title isn't like any of those. the main male's feelings doesn't develop until, prolly when you get more than two or three volumes, and by the way, the series is a 10-volume long series, so that's how their relationship develops.
it's a story about finding ones self too along the way. what has the shoujo mangas nowadays have, really? let's point out the same formula we see in EACH and one of them...
1. girl falls in love with guy
2. in a few chapters, he realize he's fallen for her
3. a few more chapters, the girl (or rarely, the guy) confesses her/his love for the other
4. they go out
5. problems ensues
6. bullying, since the guy is popular (lol. srsly, EVERY effing shoujo manga)
6.2. guy protects the girl and tells the bullies to stop bullying the girl "he loves" hurrrr
7.i) there are some problems in their family, which unables them to be together (this formula happens to be there too, at times)
or, 7.ii) some kind of traumatic past, or so, that prevents the pair to continue being together
7.2. but then in some kind of twist of fate, they fix all those problems, and some drama ensues and they confess their feelings again, and they're back together.
etc... (i could go on forever here. LOL)
um, tell me it ain't true - lol, if someone rebukes me on this, i swear, you better have read more than i have and show me actual proof that this kinds of formulas have NEVER actually happened in MORE than 10 titles in thousands of shoujos out there.
aside from that, it doesn't only mainly focus on the main pair. also, from the get go, even though she has no idea about "love" she wasn't just quickly thinking, "oh this guy is cool, he's so popular and is liked by everyone-! i have to like him too!" but instead, she finds out a part of him that she've never seen before when out of school (though, yes, i'm well aware how cliche that is, and she was slightly interested in him from the start) but by these simple little notions, that's how a "story" will begin.
from the start, she was even being teased by her friends that, Daiki, her childhood friend and how she's comfortable beside him, is how "love" is between them. however, it shows clearly that's not what she really feels through her expression, but how everyone tells her what it may seem. little things like this, you don't usually see in shoujo mangas often. she may be naive, and yes, quite gullible, but she listens to her mind, and not just with her heart. so even though she did think, and believed them when they said that... eventually, she'll realize that wasn't the case.
after all, NOT everyone knows what "real love" is. even those who've actually dated before haven't totally realized actual "true love," and that's where the main male's background gets into the story.
like i said before, this manga is about finding ones self. this pretty much shows "growing up" for most high schoolers. though some girls outside of Japan may not understand it - i for one, am not Japanese, however, reading, and watching manga and anime, you learn a lot of things about the Japanese culture - so that helps in understanding the feelings of every character in the story. so if you pretty much don't have the patience and empathy for the story, plot nor the characters, one will never realize the true wonder if this title.
Strobe Edge really isn't a typical shoujo manga. it's like getting to know a person, you may judge them by their outer appearance, and get acquainted with them...but if you don't open up the deepest feelings in their hearts, you will never find the real them hidden beneath the person you think they are.
take time and get to know them, you never know what you might notice by doing so.
anyways... here comes an actual review. lol
art style is great. not the best out there, however it's beautiful, and keeps you wanting for more.
it's easy to read and understand, but the depth of every character and the story is magical. the relationships become complicated as you go deeper into the story, but of course, seeing as this is shoujo, don't worry, there's a happy ending there.
and aside from that, its "Reread Value" is mighty HIGH on my book. 😉
not to mention how i'm actually pretty picky when it comes to my favourites, but this made it into my top 10. ^ u^b
PS. lol, this was pretty much the catalyst manga for me to start loving Sakisaka-sensei's works. coz unlike most shoujo mangas, her characters have depth in them.
PPS. by the way, i TOTALLY agree with TheAlmighty, actually, her style of defending the series and especially Ninako in a paragraph is quite irable. though i SRSLY had to point EVERY DETAIL to every single one of you who dissed the manga even before you could get to the good parts. 😛 (or maybe i just can't stand your kinds, that's why i did this. btw, i'm stupid so i don't care if this may be pointless. LOL)
