In some ways, this is a very familiar story. Natsumi Ando, whose Arisa, Kitchen Princess, Wild @ Heart, and Zodiac P.I. Have all previously been released in English, is a skilled enough writer that she depicts middle schoolers for the petty creatures they can be while still making them likable, and both Tango and Hime, the protagonists of Let's Dance a Waltz, are believable kids with recognizable emotions that help to form a solid foundation for this ballroom dance-based shoujo treat. Tango wants to be “cool” - popular, well-liked, and a cut above the rest. That means no one can know about his ballroom dancing family or the fact that he was once a competitive dancer – and still teaches at the family school. He's aghast when his mother recruits Hime to take lessons, and terrified that she'll reveal his truth...which is kind of funny because previous to saving her from a jerk at school, he didn't even realize that she was in his class. That's what makes Hime relateable in the same way as Princess Jellyfish's Tsukimi: she's the quiet girl who doesn't make waves, who isn't the prettiest or most fashionable, and who is quietly sinking into a hole of low self-esteem. No one notices Hime, including Hime herself. If not for the ballroom dance aspect, this could be any story from any middle school, and that really does give it an appeal that even people who are not into ballroom can appreciate.

It is of course tempting to compare this to the 1996 Japanese film “Shall We Dance?”, and it does cover some similar themes about how ballroom is uncomfortable for many Japanese people. You have to let a stranger touch you, you have to make consistent eye contact, and you have to smile. (Interestingly, these were some of the issues when dancing shifted from country line or circle dances to more recognizable ballroom in the early 19th century.) But really a better comparison would be with the 1992 Australian film “Strictly Ballroom.” Tango and Hime are very close to Scott and Fran of that movie, Tango's middle school insecurities aside, and his resistance to dancing with Hime will feel familiar to those familiar with the Australian film.

All of that aside, Let's Dance a Waltz is a delightful story. Hime, who begins as a much less interesting character than Tango, from whose perspective we see most of the first half of the book, is subtly given a reason for being the way she is, one of which will, again, bring some readers back to Princess Jellyfish: her name means “princess,” and her deceased mother promised her that she could become one. More interesting is the small detail about Hime's weight – we see her sitting at dinner with her widowed father, who is visibly disappointed when she declines another serving of food. For her father, we can surmise, feeding his daughter is a way he can show his love and ability to care for her. If she doesn't eat what he has prepared, he feels he has failed her, so she eats more than she wants in order not to feel that she's failing him, thus creating a self-perpetuating problem. All of that aside, it is a nice change to see a heroine who is not thin and gorgeous, and while Hime will eventually lose the weight, it is a natural result of physical activity rather than a concerted effort to become “pretty.”

Ando has done research by taking ballroom classes herself, and it shows. Barring a few panels, the dancers' form is correct, and her own admittedly uncomfortable experience allows her to make Hime's reaction to her first lesson both believable and enlightening to those of us from a culture where ballroom dance is considered elegant rather than weirdly intimate. There unfortunately isn't a great sense of movement to the dance scenes, and one early panel where Tango is showing off his hip-hop skills is difficult to decipher, as in I had no idea what was going on until I read the dialogue, which is a major weakness in a manga about dancing. There's also a bit of confusion in terms of layout as the book goes on, and the art is very heavily toned, although that is less of an issue.

Let's Dance a Waltz's first volume really is charming. The main characters feel like real people (the two supporting ones a bit less), the theme is refreshingly different from what we tend to get translated into English, and the allure of dancing with that perfect partner grows greater with every page. Even if you aren't a dance buff, there's a sweetness and believability to this that makes it worth picking up.