Forum - View topicREVIEW: Absolute Boyfriend GN 1
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mufurc
 Posts: 612 |
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Yep. I'm a woman, I love shoujo manga (and I know the genre enough not to classify stories as "melodrama" or "squee" types, and I don't think that a shoujo manga that appeals to both genders is "superior" in any way), but I totally couldn't enjoy what I've read of Absolute Boyfriend. It's shallow, mindless and juvenile. Yes, maybe there are people who don't mind this (which is not a problem), but that doesn't mean that all women will "get" and enjoy the manga just because it appeals to a fantasy held by some women. (In fact, I don't like Watase's works and her art style in general...) |
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nefadol
 Posts: 25 |
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Epotoransu! Mai would be the precursor for Zettai in my opinion. They even end the same way. My favorite Watase work is Appare Jipangu! though. It's nothing like her other works. The lead character cusses left and right, acts like a boy, and isn't love struck. My favorite part is when the characters are viewed by a foreigner and their designs turn into old cliched Japanese style caricatures. It's a cooky series, and I really wish it would be licensed and released. |
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GATSU
Posts: 15367 |
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Zac:
True, but you're looking at certain this title in terms of pre-conceived notions of what would be appealing, rather than evaluating it on its individual qualities.
Maxim features scantily-clad chicks on every other page with the occasional article on beer-bongs and bikes. AB is just a romantic comedy with occasional sexual innuendo.
Apparently people do to Ebert. 
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Nagisa
Moderator
 Posts: 6128 Location: Atlanta-ish, Jawjuh |
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Absolutely. Next time we review anything Naruto or Kenshin-related, we'll be sure to seek out an eight-year old boy to write up the review for us. 
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deelink
 Posts: 9 |
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Watase Yuu fans are protective...Granted...I can stand up and defend Yawaza all day if I have to, even though I know she has had weak work. It's just fandom. It's what fans do.
However, let's face it. Manga has to be mighty interesting and unforgettable to be at least an A or a B, you don't just throw around ratings like confetti. This manga was light reading, an indulgence in self obsession. It would be great if we had two hot guys after us, who were the perfect ideals of real boy and robot boy. But what was the main idea in the end? Was there one? Did anyone who loved this manga really care? Or did they just enjoy Riko's whinny torment over who to choose and loved watching her have psuedo-sex and kiss hot boys? In that case, why give it an A or a B? That wouldn't make any sense...having it on par in the shoujo world to a great series like Glass Mask, Nana, or Rose de Versailles (Am I showing my age here?) However...that's my opinion...and I am not a Watase-sensei fan. I find her lead female characters incredibly irritating. However I respect the fact that she makes a lot of people happy. Like I said, it's manga, which is meant to entertain, right? BUT, you can't just give this title meaning and high rank just because Watase wrote it. That's just fandom seeping through logic. It's just fluff! So what? A "C" is more than enough to cover it. BTW I have read all 6 volumes of this manga. And I already forgot most of it. It's no way near a masterpiece. I am quite miffed at the 10 votes it got in that department... |
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GATSU
Posts: 15367 |
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I'm not a Watase hater, but I don't dislike her work either. And I sure as hell won't pick up a shoujo manga if it features a metrosexual dude strutting around in a thong. (Well in a serious way, anyway. Implied spoiler. ) So I like AB, because it's got a simple premise, but it doesn't overdo it on the angst, but still has enough realism to grab me.
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Ztarr
 Posts: 44 Location: Canada |
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Nana and Zettai Kareshi are the only manga I read when I get my copy of Shojo Beat.
But I didn't start reading it in Shojo Beat...in fact, the serial hasn't reached the point where I left off reading the scanlations before it got licensed. I like the series. Fushigi Yuugi was also my gateway into anime. Ever since, I will pick up anything Watase. I admit Zettai Kareshi isn't my favourite out of her works, but I like it better than Alice 19th (and I liked that one too). What I'm wishing for is a new Yuu Watase anime series 
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GATSU
Posts: 15367 |
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Is it just me, or is AB getting negative comments, because it's an acceptable anime/manga plot device that the geek/loser guy gets the hot chicks, but the geek/loser girl getting the hot guy is "wrong", because she "should know better"? (Makes me wonder if you'd actually pity the lead in Welcome to the Dollhouse...) I mean Love Hina and Mahoromatic are shallow as hell, but people let them go, because those manga have "redeeming" qualities.
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Kouji
 Posts: 978 |
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I haven't actually read this manga or any of Watase-san's works outside of Fushigi Yuugi yet, so you can take this post with a grain of salt, but I don't see the problem with this review. You guys are complaining that the reviewer was too harsh because he wasn't the target audience, but the reviewer does acknowledge that this series will appeal to the target audience, so what's the big deal? Reviews are all meant to be opinionated anyway because they're all about people's opinions. Just because you don't agree with a reviewer's opinions doesn't make it a bad series in your eyes and vice versa. However, I do sort of disagree about the thing with the repeative character designs. While it is annoying, plenty of other popular manga artists and anime creators re-use character designs but are rarely ever bashed for it. Takahashi Rumiko-san, Clamp, and even Miyazaki Hayao-san all reuse character designs a lot, but with the expection of Rumiko-san, how often do you see those manga artists bashed for their character designs?
Seriously, how many times have we seen "Satsuki" in a Miyazaki film? And while I haven't read Abosulte Boyfriend to really say for sure, I think the idea of the shoujo heroine getting the perfect guy is a rather refreshing change from the norm. I mean, in most shoujo anime, the main character almost always winds up in a love/hate relationship with this bishounen she loves for some reason even though they argue constantly. After seeing so many Miaka x Tamahomes, Usagi x Mamorus, Sakura x Shaorans, Himeno x Hayates, Inuyasha x Kagomes, etc., having the heroine get the perfect guy for a change sounds rather refreshing to me. Another thing I forgot to add on earlier but I'm editing in now is that Clamp couldn't sue Watase-san even if they wanted to because Clamp didn't start the whole "magical girlfriend" concept. If Absolute Boyfriend ripped off of Chobits, then Chobits ripped off of Ah My Goddess, and Ah My Goddess ripped off of the American sitcom, I Dream Of Genie. Tokyo Mew Mew didn't rip-off of Sailor Moon; it's another entry into the magical girl genre. Macross didn't rip-off of Gundam; it's another entry into the mecha genre. Love Hina didn't rip-off of Tenchi Muyo; it's another entry into the harem genre. Likewise, just because a series involves a magical girlfriend doesn't mean it's a rip-off of Chobits; it's just another entry in the magical girlfriend genre. But like I said, I haven't actually read this manga yet, so take this post with a grain of salt. |
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HitokiriShadow
 Posts: 6251 |
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Well, Mahoromatic isn't really harem anyway. And in the most recent chapter in Shoujo Beat, Riiko has gotten some character development. Minor spoiler spoiler[ She herself acknowledges that she is shallow and annoying and seems to be intent on changing those aspects of herself.] |
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GATSU
Posts: 15367 |
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Um, no, she doesn't. She's blaming herself for her a-hole friends.
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StarMasayume
 Posts: 11 Location: FL |
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Just thought I'd add my two cents as I did read all five volumes of the series recently.
I definitely won't argue that this is a "deep" manga, but it wasn't meant to be. I started reading it without any expectation other that I have liked Fushigi Yuugi, Imadoki, and others by Yuu Watase in the past. It's cute, it's funny, and it is capable of having dramatic elements. If you're tired of anime with so much drama that makes you a frustrated mess at times like Mars, Peach Girl, or Hana Yori Dango, than this is something you can relax with on a rainy day. I didn't find the main girl shallow. She wants a boyfriend--so what? It doesn't help that one of her friends turns out to be stealing any guy that was ever interested in her. And yes, I thought that was a fairly dramatic arc (I'm not sure what volume it is in). She also gets bullied quite badly for having the "perfect guy" though she tries to hide her relationship with him at school. It's not quite perfect having the "perfect boyfriend." They go through a lot of trouble to stay together. Soshi made me think of a mix of Ryoki and Hatsumi's "brother" in Hot Gimmick for some reason. I really liked his character. No wonder she gets confused between the two of them ^^ I thought chobits was a lot sillier than this most of the time (at least the anime) and also to be noted in comparison... I couldn't think of Chii anything other than an android, while Riiko it's easy to forget that he's not human. And yes, Yuu Watase's characters don't have a lot of variation between styles--but she's not the only major mangaka whose guilty of that. Sometimes you just need to forget the previous works and look at it individually. I thought the ending was a little sad, but still sweet. Maybe some of you just need to stick it out another volume--I don't know. Just don't expect it to be more than it's supposed to be and you shouldn't be dissappointed. 
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littlearashi
Posts: 1 Location: Brooklyn |
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StarMasayume made a lot of good points.
Watase herself admits that this manga isn't supposed to be serious in her little author notes. Its just a cute comedy and sometimes thats great! It really is, for me its something I can get a little giddy about. I am actually not a big Watase fan myself. That probablly stems from Fushigi Yuugi, I wasn't a big fan of the main character Miyaka. But she can write a great love scene. I like Riiko, she is pretty average and she is looking for an extrodinay relationship, I think that is a fantasy a lot of girls have atleast thought about maybe not seriously but still. But like it was said, i don't think you're supposed to see this as a serious drama. I also like this series better than some of her other works because Night isn't like Takahome in personality. Night is just happy and fun-loving and not very serious at all. I happen to find funny characters very endearing as opposed to the broody, dark boys. Even Soshi doesn't fall into that category. And I really appreciate that. I have noticed alot of people mentioning her character styles being repeated. When you actually look into the manga industry you'll find out that editors actually push a lot of artist to keep thier character designs for various reasons. Also, it helps a mangaka to establish a recognizable style that people can see before they read it. With so much manga out there you have to stand out and this is one of the ways to do it. Ai Yazawa, my favorite since Gokinjo Monogatari, has similiarities of characters throughout all of her series. And I can recognize her art easily. She is a fantastic storyteller, in my opinion, but at first glance her art drew me. I, of course, like Absolute Boyfriend because i find it sweet and cute. And that's okay. =) P.S. Night is supposed to be the perfect guy, but with all the trouble he cuases he's much more like a real boyfriend! [haha!] |
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Lyn Maren Jensen
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Frankly, after all the years of having sexist BS about guys and their fake-female robots shoved down our throats courtesy of the corporate media, I think it's about time we got the other way around. All right, a girl-meets-dream-guy-robot story is a gimmick, but at least it's a cute, clever, funny one. It's not nearly as "lame" as the guy-meets-dream-babe-robot story, that's the one that's been done to the point of being sleep-inducing.
And the reason CLAMP hasn't sued is because (1) their story wasn't anything that hadn't been done and done and done, either, and (2) maybe they're glad for the other way around, too! |
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HitokiriShadow
Posts: 6251 |
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Or maybe its almost nothing like Chobits aside from one of the main characters being a robot?
And how is it being 'shoved donw our throats'? No one is forcing you to read/watch this stuff. I can't think of very many "guy-meets-dream-babe-robot stories" anyway. There's Chobits, Saber Marionette, Steel Angel Kurumi.... and that's about it. |
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