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Description
From Viz:
Poor Sumi Kitamura… Her irresponsible older brother Eisuke keeps bringing home orphans for her to take care of even though they can barely afford their own basic needs! Just when Sumi's financial problems become dire, wealthy Soichiro Ashida enters her life with a bizarre proposition: he'll provide her with the money she so desperately needs if she agrees to marry him. But can Sumi fool high society into thinking she's a proper lady? Moreover, is it worth giving up everything for this sham of a marriage?
Type
Manga
Related Series
N/A
Associated Names
玫瑰契約 裸足でバラを踏め ก้าวย่างบนดอกกุหลาบ Hadashi de Bara wo Fume Stepping on Roses Stepping on Roses Barefoot
A wonderful, page-turning romance in a very Radway-shoujo mixed style. It is melodramatic fabulousness! Not realistic by any means, but I was transported enough to not care.
The art is smooth bishounen, roses and sparkles shoujo, and cute children, but the historical aspects of the illustrations added a fresh, interesting element.
I recommended it to my younger teen daughter, and she loved it.
It wasn't a complete disaster, but it was far from being great. I really liked the story, it was just the characters that infuriated me. They were like children! It was like a bunch of bratty kids getting married, running companies and playing pretend. It was annoying.
Sumi, although one of the most infuriating types of shoujo characters, was my favorite character. Only because she was whole-hearted and had an excuse to be whiny and naive. Everyone else: BLEH to hell with them!
I think the story would have been sooooo much better, like top level manga better, if the characters were a bit more mature. If Souichirou acted more like the head of a company, if Nozumo wasn't so damn pathetic(not that I didn't like the rivalry, he just didn't have to be boarder-line crazy), and if Sumi was a bit more assertive.
The storyline was great, the drama was great, the romance was...ok. But, geez, those characters were so darn annoying. Sumi and Komai and occasionally Nozumo (when he wasn't being stalkerish he was pretty badass) were about all I could take (not that there are that many characters...)
The story had sooooo much potential, like the storyline and characters were created be completely different people. They just don't fit. Sensitive, bratty kids in a dramatic and mature story were an awful combination.
I demand a redo! I will not revisit this story in the future, but it wasn't a complete waste of time. Maybe if it was shorter I would have been able to tolerate it, but dealing with those idiots for 57 chapters was too much.
If you haven't read it, give it a try. Like I said it wasn't a complete disaster, but it probably will not be a memorable read for many people.
When I reading a manga, usually 1 of 2 things happen. I forget the cheesy, complicated stuff and just enjoy the mood and story of the manga or I start to skip chapters or stop reading altogether.... But I am happy to say that I got to truly enjoy the manga. I have read it twice already lol and despite some of it being a little complicated for some readers to truly understand (beware there is a obsessed crazy stalker man in this, haha), I found it quite easy to do so and found myself getting whisked away in the moment sometimes.... The ending was good and the art wasn't bad either. Also had a good mix of romance and drama/suspense. I recommend to those looking for a shoujo manga out of the norm. 10/10
Like, literally sick! To think this manga started out with such potential (yes, Soichorou was the world's biggest jerk, but that added suspense, and when he slowly started softening up, well it was unrealistic but cute to watch) But omg... just with all the corny-ness and the (180 degrees!) twists, this was just so bad so bad that i feel kinda sick from reading it now. What a horrible rushed ending too... It's like, in the beginning the mangaka started out with a particular story/characters then forgot what they were about... and later on, with the new version forgot again... then again... and again!
I've just given it a 4 because of it's strong beginning and then some cute Souichorou parts -_-
Uhhhhhh... I couldn't stand reading it. Maybe I've become too disillusioned with life, but seriously.... This is beyond cliche and corny. I can't. I can't read it anymore...
The manga was very interesting at first. However, it suddenly sky-rocketed to the peak and continued on with stressful twists. I find it difficult to finish as I had to take deep breaths and balance my state of mind to its original state before continuing my read. I could have flipped a table if I didn't. However, I did enjoy gazing upon the Mangaka's beautiful art. As expected from Ueda Rinko. If there was less stress thrown into my face, I would have loved it more.
I thought this manga was alright. Not my favourite and I probably won't read it again but I don't regret reading it. It was a soft, powerful romance. I thought some things were pretty predictable but I did get surprised at certain times so it kept me entertained. The art is absolutely beautiful. I'm giving it a 7/10 because in my opinion, it lacked something... like a deep connection or something out of the ordinary to occur?
I know how this story ends but I still think she and Nozumo are perfect together.
And....I know I am the minority on that one, but I also really disliked Soichiro. He is a real jerk from the beginning and he is not honest to Sumi at all, as well as very scheming into getting the Injunn finances and what not. He betrayed one of his close friends and didn't care. (maybe a little towards Sumi, but he actually grew up with Nozomu!)
Anyway, to stay on the actual point (lol got a little derailed XD) I totally saw the revelation coming, about half way through the story I got a feeling. I don't really care about incest though so to me it didn't seem to matter. Whoops, I guess that's another kill joy to a lot of people.
The ending, however, was way to simple. I think I would have liked more depth. I am glad everyone is trying to find peace in the end, but it still it felt plastic to me, and rushed.
Nevertheless, I would still recommend this series. There is a lot of suspense, dynamic plots and turns, sexy bishes, and drama. Sumi is also always gorgeous and the art in this book is impeccable. I sometimes just have to stare (I mean those shower scenes......) Anyway, if you like romance, give it a go.
So glad that this is over!! It took so long!! But I'm glad that I finally finished it. OMG I absolutely LOVED this manga. Right from the beginning until I got to the end.
I loved the story and the characters, though at times I was really annoyed. I couldn't fathom how Sumi could be so stupid. I loved her, but she was really dumb. How many times can someone fall for the same trap? You know he's up to no good yet you fall for it every single time. Like, really now? I loved Soichiro :-) I thought he was so adorable when he would pretend and try hide his true feelings. Nozomu was a complete psycho! Who knew?! And he sickened me right till the end.
Frankly, I thought the real relationship between Sumi and Nozomu was obvious. DUH? I wasn't surprised at all. The ending was kind of weak. But it's not like we couldn't have seen that coming at all HAHA
Maybe I've grown out of the shoujo genre. All I know is that I only just managed to sit through this one. Good things: 1. The art is nice. Not bad, not awesome, but good. 2. The plotline actually wasn't easily predictable. Well, maybe only unpredictable for me. The male leads at the beginning really threw me off balance. 3.
Spoiler (mouse over to view)
She didn't actually go for the first guy shown in the manga. That would be her brother(non-biological). Then she met Nozumo. THEN Shoichiro.
It was pleasantly unpredictable. 4. I've never read a manga with a plot like this, with such a tangled web of arranged marriage and poverty. That was actually quite interesting.
Bothersome things 1. A bunch of the character have severe panic attacks at super simple things. In fact, they just completely flip their lids and lose themselves for the dumbest reasons. It's very very unrealistic. 2. Every once in a while, a scene pops up that is a big wtf moment. For example, the female lead hits someone after he kisses her when she was entirely prepared for it and they were surrounded by a bunch of important people expecting them to act normally. If any real life human lost control of their reactions like that so easily, there would be pandemonium.
Anyways, I read this cause it was so weird. Even though I gave it a 6.9(which is very low for my ratings), I can't even say it's not worth reading. It's absurd, but it's fun? Take a go at it. Why not?
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