why Shimaki sensei always draw sad stories. Most of her works are pretty much related to sadness and tragedy or even if there's no such element, there's always a male character liking someone else or sleeping around with other girls than the main character (like one of the stories in Erotic Horror or the oneshot Wait for a night when snow falls") It's kinda saddening.

But this one is way much sadder. Just when he finally realized that he's capable of loving someone else, he'll have to go like that. Man, that's why I dislike tragedy stories! Nevertheless, I still love this, even though I don't wanna read it again. (Will make me cry ya know!!)

I wonder,

Either way, I'm not into such childish shoujo.
P.S. Where was that tagged "LGBT Character in a Non-BL/GL Manga"? ^__^ I didn't see any)

... Last updated on August 5th, 2012, 5:05am

Had this manga been serialized it would have been a perfect 10 at the top of my list - incredible art all aroung, page-turner romance, independent female lead, handsome/daring male lead... everything. However, the plot is really better suited to be a off-your-feet long-form romance, so to end the story a side character enters randomly and turns the plot into a really abrupt tragedy. ARRRGGGGGH. Still worth the read.

Considering one-shots are only ONE-SHOTS, I understand why it has to be short so she put less details about the story...but the plot is still there, it's still clear. "A pirate who falls in love with the young-maiden he was supposed to sell as a slave."

If she was given the opportunity, I bet she'd give more depth to it. I like it the way it is. I'm not going to delve into the "it has too much plotholes, this won't do." A one-shot is a one-shot, if I were to complain about plotholes, I'll complain about it if it was a multi-chaptered manga. The one-shots give one purpose, and it's to entertain you when you don't have anything else to read or you just want something short and fun to read.
Sensei's works always give me satisfaction even though they all end up having the same plot: "the two main protagonist will end up in love."
Nothing much to say about that, I guess...And the art is...WONDERFUL as always, I couldn't ask for more.
Btw, I refuse to believe he is
I need more Shimaki-sensei goodness though... * A* I feel like I'm almost getting there...to the end where I have no more works from her to read. /sigh.

You know, Pirate that sells girls into slave will be punch by Luffy's Elephant punch in the face. And die tragically. So it was a perfect ending by Shimaki Sensei. If not SH crew will hunt him to the end. Zoro's Asura!!!

... Last updated on November 24th, 2010, 11:20pm

i didn't like this one bit the was some what ok the story was its bits end was lousy nothing grate to say
and usually SHIMAKI Ako work is really good i loved her other work this was just not my type i guess.

i actually want her to write student x teacher series and hoping its longer, cuz i did read a oneshot by her and want to see some of that kind of stuff lol

this had so much promise. i really loved this one, it really moved me. the ending was just stupid. it was rushed and didnt make sense with the story. come on, you cant just and be done with it!
i give it an 8 for everything but the ending.

Ah, Shimaki sensei... such a mixed yet beloved bag you are to me .
Her stories usually are very light-hearted romance pieces, with rather flat but pleasant characters, sometimes with a dash of smut more palatable than most, and some more or less clever plot twists. No masterpiece, but most fo the times is perfect light fluff that can make you smile and go 'aww' here and there. So, why you should check her out among hundreds, thousands, of authors after all?
For starters, her art is better than many shoujo manga artists' , not perfect but really captivating: yes, there are oh-so-expected-of-shoujo shiny eyes and hair, body proportion are not perfect but improving constantly... What I really appreciate of her, though, is her love for dynamic camera angles/scene POV, that can inject some interest and vitality even to the most cliched stories. I 've sometime wondered about her possible achievement if she had some meatier script and a change of story settings, she really has potential to do much more IMO.
I like to consider this one-shot a nice - if still umbalanced- attempt at stretching her comfort zone (and her magazine constraints, possibly) : no more only present-day, normal life & school settings or love hijinks. Instead we're presented with a dive into XVIIth(-ish) century pirate adventure.
The smut part is quickly dealt with - it makes for an impactful coloured spread page nonetheless XD - almost as if the mangaka would get it out of the way so she could focus on the real core of the story. The romance , although underdeveloped, feels more like a plot device for the actual core of the story. Said core is all about the male protagonist and his past, and it's much darker than you would expect (compared to previous work by this author I mean. But 'objectively' there is some blood and violence and gore , both shown and implied) . I wished this part could be expanded further. Shimaki can draw evocative -and dark/serious/emotional - sequences and loves to play with shadows and highlights: the result worked very well in the flashback sequence here ^^.
I can't help but wonder if the darker undertone, the setting, even some facial details (some close-ups of the eyes in the serious scenes: their shape and details, complete with lower eyelid rim and the crescent around the pupil ... ) have been influenced by certain story arcs of Berserk , of all things. Truly, I had young Grifis/Griffith visual flashes at times while reading.
Maybe I'm over-analyzing it and she just picked up the navy&pirate settings because it's in fashion (be it because of One Piece, Pirates of the Caribbean ripple effect, Berserk or whatever ) and makes for interesting visuals.
Anyway, I'd like to see more works from her in a similar vein. They suit her and bring forth her talent for action/surprise scenes and drama ***. The romantic relationship buildup still needs some upgrading -especially for a drama such as this to make a lasting inpression - , but practice makes perfect .
I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope for more. She could do great with period shounen and seinen pieces too I believe, if provided some little help with the script.
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Rating:
visuals: pretty good ad evocative 8.5
settings: interesting and rendered well enough 8
plot: its execution could be improved, but the mangaka's effort to break her own mold is commendable 7
total: 8--


***(she has dabbed into these too little, shame. Mucha Kucha Daisuki and her other multi-volumes spin on the Genji Monogatari pops to mind, but the plot and pacing there lacked a tighter direction to fully convey deeper emotions to the reader ).

... Last updated on July 6th, 2009, 10:55am

Ah Shimaki sensei has done it again!
Beautiful Art, Unique little storyline, yet a very tragic ending...
</3 It made me cry 10/10