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Description
From Viz:
All that matters to 15-year-old Nobara Sumiyoshi is volleyball--she's an awesome player with big-time ambitions. But sometimes it seems like a girl just can't get a break in the competitive world of high school volleyball. Nobara's family wants her to inherit the role of "young mistress," serving rich patrons at her family's old-fashioned Japanese restaurant. No thanks! When Nobara transfers to Crimson Field High School, known for its top-notch volleyball team, it turns out that her mother will stoop to dirty tricks to keep her off the court. With assistance from her feisty Aunt Momoko, who's got some connections at Crimson Field, Nobara decides to start playing offense.
Edit: GAH OMG. AFTER THREE YEARS, THE SCANS ARE FINALLY COMPLETED. THANK YOUUU!! Omg I really liked Crimson Hero. Such strong characters Determination, teamwork, believing in one another etc. I'm so happy with the ending ^_^ one more great manga to add to my complete list <3
[Post from Jan 22, 2010] I LOVE THIS MANGA! lol I just love.. LOVE how Nobara has such a STRONG character trait! Unlike other girls who would usually cry, she really gives it her all! Yuushin and Nobara.. i can really see how their relationship grew stronger..great manga!
I'M SO SAD IT'S OVER!! I MEAN... I don't know what I'm supposed to do now!! Where can i find a manga like this??!?! It's pretty rare now'a'days you know!! I can't explain how glad I am that I decided to read this manga! It was worth every minute of every second of my time and I'm so surprised by the negative comments written here. Since I love this manga so much, I'll take the time to put some detail into this just to get other to read it too.
Art: Beautiful from beginning to end, very detailed.
Characters: Some of the best character's I've ever seen and some of the best friendships I've ever witnessed. The amount of hard work, persistence, trust and fragility they all had made this manga into a total gem. The amazing part is that they didn't even start off all that great. Throughout the story, they develop incredible strength mentally and physically and as a reader, even I felt proud of them when they overcame obstacles and sad when they struggled. I laughed when they laughed, cheered them on when they were giving it their all and felt my heart break when they hit rock bottom in their life. I don't think I've ever respected a character as much as I have with Nobara though. Theb best thing about her is that she's strong but she's also very fragile. She cries when it's something very important but she NEVER gives up. When she falls, she always stands up again and it's just refreshing how realistic the mangaka has created her to be. She's incredible. Absolutely amazing and the very definition of "a diamond in the rough." I loved all the characters in this manga. All in all, great characters, brilliant character development.
Plot: I definitely underestimated the plot for this. As I mentioned earlier, I'm very glad I decided to read it because to be honest I hesitated a little. Sports/Romance manga's are tough, I mean, There will be either too much of one or the other and I expected a bunch of whining girls and overly confident boys but this definitely took me by surprise. It had the perfect balance of sports/romance/drama and slice of life. Definitely slice of life. It was very realistic and spot on. I would know because I used to play volleyball and the team work, the crying, the hard work, the frustration, the audience, the cheering, the injuries are all spot on. I think I love this manga a tad more than others because I've felt it all too.
Romance: Can't.get.enough.of.it! I LOVE how it's not so sloppy or overly dramatic or overly innocent. The relationship between Nobato and Yuushin goes beyond any relationship I've seen in other manga's. The amount of trust and support they had for each other is truly worth seeing. Just by having each other, they were able to go through the hardest of times. What i found really awesome though was that they didn't just go "omg you're hot, I'm totally in love with you" they built it first. They're friends, comrades, lovers, supporters and dreamers. All of that together. I'm just really glad there's a perfect amount of romance in this manga. If it was all sports and just a hint of romance, I don't think I would've kept reading! Great couple, great connection.
Ending:
Spoiler (mouse over to view)
I wish I could've seen them play during the spring tournament, that would've been awesome too but the ending was wrapped up pretty nicely.
All in all, I give it a 10/10. Please give it a read, I guarantee you won't regret it. Well, that's said, I think I'll go play some volleyball again.
I started out liking this manga. It was cute and funny with a good balance of romance and sports. The plot progressed at a good pace, art was good as was the flow. The heroine was relatively likeable, strong to her word, and a good change from the weepy can't do anything for herself girls.
HOWEVER
about half way through the story, things go down hill. Everything turns double melodramatic and cliches are thrown at you, front left right and from behind. I actually stopped reading it after a certain cliche that annoyed the hell out of me and just read the epilogue.
I first saw Crimson Hero in a Shoujo Beat magazine I bought. I got to admit. The art drew me in. I decided to look it up online and I was given a pleasant surprise. However, after around chapter 50, I dropped the series for awhile. Recently, seeing as how it is completely scanlated now, I decided to read it again. Boy was I glad I did!
Characters ★★★★★ You know how a story either has a weak or strong heroine? Well, Nobara is neither. She's in between. The mangaka has given her character such depth. It's irritating when the heroine is weak but I find it irritating as well if the heroine is too strong. I really like Nobara because she has her flaws. Not only Nobara, her team has balance as well. They don't straight-out win matches or dominate other teams. Plus, the opponents have their own story as well. I felt sad that some of their opponents had lost even. The mangaka did a really great job in making her characters likable and realistic at the same time.
Story ★★★★ The story revolves around the Benino's Boys' and Girls' volleyball club and their matches against other schools as they aim for the Spring Tournament. Despite it being about volleyball, I like how the mangaka did not bombard us with technical volleyball information. There are occasional terms but the mangaka does explain them so it isn't a pain for those who are unfamiliar with the sport, especially since most of us are otakus anyway. The story flow is good. The team faces setbacks but through intense training, they get by. However, one reason I gave this series a nine and 4 stars for story is because everything ridiculously coincidentally happens. Most of the time you can predict what happens. Don't let this stop you from reading it though. It is an enjoyable read. Also, I just hate how everyone is happy or perseveres. There's not that one miserable person out there. Realistically speaking, not everyone has happiness. Though actually, it might just be the sadist in me.
Art ★★★★★ The art, despite it not being anything magical, it is pretty and it goes with the story. The characters are proportionate. I know sometimes the characters have overly-broad shoulders and can be too tall. Plus, they're only 15-17 year olds. However, they are volleyballers anyway so the mangaka probably wanted to emphasize this. What I like best however, is the form and poses. For examples, when Nobara jumps in the air. It looks beautiful. It may not be the best-looking art, above-average for me yes but it goes so well with the story!
If you have not read Crimson Hero yet or have dropped it, please give it a try! It is a wonderful story with balanced characters and will give you a pleasant feeling as you read it
I've waited so long for the ending of this series. I mean I started it in high school and I graduated six years ago smh But I really love Crimson Hero. It's one of my very favorites. I get so excited and anxious reading it lol
I love Nobara and all that she had to overcome just to keep her dreams. And even when people say bad things about her she never gives up. She fights on and even encourage her opponents. That's amazing. I really want Nobabra to be happy and I love her with Yuushin... though I always wanted her to be with Keisuke, I think Yuushin might be better for her lol I just love Keisuke's childlike mentality when it comes to Nobara. It's cute. But I still can't tell if he loves her, or if it's something else. Poor Tomoyo.
After ch. 69 I knew something horrible was going to happen. Sensei is very cruel doing that to them is all i kept thinking..
It's amazing though it's been ongoing way too long! This is still one of my favorites. I felt every emotions depicted. During the final match with Yabe High I was so nervous as if I was on the court with them haha The last story with Nobara and Yuushin practically had me in tears, I'm so glad things worked out for the best =D
First I have to tell, that I liked the art and the story when I started it some years ago. But I don't remember since what chapter but I can't recognize the main girl. At first she was te only girl with short hair but then almost every girls have the same hair. I allway wondered wft? Then realize its not her so I fed up with it. Maybe later I will restart reading it because I liked the story and the mangakas drawing is beautiful.
Seriously! This manga is one of the best shoujos out there. I mean yes, the romance is a bit slow and pushed to the sidelines but that's the point. The manga is about volleyball. It's about doing anything to follow your dreams. Nobara is one of my favourite heroines. She isn't one of those heroines who transfers to a high school to follow her love interest or someone who, at the very first page says "I'm going to find a boyfriend!" Honestly heroines like that make me wanna bludgeon them to death. Nobara is one of the few characters who isn't like that. She knows what she wants and is determined to get it no matter what. She's a real tomboy, not the fake ones you find in most mangas. Even when she falls in love she never forgets her original goal. She does become more feminine but I love her recklessness and rebelliousness so much! She actually reminds me of me.
The art is lovely. It might be a bit choppy in the beginning but it becomes gorgeous later on. People might be turned off at the sports aspect of it since it is shoujo, but I loved it. I don't even play volleyball but I still got drawn in. It's great. This was much better for me than Akuma de sourou by the same author. That one was alright but was too cliched and the girl was way weak. This one was much more enjoyable.
Unfortunately, this isn't a very well known manga. It's a shame because it's on par or even better than the mainstream shoujo nowadays.I would love to see it being made into an anime or live action. I really think everyone should read this.
ok pretty good except the whole beginning which is based on the premise that the best girl volleyball player can be as good as the best guy volleyball player. I play with boys and against boys, along with some other females. Most players have played at the university level, so this is kinda complete bullshit
I'm only 3 chapters in, but I can only hope for character growth in the intelligence department...
:EDIT: Nope, caught up with current translated releases and no improvement... In fact most of the cast have been demoted to mentally insufficient human-like single-celled organisms.
Spoiler (mouse over to view)
Seriously, the female lead doesn't want to inherit/work in her family's restaurant so what does she do? Run away and get a job as a maid somewhere else... I know the root is low self esteem/self hatred caused by the constant negative criticism in comparison to her younger sister, but in regards to true character profiling, she should have at least a little resentment toward the service industry itself. Thereby making the prospect of becoming a maid/dorm mother a naturally unacceptable choice even to further her original goals. The story could have taken many directions aside from this type of live-in scenario and been perfectly fine, but this turn of events makes the story impossible to enjoy from a logical mind's standpoint. the two more rational choices would have been: 1. transfer of school due to lack of proper physical recreation being offered 2. make so many mistakes so that current hostess is pressured by the clientele to choose another heir and/or make intentions known to abolish family's business upon inheritance to dissuade selection. She's been raised in the environment for 15 years, enough to understand how it works, so I hated her simplistic/counterproductive choice of future decisions.
:EDIT: near vol. 14, I found another disappointment.(for people like me at least) I have never been able to enjoy a single publication that included a "Because I think of his/her best interests I have to completely crush his heart, self esteem, and motivation by breaking off all relations." story arc. And to find that Takanashi Mitsuba is the type of author that would include it. I now know why every fiber of my being instinctively told me to stay far away from this series. I didn't listen, and now I suffer. Like minded individuals have been warned.
If you can look past that the art is good and it is a interestingly funny read, but the only reason I'm continuing is I have a self imposed rule to finish reading what I start.
DOES IT HAVE TO ENNNND !! I can honestly say don't judge a book by its cover I've come to find that the manga with what seems like the most interesting plot line always sucks and the manga that doesn't seem eye appealing is usually the best . In this case its seemingly boring plot line but amazing.art and story I felt th3 same way and was very hesitant about reading this and I can honestly say this has turned out to he the second best manga I've ever read I very rarely write revives with no bad flaw/comment but I have really enjoyed this its really good if ur having douts just read the first page and i grantee you will love it.
EDIT: Its been a year and half since I last read this manga...and I had comepletely forgotten everything, which was very frustrating. So ofcourse after trying to skip and rush, I decided to re-read the manga. I don't know whether it's because i'm much more experienced with manga then I was at the time when I picked this up but It just ...Lost its magic ...I felt like it was kinda typical. Not alot of romance which I was begging for, but i'm thinking it's because the matches had less effect as it once did... It was so damn predictable, no twists..after the first two games, you could literally see a pattern in what would happen, tbh I blame the mangaka for taking so long releasing these chapters. I lost my obsession with this manga that I believes to be the best, its a real shame.
(-1)
Determination, teamwork, believing in one another etc. I'm so happy with the ending ^_^ one more great manga to add to my complete list <3
