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Description
From VIZ: In company-owned rabbit-hutch apartments live tenants who can't afford to live anywhere else, and the apartment complex in which high-school girl Hatsumi Narita lives is ruled over by the rumor mongering, self-righteous Mrs. Tachibana. Get on Tachibana's bad side, and life becomes hell. When Hatsumi has to buy a pregnancy test because her popular sister Akane's period is late, Mrs. Tachibana's son, Ryoki, who used to bully Hatsumi as a kid, promises not to tell the world about Hatsumi's secret, only if she becomes his slave. Suddenly, Azusa Hatsumi's protector in their youth, reappears to save her again! He's moving back into the neighborhood! Despite the budding romance between Hatsumi and Azusa, Ryoki has control over her through the secret that could ruin the lives of everyone in Hatsumi's family, and he hasn't forgotten who his slave is.
I guess I am not sure how to rate this manga. The characters are irrational, and idiotics sometimes to the point of face-palming myself.
Spoiler (mouse over to view)
Why would a girl fall in love with somebody she is siper-scared about, even more after he forces her to kiss, and massage her breasts? And why does Hatsumi need to be so weak? She has no will, no courage, and just sits around and watch things happening, without understanding them because she is freaking blind to everything! (Man, I am MAD!). Then Azusa is just hoovering between being sweet and evil, which can make a charater lovable, but in this case, I think it was a fiasko. He ends up not really knowing what he wants, and not really reallising his own feelings, which makes me want to slap him. Then Shinogu is ok, the angsty character, but I guess he doesn't either have balls to really try to win Hatsu over. He started with a looser mind, so he won't ever make it. You can feel from the beginning that this won't be a sibling love-story (not that I mind in any way loves goes, as long as it's good). As for Ryoki, he is just a whacko! What a character! Haha! I just don't get the man. But somehow, he may be the most interesting one, because I guess he is the one who has the biggest character growth of the bunch (but that is still not much to say). And then, we get to finish with the side characters! The sister is a slut, but gets cutter with time going. The otaku is a looser from the beginning, and is a weakling getting bullied into a relationship. And we have no idea what's going on with the room mate of Shinogu. He seems to like both sisters, but nothing is followed up...
Wow, I had a lot to say about this manga's characters! oops!
But Somehow, even with all these flaws, I kept reading. I think what the story got right, and that made this manga alive, was the depiction of the life in a small housing like that. The mentality depicted here was perfectly village-like, where everything is looked at and amplified five times. You gotta love the house wives! Haha!! I found the feeling connected to that very well depicted, and well played on, and that's why I think I ended up reading the whole series.
Argh! So I guess this was a waste of time, but I don't feel bad about it. So somehow, the mangaka got something right? I guess I was too stubborn to stop reading, excepting an epiphany on the characters' personnalities somewhere... Maybe that some balls would grows on Hatsumi, and she would begging to give divine retribution to all the jackasses she is surrounded by!!
Aah, Hot Gimmick. This is one of the first shoujo manga I've ever read, and probably the first to have disappointed me to the point of dropping it.
The first few volumes were interesting, but the cliche-ridden melodrama just dragged my interest down. The MC was so frustrating, and I can never bring myself to think that Ryoki might change for good and be a better person and actually deserve having a girlfriend.
I suggest that if you really want to read it, prepare something that will put your mood up afterwards.
Alright so honestly I'm one of those people that has to finish things.. but honestly it was just too hard for me. The story really wasn't done well at all. The main girl was just to ugh..
Spoiler (mouse over to view)
I am pretty sure she is a masochist with battered women syndrome. The author could have done something to make her better. ANYTHING would have made her better.
Its supposed to be a reverse harem with, with those guys liking her and what not, but the choices are absolutely terrible.
Spoiler (mouse over to view)
The first guy Azusa (her best friend from when she was little) tried to have her gang raped, while it didn't happen because his manager saved her, she still sympathizes with him and what hes going through trying to help him. Call me weird but if a guy tried to have me gang raped i wouldn't want anything to do with him. The second guy Ryoki (guy who pushed her down a flight of stairs when she was young) mentally and physically abuses her. With her she gives on the battered women syndrome where everything is her fault. The third guy Shinogu (her adoptive brother) While i can agree that a relationship can work if you aren't blood related the author clearly didn't want her to end up with this guy. I mean who could really be with someone they thought was there blood there whole life, that would just be a weird feeling.
She is the worst female lead ever, i have read manga's where the female character was a cry baby and stupid that weren't all that bad, but this girl takes the cake. I've seen someone say that she was just trying to be nice. That makes me laugh, there is a difference between being nice and just being idiotic. As for the art its pretty bad, seen worse but this would be on my top 5 for worst art. The faces tend to be uneven at times and it just looks bad. It's just really awkward. I mean some scenes are nice but the art wasn't in the least bit interesting for me. All in All i would say i wasted my time with this, even if i didn't get though all if it. I got untill chapter 34. From other reviews i have read nothing changes, and certainly doesn't get any better.
Yes, that's what it is for me. A "cliche" Shoujo classic with a late 90's feel to it, but - What's so bad about getting, what one expects to get? Kkk. You get your typical love turn arounds, with an indecisive and whimpy female lead, that constantly shouts out her wish for being protected, family trouble bound to lots of drama - and of course almost every kind of (stereotyped) lead guy out there, ranging from the jealous boyfriend to the popular model childhood friend and caring brother type.
Hatsumi, the female main character, is one of the biggest weaknesses in this IMO, because she hardly shows any character development and gets into trouble just too easily, mainly because of her indecisive behaviour or her inability to try taking care of everything on her own (when she is not even able to do so at least in one case properly).
The male characters are also not really showing any growth, but at least Azusa seemed in the end to move on and let things kind of go. But - Considering the hints of his situation and his first rushed actions, it seemed a bit forced and not natural to me. Sighs. The male counterpart Ryouki was the whole time the same as usual, so there is not much to say about him after reading the other comments already pointing out his personality, and her brother kind of just left me with a bitter aftertaste. Yes, he was the good guy, but that's life ... Again, sighs.
The ray of light was in my eyes the plot about Azusa's background and the happenings of the past, which got revealed one by one. The result was no big surprise, but that's okay and at least everything got more or less solved in the end.
In short: You get, what you can expect from the tags and if you don't take every dialogue (or issue) to serious, then you can spend a weekend with this Manga classic in no time. It's a time killer. Haha.
The thing with this manga is I can't stand the main guy's attitude at all. He is childish, playboy & abusive. I told myself he'll mature somehow but he is still the worst character until the end. As for the main girl, I thought she can atleast have some spine & change the guys attitude for the better but she just tolerated his abuses that made you pity & hate her at the same time. Even though it's a painful read I still finished it thinking that there will be a good ending however it just left me a bile taste. The characters were so underdeveloped that I know they will have the most unhealthy relationship in shoujo history.
P.s. I think they need a counselling to make their relationship work.
Well what other should I say then: timewaste. I even got mad about the time i spend reading something so lame. I would have even tolerated that master slave- stuff if there where just some kind of sexy tension going on. But nothing. It started and ended just annoying all way through. And the only thing the mangaka got in mind to "improve" their relationship is by worsening the other one. making the good guys beeing a bad one. *sigh* Personally, I like the cliche stuff, if it is well done. This one was not.
Hot Gimmick is every cliche in the shoujo world to the power of 10. You have your doormat female lead, jealous boyfriend, love triangle, almost raped situation, super-mean bully, rich kid, school-idol, childhood friends: the works. However, unlike typical shoujo, the plot with Hatsumi's dad was actually well-thought out and interesting. That's why I read it all in one sitting. It doesn't stall in one place too long and it's dramatic.
Yeah, Hatsumi is a major doormat and I wanted to freaking beat the sh*t out of her sometimes for her passiveness and repeated stupidity. Ryoki also: his annoying demands for Hatsumi to always pay attention to him and even demanding her to choose between him and her family were disgusting. But, overall, I thought the relationship was just annoying most of the time and they were just super annoying teenagers with some serious personal issues (Ryoki's "I have no family but you!" and Hatsumi's "my bro is not my bro and my dad had an affair with Azusa's mom"). The only serious "omg no he did ain't, gurl" moment was when he slapped Hatsumi but that was just Ryoki being a spoiled brat. It's not abusive. If it was abusive, Hatsumi would have avoided Ryoki like she did when they were kids and her brother would have stepped in.
I think if your gonna get distracted by a doormat lead, then don't. If you're willing to just let it go, you got yourself a good read.
The funniest thing is Azusa, the guy who set-up said rape attempt and the antagonist for the better half the series, has the most character development of all.
PS: No one is taking their love advice from manga, guys. PPS: cecropiamoth, no. Just no.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I think the great popularity of shoujo manga like this, demonstrates that one part of the innate makeup of women is a desire to be dominated."
That line is more disgusting than anything Ryoki has even done or said in this entire manga. That is a rapist's line of thought there and I can't believe that you translate out what mangas girls read into a factor of their "innate makeup". I love Saiyuki but that doesn't mean I'm violent.
I find this series very good, despite how many people didn't liek how the guys were treating her. It's not like every day you'll see a awesome, character who could find the words and strengths to say something epic all the time. We're all very different indeed. I don't see why people are taking this so seriously epispcailly if there are people like this kind of girl and guy out there. :/
When I read the series, I love it. When I saw all the nagtive stuff coming from a good series. Why? It pretty typical for your average Shojo manga where either the girl is naive or tries to be the strong one. people are picky. For I mean I very much enjoy this series and the plot. Not every girl your goint to find is like a strong girl, that can do everything awesome. It very different. The slave thing was just another way to get closer to her. People don't want to be to realtic from fansties but then don't like it when it like this? I don't get ya. But I give this one a 10.
If the mangaka could have focus on the growth of the two characters as the story progresses, the rating will not be so bad. I've read shojo mangas with the same storyline before. For example Hana Yori Dango. While the mangaka of HYD made sure that Tsukasa and makino matured towards the end the mangaka of hot gimmick failed in making the character mature and gave us an unfulfilling ending where the main character is still crybaby and immature.
Overall I gave this manga a 7 rating because of the good start and middle but minus 3 for the crappy ending.
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