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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
It started great. I mean, it even got me excited for the next chapter in some parts, I liked when they part ways. But shortly after that....... just wtf? A big NO. I started to laugh so hard at some parts.. Nozomu was so pathetic it made me crack up haha, seriously... It was good before.. but it got bizarre. ... and funny.
I have to agree with those who thought this series dropped off. It had me gripped when it started out. Handsome bad guy (or, is he?) out to use cute and clueless girl for his own ends...mwha-ha-ha! Conniving butler backing him up, hidden identities...then, it all became so predictable and cliche, that it's frustratingly lame. I'm only finishing the series out of principle. I expect shojo heroines to be kinda helpless but Sumi has raised cluelessness to an art form. And, what the heck happened to Soichiro and Komai? They turned from scheming edgy guys to near idiots! It makes you actually like Nozomu; at least he's consistently obsessed and crazed. If light, barely complicated romances, requiring little thought are your thing, this is perfect.
I read this because I'm a huge fan of Ueda Rinko's work, and I wasn't disappointed.
This starts off as very My Fair Lady-- a rich gentleman tries to train a poor young woman to appear as a wealthy lady for his own purposes. It evolves into so much more than that, though. Does this series have some cliches? Absolutely. But I've always been of the opinion that if you're going to use a cliche, you have to do it better than everyone else, and I feel that's what the mangaka did here.
The art is by Ueda Rinko, meaning it's beautiful and I have no complaints in that department.
I do have some complaints, though. One, while I thought the big "twist" was great, it was also relatively apparent from the first volume. At the same time, I can't think of a more subtle way the author could have done it. Two, even though the primary conflict resolves I realized that there were a great deal of loose ends elsewhere. Even though the climax overshadows them, it still left me feeling very... incomplete. Three, (without spoilers) some characters motivations and feelings were very unclear at certain parts; as if their development was rushed because the plot needed to do something or turn a certain way. It was just a handful of specific moments where I absolutely could not figure out why a character would do something.
Overall, I loved this. I highly recommend it to any fan of shoujo.
No, sorry, this is totally NOT my type of shoujo. What's with the storyline? Too much dramas in my opinion. While reading the story, I felt like each character had his/her own ON/OFF switch. By that I mean, each characters had their two sides, bright and dark sides. They always appeared to be elegant, gorgeous etc, but when something bad happened, they all became emotional and overdramatic. As the story went on, things got worse and worse and I just couldn't carry on reading this series anymore. I really couldn't bear all the depressing dramas. At first, I kind of like Nozomu but later then he just became a total freak. Jesus.
I personally don't like the artwork either. The way the mangaka drew her characters is just annoying. I really hoped for some hot bishies at least but the manga really disappointed me.
I don't think you should read this series. It doesn't worth wasting your time at all. It actually gave me a headache.
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...
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