Glass no Kamen

Description

From Shoujo Manga Maniac:
Chigusa Tsukikage holds the rights to the play "The Crimson Goddess," a lost masterpiece that many would love to see brought back to the stage.
Tsukikage, however, won't allow the cherished work to be diminished by an actress who isn't worthy of playing the title role. Fortunately, she has found two young actresses that just might be worthy: Maya Kitajima and Ayumi Himekawa. Though both actresses are exceptionally talented, only one can win the coveted role.

Type

Manga

Related Series

N/A

Associated Names

Garasu no Kamen

Glass Mask

Il Grande Sogno di Maya

Mặt Nạ Thủy Tinh

Topeng Kaca

หน้ากากแก้ว (Thai)

ガラスの仮面

千面女郎

玻璃假面

玻璃面具

유리가면

Groups Scanlating

Latest Release(s)

v.48 c.265 by Cookie Jar 11 months ago

v.49 c.271 by Cookie Jar 11 months ago

v.49 c.270 by Cookie Jar 11 months ago

Search for all releases of this series

Status in Country of Origin

49 Volumes (Hiatus)
26 Volumes Bunko (Ongoing)

Completely Scanlated?

Anime Start/End Chapter

Starts at Vol 1, Chap 1 (1984/OVA 1/2005)

Ends at Vol 13, Chap 62 Page 6 (1984) Heavily adridged / Vol 4, Chap 18 (OVA 3) / Vol 41, Chap 222 (2005) Heavily adridged

User Reviews

Glass Mask by Alissa

Forum

11 topics, 34 posts

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User Rating

Average: 8.8 / 10.0 (540 votes)

Bayesian Average: 8.67 / 10.0

54%

19%

11%

Last Updated

August 5th, 2024 5:35am PDT - 9 months ago

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Genre

Comedy Drama Romance Shoujo
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Categories

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Category Recommendations

Lights, Camera, Love!

Recommendations

Author(s)

Artist(s)

Year

Original Publisher

Hakusensha

Serialized In (magazine)

Hana to Yume (Hakusensha)

Bessatsu Hana to Yume (Hakusensha)

Licensed (in English)

English Publisher

N/A

Activity Stats (vs. other series)

Weekly Pos #758 (No change)

Monthly Pos #1488

(-127)

3 Month Pos #2360

(+57)

6 Month Pos #2793

(+66)

Year Pos #3002

(+928)

List Stats

On 1626 reading lists

On 1119 wish lists

On 152 completed lists

On 111 unfinished lists

On 525 custom lists

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Forum Posts Click to view the forum

411 + The nature of Chigusa and Ichiren's relationship?

9 years ago

Glass Mask's Miuchi: Manga is Moving Along Toward End

10 years ago

Is this still updating?

12 years ago

Ending

12 years ago

Do the end up together anytime soon?

13 years ago

User Comments [ Order by time added ]

Don't be fooled

by PumpkinIsMyName
12 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

Glass Mask is one of my all-time favourites. Surprisingly stupid I was to keep it at distance at first. With the plot, drawing style and long run I thought it would be a ginormous drag, but the contrast couldn't be much greater. From the first volume I was hooked. Somehow this manga claws itself onto you and doesn't let go.
Story:
The synopsis doesn't even slightly grasp the epic story Glass Mask is. It's all about dreams, love, talent, hope, friendship, family, tragedy and the ability to fight for what you want and never give up. Here we see a girl with no credit on whatever subject besides acting, in acting her soul lives and thrives. You get pulled in, rooting for Maya's dreams, Hayami's love, Ayumi's ambitions, Tsukikage's blissful afterlife. The never-ending plot-twists, plays, adventures, hurdles and accomplishments keep you interested and not once did I lose my patience (which for me is rare).
Art:
I still prefer modern-drawings more, but so far I haven't been truly bothered by it. The catch is that the artist doesn't really improve with time, in my humble opinion.
Long-run:
This story never bores me and despite running for so long it still feels so short. I can't wait till they bring out some more scanlations (I'm at vol. 38)
For other matters such as character development and story development, I can say they are prominent, Maya grows stronger and stronger, and not only in her acting skills.

To conclude: Glass no Kamen is a classic and must-read for shoujo fans, it manages to stay fresh and exciting even after 38 volumes.

(ps. For those who have read Ashita no Ousama, Skip Beat!, The One, Ingenuo and Paradise City, I highly recommend this. It has somewhat the same feeling at points, plus it revolves around a career/talented orientated (showbiz) plot too.)

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JUST KEEP READING

by mecopoly
14 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

Seriously, Just Keep Reading this manga. At first the art is a little funky (because of the old drawing style) but after a few chapters I hardly noticed. As far as Maya's journey goes, the story does get kind of repetitive. It's also fairly wordy if you don't care for the plays. Honestly after a while I just stopped reading the text and read the pictures during the 10+ chapters it took to go through a play.

The Romance is slow, frustrating, hilarious, awkward, sad, adorable, and beautiful. Hands down the only manga I've read that has tugged at my heart the way it does. You can feel the character's emotions so deeply. I've laughed, I've cried, and a variety of emotions in between, in a way that only this manga can do.

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"That girl has her own destiny, she is a storm on the stage"

by AFierceCreature
15 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

This manga is delightfully pleasing. In one instance you are holding you breath in anticipation and in the next you are breathless for laughter. This is truly mangaka Muichi Suzue's classic masterpiece! There is intrigue, mystery and thrilling rivalry. It takes you through a full spectrum of emotions and leaves you always wanting more!
The main characters have a relationship with a special dimension to it that only Muichi Suzue can achieve. Kitajima Maya has an extraordinary on stage charisma but is otherwise quite an ordinary girl. Masumi Hayami, 'the cold blooded workaholic President from Daito' is a contradictory man. He has much admiration for Maya's fiery passion for the stage yet seems to take sadistic pleasure is teasing her mercilessly! He says every thing he does is for Daito, yet all his actions are seemingly all for Maya's sake. He disrespectfully calls her Chibi-chan and allows her to speak rudely to him but lecture her on manners with for everyone else.
This is not a ordinary shoujo manga the acting and theatre aspects entertain members of both genders and are interesting and charming and touch upon a broad span of genres. You can see Maya developing certain skills and getting increasingly closer to her goal playing the Crimson Goddess as she takes in various roles in these dramas.
The art is old school style but isn't terrible, the story is simply overwhelming and this leaves you wih the art might be perfect. After reading the first chapter you won't notice anyway.
If you have read Skip Beat you will love this, there are a lot of parallels.

Overall this is a FANTASTIC MANGA, that everybody MUST READ. DON"T BE PUT OFF BY THE ART. Muichi Suzue is a GODDESS amongst Mangaka and this is a BRILLIANT AND SHINING example of her work!!

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Glass is mask is beautiful!

by XGatsu
16 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

Okay I'm also a guy. My favorite genre is Seinen and my favorite manga is one piece a Shounen. I also read a few Shoujo manga. And out of all the Shoujo manga I read glass mask is definitely the best. Its in my top 3 favorite mangas. I think what I like most about glass mask is that it focuses more on making your passion and dream come true. Rather then which one out of several guys am I going to end up with like your more common shoujo mangas. It also has great, truly deep and raw emotions like between Maya and her mother. Its almost made me cry a couple times. As a macho guy I can't admit it did but it was close 😉 , I also love the rivalry between Maya and Ayumi. In my opinion it has the best rivalry out of any manga not just shoujo but all genres. In a sense Ayumi is the second protagonist. I'm starting to rant because I really love this series so I'll just say Glass Mask is one of the most beautifully written, emotionally deep, always exciting manga and story of my generation.

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...

by JHax9999
16 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

I've only just starting reading this. Honestly, the art is atrocious. I'm not picky at all when it comes to drawing. I don't mind simplicity or plainness if the story is worth it. But seriously this manga is drawn so weird, it makes me wanna stop reading. The faces are drawn strangely. It's gonna take time to get use to it. But, all these people here say the story is really great... and so I'm going to keep reading, despite the off-putting art.

Will update this comment when I get a lil further into the story.

Ok, I can pinpoint the exact moment I started liking this manga. It's right at page 90 of volume 1. By volume 2, I have already fallen in love with it. Yep, all these people below me were right. This one's a keeper. Even the art is looking prettier to me now.

I agree with Akari's comment about Masumi's feelings for Maya. It seems kinda taboo, since she's only 13. But then, it's only feelings. It's not as if he's pursuing her or thinking dirty things about her. He's just attracted to her passion for acting. Her spirit is inspiring to him, so he does little things to support her in secret. It's not anything bad. And, in case anyone is wondering, he's 10-11 years older than her.

If you've read Skip Beat and liked it, you will like this 100 times more. You know how Skip Beat is really good, but has a bunch of those long stupid scenes that has nothing to do with anything (like that birthday party that lasted 8 chapters). Well, this is Skip Beat, but without all the useless subplots to bore you. In fact, the execution is 10 times better in this manga. Every volume contain scenes relevant to the plot development. I read 15 volumes of it in one night.

... Last updated 16 years ago

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Personally, being a theatre geek and all

by skawaii
14 years ago

Rating: 9.7 / 10.0

I highly highly recommend this. I love it very much. I am becoming some blundering, ineloquent idiot just trying to find words to describe this masterpiece. I love classic mangas that withstand the test of time. This one has definitely proved its worth. The art is a bit of a turn-off (to me, too). I even put it off for several years because Skip Beat! was out and it had nice art, fantastic, and an acting-oriented manga nevertheless. I thought Skip Beat! was the worthier choice. Was I wrong. The two are so different. It's as if I saw some Glass Mask in Skip Beat!
The romance is so heart-warming. As an age gap romance fanatic I definitely would give this a two thumbs up. The emotions are quite realistic, but what is keeping me from taking off 0.03 points off the rating from a 10 is because I feel like it gets dragged out with drama (not fully theatre) of misunderstandings and such. But it all proves to such a wonderful ending, or near to it, at least.
Not many mangas could move me to the point where I am lifted up into the clouds of cloud nine, or sunken so low into the pits of darkness.

(I also truly love Ayumi, also. She's one of the biggest reasons why I didn't give this a straight out 9)

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Best Classic!

by pyonk
10 years ago

Rating: 9.0 / 10.0

I got this manga from my mother. Yes, my mum, she read it in her teenage days.
I cant believe it still readable and maybe, maybe one of the best shoujo.
I was like 9 or 10 when i read it and I was so sad when I thought i wont be able to know the ending because it listed as uncomplete, and now how happy i am that the mangaka decide to continue it!
Sadly, i think it went downhill. I dont feel the great vibe from it anymore, the recent volumes just felt like so we can read the ending of this legendary shoujo classic.
Anyway, I recommend it for those who like shoujo manga, especially Skip Beat.

... Last updated 10 years ago

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Awesome!!

by tende_frezze
13 years ago

Rating: N/A

This manga has been there for as long as I can remember.
Like Doraemon this manga is something legendary some 20 years ago 😀 and btw the artwork is a lot better after a few vol so do not drop it after reading a few pages.

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Incredible

by enaikelt
15 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

An excellent series, and timeless, like another commenter mentioned. Excellent writing and the art grows on you. Considering I normally give up on a manga that doesn't hook me within the first five chapters, the fact that I read all 30 scanlated volumes (and they are hard to find) in two days is a feat. By the end, you really start rooting for Maya; and you can't help but like Ayumi, simply because she's so, well, upright, I suppose.

I don't quite mind the Maya/Masumi ship, although I must say I'm pretty bleh about Masumi being idiot enough to hook up with another woman. You'd think he'd fight harder/be more loyal to Maya if he adored her that much, especially if he's successfully avoided being hauled before the altar this long.

The anime (the 2005 one, at least), is not nearly as good as the manga is. The prime reason for this is that the manga takes it's time and adds in a lot of details, whereas the anime tries to get through all 40 volumes in 50 episodes. The result is that the anime is a sort of summary of the manga, with only half the depth of emotion and awesomeness.

... Last updated 15 years ago

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Epic Classical !

by Thrudgelmir
16 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

Make it right, i am a boy, love mecha, action, shounnen, and practically hate all the shoujo nowadays. But this is different, just like shirauro said "i was addicted, end of story", yeah, i addicted, and now still i am.

The art is very old shoujo style with character look like having flash in their eyes, its annoying at first but if you think about it, not very much mangaka nowadays can draw such style thus make the art become a rare treat today. Although i gotta admit, it so shoujo-ish that i really plan to drop it when i just started to read it, i glad i didn't though

The story, yes, that the one make me so hooked to this series, a girl love drama more than anything, an admirer always hid himself in shadow... argh, i like all the characters in there, even support character also got enough appearance so that reader not forget them. Focus more about drama play than mere romance is an excellent move against anti-shoujo like most of guys do. It boarder the range of readers to both sex. I just dont find enough word to describe the story and its aura, just "Read it !"

Now i only has two wish for the series:

Miuchi sensei please do NOT follow Fujiko F Fujio-sensei, dying before complete your masterpiece is almost same as not creating it from the first place.
Please dont do an Anna Kareina's ending, that just too sad.

1st editted: i dont quite agree with Jhax about Masumi (and Akari is just exaggeration the matter) , i dont see any taboo in his feeling toward Maya, true, he older than her 11 years, but it not like she can't grow anymore. And Maya already finish high school, mean that she already past 18, there are nothing wrong with in love with a mature girl.
Also Masumi didn't do just a little to help her, its more like he goes all-out for Maya's sake, when advertising for "werewolf", do you think that act just "a little help" ?
At first, it probably just an attraction toward her honest feeling, but time goes by, Masumi's feeling gradually changing, its his guilt and his fear for this new sentiment that make him run away from Maya's feeling:
"Between us is a road and the signal always red...Forever red..."
That just him break the green light and get paranoid keeping the distance all by himself. If he doesn't honest to his feeling, the one hurt the most will end up be Maya herself, are you fine with that, Masumi ?

... Last updated 16 years ago

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