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 #958

(-530)

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 ]

If you are reading this review right now

by hirukayuki01
8 years ago

Rating: 9.0 / 10.0

If you are reading this review right now trying to convince yourself to read this manga, I should tell you that you must read this. Many had recommended this to me in the past and I've encountered it a lot of times but never did I try to read it. I gave it a try yesterday and now I finished all the current released 15 volumes.

review:
The story could really hook you. There are times when there are too much dialogue and I might sometimes find that annoying but it's still good. I've read other acting type of na has but this one left a deep impression to me. Mainly because of the main character. I like how she was obsessed with acting and it's as if acting is her oxygen. Though instead of obsession I would say it's more of a passion. The only thing I didn't like about her was her random indecisiveness but it didn't really affect his character that much.
Another interesting character is her sensei. I think theres another thing she should keep in check beside her physical health.

Anyways read this and you won't regret it. Btw, I don't like classic art too but trust me this is a gem

... Last updated 8 years ago

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Magnificent!

by Nirachu
12 years ago

Rating: 9.5 / 10.0

Welp, my first classic shoujo. The characters did appear to conform to cliche tropes initially: the clumsy, happy-go-lucky, rags-to-riches heroine, the talented, indifferent rival etc. However, Maya (the main protagonist) has particularly good character development throughout the course of the story, maturing into quite a likeable character unlike some of the more shallow shoujo heroines.

Another aspect I particularly enjoyed was the acting/drama stuff. Unlike a few other manga which use showbiz as a pretext to romance, I found it the opposite in Glass Mask, which is very centred around the character development and storyline. The romance is there too, but it's quite subtle and progresses extremely slowly in comparison. The classic art style did take me a while to get used to though, although it's not an overly big distraction, and you do tend to get used to it after a couple of volumes.

Actually, to be honest I'm still surprised at how good this series is even compared to more modern shoujo manga. Despite the cliches present, it has surprising depth.

... Last updated 12 years ago

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Pure Essence of Awesomeness

by Nemurenaiyo
12 years ago

Rating: N/A

Glass Mask is truly an enjoyable read. I would have never imagine myself to read such manga with girly art, but upon having to start with the first chapter, I was truly absorbed by both art and the characters. For those of you who have ever read 'Daddy-Long-Legs' (literature novel by Jean Webster), you would find a slight resemblance to 'Mr. Fan'. I love this tiny detail since I am a fan of 'Daddy-Long-Legs' but the affection displayed by 'Mr. Fan' in Glass Mask was refreshing. Instead of having the female protagonist to be the one who writes to the unknown male protagonist and display innocent honesty to highlight her feelings, 'Mr. Fan' shows HIS affection by consistently giving her roses and short messages as a form of motivation. In return, Maya brings about great effort in honing her skills as an actress. Oh my god fans self But putting all of that aside, I do find it horrifying how the Mangaka loves to exaggerate the facial expressions of 'stunned' characters. They looked terrified instead of being 'amazed'. However that didn't stop me reading this series. The story is well balanced and it is getting even more interesting as Maya progresses and advances her skills in drama.

Glass Mask deserves a round of applause.

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All time fave

by aria980
15 years ago

Rating: N/A

This manga affected my life. Not exaggerating. I first read it in primary school... I didn't even read in sequence (figured the sch library didn't have complete set).

Enough rambling. What I love most is Maya's love for acting, and the way she diligently pursues her dreams and always immerses herself in becoming her roles, not just acting them. The manga inspired me to try out acting (in school context of course...I continued my interest for 7 years even). In essence, the Manga taught me how to put myself in the shoes of fictional characters, and that was my starting point to studying and writing literature.

I guess the plot of a dumb genius pursuing a passion tirelessly is somewhat overused nowadays (e.g. Yakitate Japan, Shaman King, etc), but Glass Mask must be one of the first of its kind. I like that Maya always struggles before she succeeds...and I like that the focus isn't so much on the romance between Masumi and Maya (in the light of influx of less conventional relationships nowadays, Masumi's insistence seems stupid...but remember the setting of the Manga, guys), but on the acting. I love the characters...they're consistent and well done but sometimes not too thoroughly explored (there are many characters) I guess it's different from Mangas where the focus is on one group of people fighting together. Here it's Maya through and through. Sometimes characters get their flashbacks, but that's it. The perspective is more similar to life. Sometimes, you're not close to your friends/mentors, relationships fall apart and you forge new ones...things like that.

Overall, this Manga is irreplaceable in my heart. Even though I stopped reading when I was 12, the story stays in my head. I nearly gave up refinding it, but the internet is something real amazing these days.

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beautiful~

by hamaiasa
12 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

This is a fantastic, gorgeous, well structured, simply stunning manga. Melodramatic/warped at times, but I love it.
I was referred here after SWAN was dropped by CMX.. I had heard lots of people comparing it to this "Glass Mask" thing, and I kind of just shelved it somewhere in my brain, until I being unproductive and terribly depressed at school at that point decided to read it. It was as amazing as it promised, and truly comparable to SWAN by Kyoko Ariyoshi ! (psst, go check that out if you haven't already. Scans are slow but its on the rise. It was my first shoujo love~!) in its scope and beauty. I enjoy the plays-within-mangas, the hilarious chibis, and the realistic romance. The painful romance between two main characters is one of the best you will ever encounter, and the parallels to Tsukikage's own past are wonderfully portrayed. The art is a bit old and odd at first, certainly, but give it a try. It's certainly inspiring and ridiculously motivating <3 I love it so much I can't bear the wait till 211... =) there I go sounding sappy! I've probably used the word "beautiful" way more times than usual, but it's true. Glass Mask is beautiful~

... Last updated 12 years ago

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Classic

by zeusosphere
15 years ago

Rating: 7.5 / 10.0

... but not one of the best. It feels rather like how Slam Dunk!, but in the drama + shoujo + romance genre with a focus on acting, rather than a comedy + shonen. The fact that I like Slam Dunk! better probably has to do with 1) the art style, and 2) the genre.
It reads like a classic, and it certainly looks like the older type of shoujo. And the art does get better, though not so much as you'd notice the shift without direct comparison. However, it does get incredibly repetitive and predictable. Eg,

Masumi's BOUND to think "Maya...!" several times over the course of the play. And it was obvious that she's going to hate him then fall in love with him from the moment she learns he's supposed to be cold-blooded. Etc.

Also, people's attitudes don't change realistically.

Maya manages to get the audience choice award on a solo play in a national competition, and then wins 2 of the most prestigious awards (on a national scale), was EXTREMELY popular in a popular TV show, had her face plastered all over the place in advertisements for a huge company... etc, etc, etc. And YET! Other actors, producers, directors, etc, (not even counting the general public), STILL don't know her face or her talent! She's the only rival a renowned genius actress acknowledges, they've always had a pretty good relationship in public, and still people try to kiss up to said actress by dissing her acting. What the hell?

There's also a LOT of dialogue/narrative/conversation.... whatever you call it. In other words, it's text-heavy. I don't know about everyone else, but I expect more pictures than text in my manga. If I wanted text, I'd go for a book instead.
For those who would compare this to Skip Beat!... there's a lot more focus on the actual plays she does - you get the entire play, with most of the dialogue, when they perform. Which could be nice, for those who're interested in the content of the play, but personally I think it breaks up the flow of the story too much. It's not like the actual story is going to affect Maya's growth as an actress that much. Kyouko's growth as an actress is also more obvious - in Glass Mask, you get told again and again that Maya's acting isn't polished enough, but is strangely attractive... and that never changes. She learns how to portray each character, but there's no sign that she applies whatever she has learnt to new characters.
By the way, the romance in this one... is the frustrating type. You'd just wish they'd get together ALREADY and save everyone (including the readers) a lot of pain. (In contrast... Kyouko's reactions makes the Skip Beat! situation a lot more fun.)

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Will this ever be completed?

by Day Dreamer
3 years ago

Rating: N/A

I’m waiting to see how the author wraps up this story before judging it on its entirety. She confirmed that she would complete this story 4 years ago and we’re all still waiting for the conclusion. I wonder if it will ever be completed =/

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Glass Mask FTW

by ForteAtrox
13 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

Holy shmucks this manga is an enjoyable mess. Glass Mask, how I regret not reading you earlier!
Glass Mask is about an extremely talented young girl who starts discovering her abilities on the stage. It's funny, dramatic, and at times heart breakingly romantic. It's a lot of fun watching Maya realize her talent and learning her character in every role she plays. She's a naive character but her pure love and enthusiasm for acting makes her a great character to read about.
Sometimes I felt like there was quite a bit of rinse and repeat and some of the training she went through me go through made my eye twitch because it was just so ridiculous, but reading on the story plays out quite nicely without too many bumps in the road. Some people are put-off by the old drawing style, but there's nothing wrong with the art itself so I don't mind at all, heck, I've seen some really bad art drawn in the present time. The romance is slow and daddy long leg style, which I can live with because it adds so much suspense to this series that makes you want to find out what happens next.
Someone who commented below complained about Maya saying she's not a prodigy, saying "every one goes either "Scary!!" or "she's different, not maya anymore". Gimme a break.". That's something we call 'getting into character'. Some actors are better at it than others, Maya is gifted for understanding and creating a character so realistic that you almost forget that Maya is acting. Maya can bring the audience from a stage into a whole new world with her acting and if that's not talent, then I don't know what is.

She even performed a solo in a old rundown supply shed with makeshift props and costumes and still had the audience intrigued.

When you first start the series, you might think wow, the character is a bit... much and things might feel exaggerated but keep on reading dang nabit, soon the story will pull you in and hold you in a choke hold so strong you'll not be able to escape- in a good way. Happy reading~

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I don't know why, but I love it

by arashi273
5 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

It's one of those manga in which you can see and feel the shortcomings but you love it anyway. The art style is old and far from being the greatest, the story is full of cliches, melodrama, and exaggeration, but you will love it anyway. I think because those shortcomings are executed in such a way that it's still appealing somehow.

And finally, what makes it distinguished compare to other manga is the way the author portray such an intense and pure rivalry between Maya and Ayumi. I've never witnessed such rivalry in other manga.

I really love Ayumi's character with all her struggle, superiority complex, and inferiority complex

... Last updated 5 years ago

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from r/manga

by r/mangaReviews
6 years ago

Rating: N/A

>Darkgenerallord (Known status: ?)
"If you liked Act Age, I'd recommend Glass Mask. It's definitely a lot older, but it's very much so the spiritual predecessor."

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