Thursday, March 12, 2015

Shiny Doll by Ichinose Ruka

Shiny Doll by Ichinose Ruka (2013)

My category: Cliched Short Shoujo



Completed; 2 volumes, 7 chapters. Scanalated by Chibi Manga.

Synopsis (MAL): Akari is an unfashionable first-year high school student who just moved from the countryside to the big city. While taking pictures of "Nana-chan," a huge mannequin at the mall, Akari accidentally bumps into into a handsome boy who compliments her on her eyes. Little does she know that the boy who has taken a fascination with her is actually Kanda, an extremely fashionable model and the heartthrob at her new school! What happens when he decides to make Akari stylish enough to land on the front cover of a magazine?

Overall, 4/10.




Story: 3/10

I'm sorry, but to sum it up: very predictable, extremely forgettable. It followed many cliches commonly found in shoujo manga. Girl meets boy, she grows to be prettier and more confident, misunderstandings ensue, and then happy ending! There was a random love triangle thrown in as well, but you and I both know the other guy doesn't stand a chance. The ending was very bland as well.




Characters: 4/10

Akari is okay as far as predictable heroines come; ditzy and uncertain at first, then grows stronger and more confident. Kanda tries to be a laid back and more carefree sort of main male lead, but just feels lacking. I don't feel any depth or sincerity... the other three supporting characters are typical as well: the nice classmate. the mean love rival, and the guy who falls in love with Akari and complicates things.



Art: 6/10

The art was quite pretty, but at certain parts you can tell the artist isn't very sure about some things... I would guess that this is a pretty new author and still getting the hang of things. Overall the art is very simplistic, not much detail to anything, but clear. An example of a shoujo manga that pulled this style off very well is Hirunaka no Ryuusei. There are many others that have similar art styles, but I can't name them at the moment... (actually I had planned to provide links to others with similar art styles, but at the rate I'm going probably not.)

Enjoyment: 4/10

It wasn't bad, just needed to think of it as 'another cliched one' and it was alright. Ending fell flat. Ok to pass a bit of time with. And it's aimed at perhaps early teens, so others might enjoy it better than I did.

Note: Some pages are missing from the final chapter on MangaFox at time of review.

Overall, 4/10.

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