Monday 29 October 2012

Hoshi no Furu Machi and stuff

Oh shit! I totally f****** my alarms this morning, for some reason I had set them all to 'PM' hence they  didn't go off. I woke up at 11.10am, which is 20 minutes before I was meant to start work, but of course, it takes at least 28 minutes to drive to work, so, i had to call and let them know that I would be late (yes, i time my drives to work, the quickest was 28 minutes). Horrible start to the week.

On the plus side, I did successfully re-enrol in university today too (busy day it seems) with me changing one of my degrees from a tourist management major to advertising major, which I am really excited about.

On to Hoshi no Furu Machi by Hara Hidenori, it is a bit different to what I am usually on about, firstly being a Seinen series. It is completely scanlated at 7 volumes (apparently there is a film too, but I know nothing about it). Anyway, the story is about Koutarou, a Tokyo student who is sent to the country by his parents for embarrassing them with his grades, despite going to one of the most prestigious schools in Tokyo. He moves in with some relatives who he considers 'strangers' and starts going to school there. At his new home, Koutarou meets Nagisa, fellow classmate and neighbour and after some initial disputes between them due to Koutarou's cowardly nature (not trying to succeed or admit to needing help) the two quickly become friends. In the small town, Koutarou notices he can clearly see the stars, which is something he is not used to in the city. Over time, Koutarou starts liking Nagisa romantically, but it is revealed that she has a long unrequited love for jerkface (i forgot his name, but he is the son of the people Koutarou is staying with), who is currently in Tokyo. When Koutarou returns to Tokyo to visit his parents, he takes Nagisa with him to meet jerkface. Upon arrival it is revealed that jerkface has a girlfriend and has no intention of ever returning to his home. Nagisa returns home while Koutarou spends golden week in Tokyo. Upon his return Nagisa is rejected but gets on with it. In the meanwhile some other chicky (forgot her name too, i'm not inclined to remember non-main characters) tries to make a move on Koutarou as she wants to one day go to tokyo, ideally with him.Things get a bit messy here, Koutarou confesses to Nagisa but is rejected then he accepts the other chicky because he feels things with Nagisa are hopeless. Anyway, things kind of waddle on for a while, Nagisa's mother gets sick and Nagisa decides to give up being a nurse because of this, until jerkface returns. Jerkface is pissed off with something but won't admit what happened. After seeing how Koutarou and Nagisa are now getting along again, jerkface says he will take Nagisa because he can even though he doesn't like her romantically. Nagisa confesses that she 'liked' him (she used past tense here, at this point she has developed feelings for Koutarou). jerkface then tries to force himself on Nagisa before Koutarou saves the day by being beaten to a pulp by jerkface. Koutarou is left in hospital and jerkface at the police station. It is reveaed that jerkface got dumped and was unsuccessful at getting a job in Tokyo, so he was venting his frustrations elsewhere. Meanwhile, chicky goes missing, it is later discovered she only went to Tokyo for a few days to see what it is like. Koutarou realizes then that he wishes to be an astronomy teacher because of his love for the stars, although his parents at first disagree, they finally consent. Nagisa and Koutarou finally sort out their feelings for each other and make a promise about being together when Koutarou finishes studying in Tokyo, however on the day before his entrance exams, Koutarou's father is critically injured and is comatose for more than a week, he later makes a full recover. Koutarou believes that he has broken his promise to Nagisa and that they can no longer be together. Six yes pass, and Nagisa has successfully become a nurse . She has not heard from Koutarou since he left to go to Tokyo to live with his parents again. It is later revealed that Koutarou has returned to the small town to do his study for his teachers licence. They meet again when Koutarou is sent to get fixed after a school related accident. Koutarou asks if it is still possible to continue their relationship after he finishes his studies in a year. Nagisa replies "You already made me wait so many, one more couldn't hurt' The End. Well, I think this is very similar to Usagi drop where this could classify as both Seinen and Josei, but the art is very Seinen style. Although in saying that, I did find this series quite enjoyable and charming in it's own way, maybe it's because it is something different from what I am used to. There, 7 volumes summarized right there, BOOM! enjoy!

Anyways, next time, I will deffinately be talking about Sad Love Story and in the next few days also the New Sexy Simpleton. That's about it for now, until next time :)

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