New Flavors: Fly High!

Fly High!
by Oouchi Natsumi
Meru Tachibana, 12 years old. She’s just returned back to Tokyo after 12 years of training with her father, who thought she was a boy! Now Meru is stronger than most guys, and she’s doing her best to make sure that people don’t find out, or else her chances of making friends is ruined! However, a group of eighth graders seem instistant on making that impossible, as they break the rules and pick on the weak. Will Meru be able to stop them as the new student council president without appearing to be a “Monster Melt King” as her mother has warned? (StarryHeaven)

Laugh at me all you want but this manga actually caught my attention because I took the title literally. Hehe~ I thought that characters here actually . . . fly. Ehehe~ But when I've already downloaded the chapters, that was the only time I thought of reading the synopsis. I was pretty disappointed that it wasn't what I expected. But hey, about a tomboy leading lady? I like that! That was enough to make me give it a try~

However, it sucks. Yeah, it's about a boyish girl, but seriously the ONLY thing that made her boyish is that she is strong and she can fight and THAT IS ALL. She's a girl inside out. I think her characterization had been so bad for that since . . . OH COME ON! She was treated as a boy for years and had undergone some manly training, then make her really really boyish! Act like one, think like one, behave like one, etc. BUT NOOOOOO . . . . making her having such a background is just a pathetic excuse to make the leading girl be capable of fighting. (She did mention that she felt weird when wearing a skirt though, but later it seemed like she's already very used to it. So yeah, she just mentioned that it was new to her, but no signs of her not being used to it. Guuuh . . .)

And another thing, I don't get what's the big deal with shoujo mangas on having the a-girl-who-fights-is-friendless mentality! HELLO??!!! Those are actually the type of women who get a lot of admirers! You can be girly even if you kick ass. But they still think in such a way . . . I don't get where the hell they got that idea from . . . . uuuuggghh . . .

Another common thing in shoujo manga that I despise so much . . . the bullying. IT'S SO OVERUSED I'M SO SICK OF IT! Well, it's true that it's natural for evil people to bully others . . . but school bullying for pathetic reasons is just so pathetic! Though at least their reason isn't the usual "because you are close to someone popular that's why we hate you" but the reason "we just wanna do want we want and ruin what we don't" is just as ANNOYING! It might've been okay if they had a good reason for doing so (like the school system is corrupted, etc.) or had at least made their bullying comical, but NO! They're just being brats! And to think that the characters who are doing such things are supposed to be intelligent and influential! THE HELL?!

And then about the leading guy, he acts like he doesn't care at first but is actually being pretty nice to the leading lady. He also starts as someone who sides with the enemy for petty reasons but eventually takes the leading lady's side by the next chapter. It's too fast and predictable . . .

Last thing that I want to mention that makes this manga suck is the student council thing. Okay, fine, that might've been the way how the leading lady had thought of fighting against the bad guys because a student council member is meant for protecting the students (even against fellow students). But what doesn't make sense here? I believe it was mentioned that she grew up in the mountains, and in her elementary school there was only one other kid with her, so how the hell did she come up with the student council decision where supposedly she's ignorant about such matters in the first place? I believe she should even be unfamiliar to the majority of the school system! Uuuuugghh . . . it's just the mangakas excuse to put some student council stuff like what the gazillion other shoujo mangakas are also doing!!!! *very frustrated*

Oh yeah, I did say it was the last one, but I just had to add this one: The title "Monster Melt King" is really really STUPID! Oh gawd I feel so terrified *sarcastic* I like the evil wackiness of Meru's mom though. Her father's pretty wacky too. But I guess Meru's parents are the only ones I have appreciated in this manga. *sigh*

Overall, the characterization in this manga are just TOO TERRIBLE and it had greatly affected the decency of the story and even the characters themselves. Art is pretty though, but it's the usual shoujo pretty. Nothing exceptional.

However, I don't think many shoujo fans would be bothered with the things that have bothered me with this manga. So if you're okay with that kind of stuff, then go try it! Those bias to pretty art style might appreciate it as well. Also those who like fighting leading ladies. But just . . . leave me out.

Sapphire Pyro	READ: 2 chapters (out of 4 scanlated chapters released so far of a 1 volume ongoing manga) VERDICT: Dropped
It actually has potential to be good and interesting but the mangaka just had to use the shoujo cliches. . . and the characterizations are so terrible! I find it unbearable! I don't freakin' care if the art is kinda pretty. It sucks.