 Manga truly is diverse. Where else can you read about a delinquent waking up to find his right-hand replaced by a noisy-but-sweet girl who's madly in love with him, or read about a crazed scientist chaining a male and female from different social classes together - resulting in both the development of romantic feelings and the male being forced to sing whenever his far-too-close-for-comfort lady-friend goes to the loo for a number two? Where else can you read about a guy falling in love at first sight with a girl (and ditto for her), dying before their first date, and then deciding to be reincarnated as a penguin because that's her favourite animal? I actually feel kind of sorry for Tuxedo Gin. No, really. It was so badly ignored by US readers that, in the Midori Days' volumes, the editor talked it up a storm whenever possible. And the female editor of Tuxedo Gin itself made it perfectly clear at the end of each volume how much she loved it; making a finger-in-cheek comment or two about penguinxdream girl bath-times whilst doing so. It's a heart-warming and very funny manga, as well as being just a little bit different, so to see it go under the radar to such an extent is just... IF YOU'RE IN THE UK, STOP THE PAIN BY ORDERING THE VOLUMES YOU CAN BEFORE IT GOES OOP COMPLETELY!!!1!!!!! http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/search?searchTerm=Tuxedo+Gin -- All but 12, 14 & 15 still available to UK buyers without difficulty. http://www.up1.co.uk MIGHT still be able to hook you up with the remaining volumes. Might. If not, I guess it's importation time... As for my overall thoughts on the manga itself, it's wonderful as an episodic tale of penguin love. The supporting characters get their own suplots which, eventually, make even the back-up cast lovable - the romance between Ko (kid who abuses his age to grope/bathe with Minako) and his tomboy wannabe girlfriend making me smile. There were random chapters where Mike (genius penguin) would appear to add to poor Ginji's woes by throwing a female penguin/egg into the mix for the most weird love triangle ever, and there were also entire arcs dedicated to the fading 'pure love' of Minako and her deceased/reincarnated love. The biggest problem with the series is that Minako's too lovely to be viewed as real. I mean, really: a girl waiting for years on end after an accident leaves her love-at-first-sight love missing; going to the bench where they were supposed to have their first date every Sunday? They never even knew each other yet Minako was willing to remain chaste and pure until the man of her dreams returned (and, according to Ginji being with her 24/7, she never had the urge to touch herself in the dead of the night)... all because he made her heart go *beep*. I didn't mind a great deal because of the series comical tone and appreciated the fact that, every now and then, there was an arc focused on Minako's feelings - one example of which being when she cleaned Ginji's former room, in an attempt to say goodbye, and another being when she came close to falling in love with another guy on holiday. And she was always SO adorable that I couldn't help but love her; the art detail of her eyes + her long hair just doing it for me and her jealous temper tantrums over a perverted penguin lusting after other girls making me laugh (she even pondered why the hell she was jealous over a penguin!) I suppose it's just a guy thing; the 'dream girl' type, even though fake, making the hearts of guys' swoon. The situation reminds me of Iori from I''s, somewhat - an 11/10 stunner waiting forever/remaining a virgin for her love, against all the odds. Ignoring Minako, what truly let the series down was, along with its start rushing into the story without spending time on GinjixMinako, the story having a rushed 'canceled; time to end everything poorly!' conclusion. Gin was excellent when Ginji found himself living with random late-night weather reporting women/pondering if he was cheating on his love, but the author gave me the impression he was willing to carry on the episodic randomness until he had no choice but to come up with a conclusion... and that's exactly what happened. I might have been forgiving if it had ended with a kiss, or if Ginji's penguin-antics had become known to Minako, but no. All in all, Gin is a unique rom-com, sure to amuse to no end those who find the idea of dialogue such as "You're a true cock!" and "Fatherhood is all about being a cock!" hilarious. How can people NOT like a manga with such fantastic art where the lead penguin reverts to his realistic penguin-form when in the mood for love; beating his wings at a girl who has no idea wtf he's doing? HOW CAN PEOPLE NOT FIND IT FUNNY WHEN A REINCARNATED PENGUIN GETS THE URGE TO KEEP ROUND OBJECTS WARM!? PLZ READ IT!!!! After a so-so opening volume featuring rushing and a kidnapping/rape attempt, it becomes damn good. Also, I've learned a lot about penguins, thanks to reading: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_penguins_mate Also (2), penguins can stare down even human thugs:   |
AironicallyHumanNov 1, 2010 7:12 AM
More topics from this board
» Why Disney? WHY! (Disney making movie of this manga)zawa113 - Aug 5, 2011 |
2 |
by Waywardreaper38
»»
Dec 1, 2023 1:00 AM |
|
Poll: » Tuxedo Gin Chapter 1 Discussiontr25a3 - Jul 27, 2020 |
1 |
by Caezarius
»»
Mar 24, 2022 1:48 PM |