Book Review: ‘Daytime Shooting Star' vol 1 by Mika Yamamori (shojo manga)
It's a well known fact that I am very fond of manga, so when I found ‘Daytime Shooting Star' just casually hanging out on a shelf in the Oxfam Bookshop, I had to take it home.
Now, I'm very picky about my manga (although my reviews on here would suggest otherwise, see: Dick Fight Island, but sometimes it's more curiousity rather than actual invested interest) and the one that will forever by held high on a pedastal is ‘Fruits Basket’ by Natsuki Takaya. That is the manga to which all others are held accountable to.
Immediately, I fell in love with the art style of ‘Daytime Shooting Star’ (although now I’m looking at the cover again I'm a bit sus about the way one of the characters is trying to maintain their modesty…) and the summary intrigued me:
“After arriving in Tokyo to live with her uncle, Suzume collapses in a nearby park when she remembers once seeing a shooting star during the day. A handsome stranger brings her to her new home and tells her they'll meet again. Suzume starts ger first day at her new high school sitting next to a boy who blushes furiously at her touch. And her homeroom teacger is none other than the handsome stranger!”
Ok, so I'm already a little bit uncomfortable by the age gap between Suzume and her homeroom teacher (who is also friends with her uncle somehow?) and how he seems to be quite interested in her, and knows exactly what he's doing. Whereas, she's very confused about having feelings of some kind towards a teacher…
And yeah.
I just hope it gets resolved in a well thought out and plausible way. Because it's not uncommon for high schoolers to have crushes on their teachers. It's just the handling of it, I think, will be what makes this a yes or a no for me. It is from 2011 so…
That said, I think it has a good cast of characters, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the different friendships develop. Suzume has that ditsy and almost too positive attitude that gets shojo manga protagonists in trouble, and again, it depends how that's handled as to whether I like that aspect of her character or not.
There's enough school to home action, and I think there's a good balance as to where the focus lies at the moment.
I was also a little concerned about how her friendship with Mamura was founded. She essentially blackmails him into being her friend as she doesn't have any being so new to the school. I thought that for someone who comes across quite concientious and kind, it was a strange move for Suzume. It also made me a little less sympathetic when she got hazes by a fellow classmate. Again, I'm hoping this relationship develops in a more healthy way as the series continues.
I'm definitely going to pick up vol 2 at some point, and if you're a fan of shojo school based manga then I think you'll enjoy this too.
It's also been made into a film which I'll be checking out soon as well!
A nice little palate clenaser while I'm inbetween reading books for the podcast.
Written by Sarah
