Manga Review: Midnight Secretary - Series Recap

Title: Midnight Secretary (volumes 1-7)
Author:Tomu Ohmi
Illustrator:  Tomu Ohmi
Publisher:  Viz Media, Inc.
Copyright:  2013-2014 (Japan: 2007)
Price: $9.99 each
ISBN: Vol. 1: 978-1-4215-5944-5
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Summary and Quick Thoughts: Kaya Satozuka knows what she wants to be and that is a secretary. She works hard to be the most efficient, pleasant, and best secretary anyone knows. No one can really say a bad word about her work. Actually, they'd say she really should take some time for herself. Her identity is built around the idea of her being a secretary. Otherwise, she's got a baby face and looks much younger than she really is. Being a secretary allows her to comfortably be her age and be taken seriously. Things change for her though when she's assigned as Director Tohma's secretary. Unfortunately, it is not the blonde haired Director Masaki Tohma, whom she has a crush on in the beginning

Kyohei Tohma is just one of the directors of the Tohma corporation. He's known to be a womanizer, constantly taking women into his office for a little afternoon fun. On the other hand, he is good at what he does. Kyohei does have some strange tendencies that at first just seem odd. When Kaya stumbles upon the truth that he's a vampire, she does what she would naturally do: research and support her boss for all that he needs.

Just one problem: the moment he tastes her blood, he realizes he doesn't want anything or anyone else and it infuriates him. Kaya and Kyohei navigate what at first is a working relationship that slowly becomes deeper.
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Recommended Audience: adult
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Things to be aware of: nudity, sex, a little blood (vampires!)
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Further Thoughts:  I have not been this excited for a manga artist/writer for a long time. Until recently, my all time favorite artist/writer was CLAMP (which is actually a collection of women). Tomu Ohmi is now up there. I could gush about her art for hours and I have pretty much decided I will own as much of her work as I can get. I am currently reading/purchasing her new series Spell of Desire (SO GOOD).

Just to recap, I was reading this at the same time as Happy Marriage?! My review of that you can find here. In my review, I mentioned that Midnight Secretary felt similar. The similarities include: a secretary falling for the head of a company (and vice-versa), the head of the company changes his original direction and theoretically takes a step down, the male love interest is dark and brooding, and lastly, the characters are navigating how to be in a relationship with each other.

Now Midnight Secretary is much more serious than Happy Marriage?! and the similarities I list above end there. Whereas I felt Happy Marriage?! let me down, Midnight Secretary was closer to what I wanted: a considerate hero, a smart heroine. The story about the vampire clan was a successful subplot that eventually becomes the plot.

The romance never felt as if one of the two had to be dominant over the other. Kyohei started out thinking he needed to be that way, but Kaya was willing to stand up for herself. She did not let him walk all over her. I admire her for her ability to take what she wanted and take into consideration her best interests. She makes a few missteps, but she's human.

I also admired that Kyohei could see her beauty and understand why she did what she did. There was a story where her glasses break, and he finds out what she really looks like with her hair down and everything. He offers to get her glasses, even after finding out the glasses are fake, but tells her she doesn't need them. On the other hand, he recognizes that her personal image is "the secretary." She breathes that image and he doesn't want her to change that if that's what she wants.

Kyohei is a considerate vampire hero and one that I like (unlike another one who borders stalking). Kyohei depends on Kaya being herself. Instead, his internal struggle is realizing that he does need someone to keep him in check after spending so long convincing himself, for the safety of himself and others, that it was better to be alone. Kaya works with this. When the hero disappears (as required of a romance hero) she doesn't just stop, she shines. Yes, she has her meltdowns, she misses him, but in a glorious scene, when they meet again, he explains everything. His actions speak louder than the words he uses.

The physical part of the romance is always consensual. He never takes her blood without permission. The only reason it starts is that she recognizes he needs help or he'll be ill. He considered the circumstances and took it. Looking over it again, I realized that in a way, the blood offering is almost always a sexual gesture and he takes a brief moment to ask please (more in a body language way).

Let me take a moment to talk about the vampire mythology. The mythology is strong in this. He's a vampire while his brother isn't because his mother is and not his father. It is interesting how vampires could "walk among us" so easily in this story. With a few adjustments to their schedules, activities, and such, the vampires are just like anyone else. I know I wanted just a little more about The Clan mythology, but overall, I enjoyed the subplot and conflict that was The Clan. The way the series ends, I have a small hope that we'll see these characters again, but more secondary.

In the end, Kyohei and Kaya are individuals and remain as such throughout the story, but without each other they couldn't grow into stronger individuals. This is how a relationship should be to me. They come together and eventually work through the forces tearing them apart, together. Side characters support them and are three dimensional. Occasionally, they get their own small story at the end of the volume, which adds even more depth to what is happening.

The art: Kyohei is the traditional brooding manga hero, but he is crazy sexy. He has the requisite dark hair, narrow eyes, the right muscle lines and I have a crush on him from the art and the story combined. His one fault is that he smokes, but hey, he's a vampire and adult.

Kaya is different for a manga heroine (at least compared to that other title). She starts out pretty much a blank slate with her dark hair in a bun, glasses, and the standard issue secretary uniform (which is a thing). When her hair is down, she looks childish with big eyes. The glasses narrow her eyes a bit. As the story progresses though, her style slowly changes from a wisp of hair here, to fashion that I want in my closet. The hair tends to stay up in a professional setting and the glasses stay, but she's coming into her own and you can see that.

Overall feeling:  If you're considering adding "new adult" manga titles to your collection but not sure where to start, then this is a strong one and at 7 volumes, affordable.

If you read romance but not manga, or new adult and not manga, please weigh in and ask me questions! As I said, I don't really read romance, but this genre of manga is something I will be sure to read more of as it comes stateside (if it does).

Tomu Ohmi's stuff better keep coming stateside, and while we're at it, let's get CLAMP back in publication!
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Note: Looking at the back covers, I noticed there is a small "animation" going from each volume that works up to them kissing. HOW COOL IS THAT?
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Source: Vol 1-3 purchased; 4-7 Edelweiss ARCs and then purchased vol 4-6. Still need to get myself volume 7 apparently.

Manga Review: Happy Marriage?! Series Recap

Title: Happy Marriage?! (vol. 1-10, series recap)
Author: Maki Enjoji
Illustrator:  Maki Enjoji
Publisher:  Viz Media, Inc.
Copyright:  2013-2015 (Japanese 2009)
Price: $9.99 each
ISBN: Vol. 1: 978-1-4215-5934-6
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Summary and Quick Thoughts: Chiwa Takanashi is working two jobs to pay off her father's debts. By day, she's a secretary at Mamiya Corporation and at night, she's a hostess. To help Chiwa, the Chiarman of Mamiya offers her a deal: marry his grandson and all the debts will be erased. Seems legit, but then she finds out he's the jerk that got her fired from her hostess job the night before. Oh, and he's the company president.

Hokuto Mamiya has his own reasons to work up the ladder of Mamiya Coporation. Part of that has to do with the death of his mother by a hit and run. Hokuto is convinced that the Mamiya family is behind it somehow and will stop at nothing to find out what happened. So if the Chairman, his grandfather, wants him to marry a secretary he doesn't know, so be it.

In 10 volumes, the story covers their on again, off again relationship, how they navigate this semi-arranged marriage and their insecurities, which both have. The story is from Chiwa's perspective. Every volume has a fight that has someone walking out or slamming a door and the mystery of Hokuto is a strong subplot.
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Recommended Audience: Adults
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Things to be aware of: sex, druinkeness, emotional abuse, nudity (female)
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Further Thoughts:I am not an avid romance reader. See my note below on that, but if I was a romance reader, I'd say this reads like a romance. Mostly.

It was the last volume that killed it for me and I'll get into that in a bit. The series starts out strong enough for a romantic comedy: Chiwa is innocent and a virgin. He's the head of a company and the heartthrob in the story. How does Chiwa get to have him? For the first three to five volumes, they keep their marriage a secret from the other employees Chiwa works with (but of course, he tells the WORLD). Then she considers fooling around with an old love interest and decides to work for him because Hokuto isn't supportive of her being a housewife, which she only became because she didn't feel he supported her work, not to mention he's an idiot and works himself to exhaustion so Chiwa feels responsible to keep him healthy. Also, she's a neat freak and he's not.

The plot almost always follows the same cycle: they keep secrets, it escalates, one of them passes out/gets drunk/ticks the other one off/a side character reveals a secret, they fight, they promise to be open to each other and then it starts all over again.

Chiwa is a typical manga heroine: curvy, shoulder length hair, relatively good dresser, and shorter than the hero. She has her moments as a strong heroine, but more often than not her insecurity gets in her way and she's wondering: am I the perfect wife to Hokuto? If only she could help Hokuto. If only he would LET her help. Really, by the end of the series, I really don't know much about her likes or dislikes and she felt flat as a character (compared to Midnight Secretary which I was reading at the same time and in a way, has a slightly similar plot). Even the Christmas story illustrated that the only gift she wants is whatever makes him happy. Although, he does pick up that she might like a personal island.

Hokuto is the brooding hero and he's handsome as is expected in manga. He has the eyes, the dark hair, is tall, broad shoulders, well dressed, and he's got all the right lines (I'm talking muscles here). Honestly, he's a jerk more often than not by the end of the series. On the flip side, he's a wounded guy. He's strongest as a character when he protects Chiwa from a stalker, opens up to her about his real motivations for what he does with Mamiya Corporation (after she finds out from someone else he's done something like stepped down from Commerce) and he's patient enough to wait for her to be ready for sex (which happens in volume 3 or 4. The sex is so "hot" that a lot of the volumes I purchased were plastic wrapped. Fact: The sex in the Midnight Secretary, seemed hotter and was not plastic wrapped).

Let's talk about the sex a little. It's steamy in places. It's just the right amount of romantic. The most you see is what you'd see in movies, but there are at least two or three times I'm kind of concerned about the characters. He has drunk sex with her and doesn't realize it until half way through. I'm certain there is a borderline rape at least once where she says "NO" but he pushes the right buttons and she gives in. I always find fault with these kinds of scenes regardless if it is a movie, book, or comic, because I honestly don't know how I should feel about it.

There's also a few instances where he hits her. She hits him a few times too (like as part of the drunk sex scene because he really is like "Oh, hey, I didn't realize I was having sex"), but as a Goodreads Reviewer did note: he hits her to calm her down. He doesn't talk her down, he just slaps her face and she doesn't bat an eyelash. She blinks and seems calmed down enough to listen to him. UGH.

So you think by volume ten, the end of the series, they'd get what it was to be in a relationship. No. I had realized by volume eight that every volume had the same formula. Although, from eight to ten where the stuff with the family starts to come to light (the most interesting part at this point and the only reason I was still reading), we had the requisite "where'd the hero go?" Chiwa acted like her life was over. She cleaned her Dad's place and went back to attempt to help his lazy self. She worked (I think. I was getting bored with the series and really just wanted the subplot). She thought about Hokuto, but he had to go find himself. So, she'd be true and wait for him. UGH.

The last volume came along, I read it twice, and was really disappointed in how the characters had NOT grown. It was such a let down that the same patterns from earlier just continued: keeping secrets, a side character points out the secret, they fight. I was not convinced that these characters loved each other and I really didn't think they should be together in the end.

On the flip side of all of this, I know that Japanese culture is different. For example, working to exhaustion is a real problem and is used often in manga. Regarding relationships, I'm not sure what is permitted or not, but seeing how I've read a lot of romance-ish manga, this relationship was an odd one.

Overall feeling: The first few volumes are a quirky, romantic comedy and enjoyable. After the halfway point though, elements of abuse start to sneak in and can make the reader uncomfortable. It was the first time I didn't feel the characters "grow" in a manga title. I only own up to volume 7 with no intent to purchase more. There are better new adult manga titles out there.
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Note: I am not an avid romance reader and by that, I'm mostly talking about the trade paperbacks/Harlequin's. The only one I've successfully loved in that genre of romance is J.D. Robb. On the other hand, I've had my fair education on romance novels and the plot. I defended romances in college in Gothic Lit and did some research then. This book started to fit the romance genre and then went somewhere else entirely. If you're a romance reader, please weigh in at the comments below!
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Source: I purchased 1-2 and read volumes 3-10 from Edleweiss (an then purchased some of those).

The Undertaking of Lily Chen

Title: The Undertaking of Lily Chen
Author: Danica Novgorodoff
Illustrator:  Danica Novgorodoff
Publisher:  First Second (:01)
Copyright:  2014
Price: $29.99
ISBN: 978-1-59643-586-5
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Summary and Quick Thoughts: Deshi's brother Wei has died and it was partially Deshi's fault. The biggest problem with Wei's death? He died unmarried. To make up for the death, his parents send him out to find Wei a wife to be buried with. Thus begins Deshi's quest to find a body.

On the flip side. Lily needs to get out of town. She's stuck on her father's farm and they need money. Lily needs an out and a ride to Beijing. A chance encounter at night has Lily following Deshi, unaware that he sees her as a potential wife...for Wei. The only problem is, she's alive.
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Recommended Audience: Adults.
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Things to be aware of: sex, some violence
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Further Thoughts:  Ok. Here's a weird one. If you or your patrons like weird, off the wall stories, take a look at this one. It's a bit unnerving.

Deshi is weak as a person. Lily is strong but naive and innocent. It is by her hand that they travel together and for Deshi, it's a small chance at soul searching for him. Most of the story is "will he or won't he" and "why did he make that choice?" For Lily, the story is what lies beyond her small world?

The art is interesting. I liked the interspersing of water colors, but occasionally, I couldn't figure out who the ghost faces were or what I was looking at. The cover is a great example of what you'll find in the story: images overlapping into other images, watercolor. I'm not so sure about how the characters are drawn though. Lily is pretty (it's an obvious sort of thing when you look at the art). Deshi is awkward. Everyone else is a caricature of something. It works but in some ways rubs the wrong way. I can't put my finger on it.

The basis of the story is interesting. The idea of "ghost marriages" where two dead bodies are married is at once creepy and interesting. It is or was actually a thing and thanks to Wikipedia, here's the full article quoted in the beginning of the story. It's interesting how you know that this is what Deshi is up to, but Lily has no idea.

Overall feeling: Not a must have, but one that is certainly different and worth adding if you have the extra funds.

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Source: Review/Library Copy

Scenes from an Impending Marriage

Title: Scenes from an Impending Marriage
Author: Adrian Tomine
Illustrator: Adrian Tomine
Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly
Copyright: 2011
Price: $9.95
ISBN: 978-1-770460-32-8
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Summary and Quick Thoughts: Oh engagement! The next to last step to the marriage that will tie people together until death –or divorce- do they part. In Scenes from an Impending Marriage readers follow along as Sarah and Adrian try to plan their wedding. From guests to DJs to just trying to do things together, planning this wedding is hard. Tomine uses various art styles to evoke their frustrations about wedding planning and also give readers a little inside humor to wedding planning. It’s enjoyable and something I want[ed] on my wedding planning shelf for a little humor (Note: Pretty sure I read this BEFORE my wedding).
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Recommended Audience: Adults
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Things to be aware of: N/A
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Further Thoughts: The adorable cover of the couple rushing to get married (or away from the altar into their new lives together?) does not show you what is inside the book. The little hard cover book tells the story of Adrian and Sarah as they plan their wedding. Anyone who had planned a wedding (or tried to or dreads it) will understand what happens in this collection of strips showing their ups and downs. The humor is perfectly timed and consistent. The art is fun and I enjoyed the different styles used to tell this (Family Circus, Charlie Brown). A perfect gift or must read for the newly engaged.

Well worth the wait and hunting for this book (I heard about it and waited a while before a library got it).
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Source: Library copy.