Monday, February 7, 2011

Favorite Manga #16: Tramps Like Us


Synopsis: 
Career woman, Sumire, found a young, homeless man outside of her apartment right after she was dumped by her fiancee.  On a whim, and feeling lonely and depressed, she offers to let him live with her as her pet.  He agrees and she find that, even though his presence comforts her, life is complicated when she has to hide their arrangement from her co-workers and the new man in her life.  All of this, while fighting her growing feelings for her pet.

Review:






Characters:
Sumire: In a country where women are expected to quit their job and focus on family once they are married, Sumire's desire to work is often not understood by those around her, and neither is her interest in things like wrestling.  Still, she's a highly likeable character, who just loves deeply and wants to be loved.  She's more naive than one my expect, and sometimes you wonder who is taking care of whom.  Living with Momo softened her as a person, made her feel that she could show a bit of herself to someone. 



Momo (Takeshi Gouda): A child prodigy in ballet, he never grew tall enough to be a male lead in ballet, but rather than giving up, he transitioned to modern dance.  After a falling out with his wealthy father he found himself penniless on the street, and therefore found Sumire's offer hard to resist.  At first its just a living arrangement, but he his feelings quickly deepen, but he wants her to be happy, and is unwilling to get between her and her new boyfriend.  He's a sweet guy, and rather childish at times, but that seems just what Sumire needs in her life.




Plot:
 Don't be fooled by the concept of Sumire keeping Takeshi as her pet.  For her he's simply the replacement for a dog, she even names him after her childhood pet, Momo, and their relationship is cute.  That said, this is defiantly a manga aimed at an adult audience, as there are decided adult moments depcited.  It takes the reader on a real roller coaster of emotion, watching the relationship between Sumire and Momo, all the while watching her fall in love with her college crush, Hasumi.  Hasumi is a good man and exactly what Sumire was looking for, but the reader can't help but hope she'll see Momo as something other than a pet, but you also can't help but see how good she is with Hasumi and also see that Momo is much younger with a blossoming career in dance in front of him.  There is a enough romance and comedy in this story to keep it interesting through all 14 volumes.

Art:
When you are use to more bishonen characters (really pretty boys), this series may seem to fall short, but the more you read it the more your realize that it is just as beautifully drawn as them, this is just a different style for a different age group, and as a plus, the art is consistent throughout.  I would give it a strong 4 out of 5 on art. 

1 comment: