Favorite Manga #5: Hot Gimmick

Synopsis:
****NOTE: since it came up in comments, this manga is rated T for older teens, it is in no way sexually explicit, it is a teen romance****
After being caught buying her younger sister a pregnancy test, Hatsumi agrees to be the sex slave of the son of the most influential family in their apartment complex, so that he wouldn't tell his mother and get her family in trouble.  Can the pair get past this rocky start and her long-held fear of him, and her crush on an old friend who's returned?

Review:

Characters:
Hatsumi: Like a lot of manga heroine she's not the the brightest girl, but she shows great strength of character.  While she is scared of Ryoki she agrees to his plan, because it means defending her family. When her older brother has problems, she reacts on emotion to stop him.  She wants to be stronger and stick up for herself, but has trouble doing it.  While she can be a little naive, she's likable and I was rooting for her to be happy.





Ryoki: He's a spoiled, rich boy who thinks that he can do whatever he wants to whomever he wants.  He's smart and gets annoyed at Hatsumi for being stupid.  He can be overly jealous of her attention.  While this initially makes him hard to like, Ryoki quickly grew on me.  Sure he's a jerk, but he's the kind of "bad boy" a lot of girls want (ie. The kind who's not really a bad boy, he just acts like one...not so deep down he's a good guy who will go to any means to protect the girl he loves).

(I would review Hatsumi's brother Shinogu and childhood friend/crush Azusa, but I don't want to spoil the plot points surrounding them, but since I enjoy them and love their character design I'll show them, Shingogu first then Azusa)

Plot:
I probably picked up the first volume of this manga a dozen times before I bought it.  I loved the cover and was constantly drawn to it, but when I read the premise about her being a sex slave, I was like "nope, not for me."  Then I really wanted a new shojo and nothing else was out that I didn't already own, so I bought the first volume.  Read it and had to turn right back around, return to the book store, and buy the second volume.
Don't be fooled by the initial premise, while Hatsumi may agree to be Ryoki's sex slave, there is no actual sex slaving going on.  Mostly Ryoki just makes her hang out with him and harasses her.  As their relationship grows even that kind of changes.  I actually enjoy these kinds of love stories, because the guy may act like a jerk, but he really isn't.  I have a soft spot in my heart for characters like Ryoki, who aren't sure how to express positive emotions, and struggle to show the girl they love how they feel.  My only real complaint of this series is that I would have liked a little stronger ending, it was a tad too open-ended for me (it does have an actual ending, but not the pretty little bow that I always hope for).

edit: again, in response to a comment, this manga may not be for everyone, but if you like shojo or romance it really is worth a read.  The commenter compared it to Twilight, which I really don't see, but maybe you'll see that as well.  I've had friends not like Ryoki or male leads like him, because they only see them as jerks, but I see more in them than that.  For me, they are awkward and stumbly as they work to try and express emotions that they normally wouldn't, and they are often gruff and react in ways others, who are more comfortable with their emotions do not.  Its why I'm drawn to these characters and these stories.  I love that feeling of being sorry for them and hoping that the person they care about can see through the facade. 

Art:

I've read earlier work by Miki Aihara which aren't as great, but I absolutely adore the art in this series and would give it a 5 out of 5.