Manga Review: Kasumi Volume One

[Jason]

Title: Kasumi
Volume: One
Author: Surt Lin
Mangaka: Hirofumi Sugimoto
Published by: Del Rey
Genre: Shoujo

Stuck with a father often on the move due to his research, high school student Kasumi is sent from school to school before she can even get settled in. Finally, with the promise of staying in one place, Kasumi is transferred in to an elite private academy, where she discovers an interesting surprise during an impromptu magic show: If she holds her breath, she becomes invisible! Possibly brought on by a freak accident in the forest before her arrival at school, Kasumi's in for a lot more than she bargained for when she's not the only student who seems to be exhibiting some odd traits.

At first Kasumi seems like your typical shoujo fare. Girl transfers into new school, girl must deal with trials and tribulations of being the odd one out, and so on and so forth, and certainly there's no shortage of trials for poor Kasumi to go through. Targeted almost on the spot by an elite group of stuck-up girls, Kasumi's life is made a living hell for no reason other than having the "nerve" to speak to one of the other girls' pretty boy obsessions.

This isn't hair-pulling and name-calling, either. In true over-the-top manga fashion, the girls paint slanderous writings over school walls, destroy Kasumi's entire locker and its contents, and somehow make her swimsuit turn completely see-through once wet, humiliating her in front of both male and female classmates alike. These are some true witches, and even by the end of the book it doesn't look like they'll let up any time soon.

Fortunately, Kasumi seems to have made at least a few acquaintances. While "Otaku Ken" is your typical geek, Kasumi also befriends the selectively mute Maiko, a girl with a penchant for bursting into dance and seemingly possessing a talent for some form of martial arts should the need arise. Kasumi has also caught the eye of the other girls' target, the calm and collected Ryuuki, who seems to have more than a few tricks up his sleeve himself.

With such a unique cast of characters, Surt Lim has done well to make them all very memorable. Maiko is stunningly cute in her weird ways, and Ken is endearing enough to avoid falling into the "creepy otaku" vibe. Even Ryuuki, who could be dangerously close to falling into a shoujo cliché, manages to avoid such pitfalls by possessing a rather odd ability similar to Kasumi's own.


Sugimoto's art also adds to the distinct flavor. Foregoing the usual flowery lines seen in shoujo comics, Kasumi's style is very defined with particular attention paid to special effects and movement rather than the little details.

As usual Del Rey has done an excellent job with their work here. Though I have to say, while many Japanese terms are often left in their products, Kasumi takes it a bit further. "Hai", "iie", and even "onegai" are all left in the original Japanese, rather than saying "yes", "no", and "please" respectively. While it doesn't bother me, it's certainly an odd choice, and one that will probably irritate a lot of English purists.

In the end, Kasumi was still a pretty enjoyable read. While the setting and overall plot might be slightly generic, the story's characters are easily unique and memorable enough to keep an eye on this one in the future. The only issue I have comes from looking into the manga's release dates. Since this is a manga currently being written instead of just translated from an already-finished product, keep in mind you might be waiting a long time between future volumes.

Reviewer: Kiara
Proofed and Edited by Lissa Pattillo