The hottest item here in the U.S. straight from Japan is Manga. Manga is the Japanese word for comic book, but it is a totally different experience from the kind of comics in the U.S. The genres of manga can be divided into two main bodies: Shoujo (comics for girls) and Shounen (comics for boys). Each type of story can be equally entertaining because Shoujo deals with relationships and a lot of fantasy, especially when girls and boys fall in love. Shounen has more action and has little to do with drama. Starting this issue, America Ruacho and Brandy Saldana will review two manga comic books of one of each genre.

Full Moon O Sagashite

What do you do when the love of your life moves to another country? Simple, become a famous pop star. Twelve-year-old Mitsuki Koyama is faced with this situation of reaching for her dreams in order to meet Eichi Sakurai (Her first love) again. Mitsuki is an orphan and lives with her grandma. She is also very sick and has a tumor in her throat. There is an operation that can save Mitsuki, but it would damage her vocal cords in the process. For this reason, Mitsuki doesn’t want the operation because she would lose the ability to sing. Since she is always sick, her grandma never lets her leave the house. Mitsuki’s grandmother especially hates music. Mitsuki asks for permission to go to an audition, but her grandma refuses to give her permission. Time isn’t on Mitsuki’s side. She meets two shinigami (Japanese mythological gods of death) named Takuto and Meroko who inform Mitsuki that she has only one year left to live. They are investigating to see who she will prevent her death. Mitsuki becomes more determined than ever to become a singer so she sneaks out of the house to an audition her grandma had forbade. Takuto helps Mitsuki out and gives her a pill which makes her sixteen and healthy. She wins the audition and debuts as the singer Full Moon.

Full Moon takes Shoujo manga to a whole other level. The characters and art are beautiful and the transitions from panel to panel are smooth. Drama is in abundance and so is love. However, there is also the occasional comic relief brought by Mitsuki’s sweetness. The plot line is entirely new from that of other manga dealing with pop star fame. The storyline itself is well rounded and will please to teens because they can relate to all the problems that just seem to burden them. All in all, Full Moon O Sagashite is a story definitely worth picking up. Like most manga, it can be found at Waldenbooks, Suncoast, and B.Dalton on the Northridge Mall.