[Manga] Papillon #2

[aemartell]

http://cdn-www.mania.com/content_pics/000004/78/47/84e6a360391f80a6_large.jpg

Papillon #02 (http://www.mania.com/papillon-vol-02_article_112584.html)

Mania Grade: C+
Art Rating: B+
Packaging Rating: B+
Text/Translation Rating: B
Age Rating: 13 and Up
Released By: Del Rey
MSRP: 10.99
Pages: 192
ISBN: 978-0345505927
Size: B6
Orientation: Right to Left

I'm hoping, in my heart of hearts, that this volume is all an elaborate, subtle set-up for future storylines--but I just don't think that it is. There's not much else to say that wasn't in the review, really, but I'm eagerly awaiting the return to high school melodrama present in the first volume. Less Psych 101, more catfights. Or at least characters I can sympathize with. I'll take either one.

[Noodle]

S-s-s-top living in my head!

I got really worried for my future with this series after I read this volume. Your review is pretty spot on. (And yes, thank you! I am also a little "uh...?" over the college-aged guidance counselor-in-training agreeing to date a HS girl with serious issues!)

I did think #3 was a bit better* so I am sticking on for now. Have pre-ordered #4... but honestly, I'm not liking this near as much as I wanted to.

*(I think? ... I can't actually...remember it NOW, but I feel like I felt better seeing some of the catfighting melodrama come back, because then I felt guilty for liking it.) :sd: Oh god, I should just stop reading this series, shouldn't I? :sd:

[aemartell]

(I think? ... I can't actually...remember it NOW, but I feel like I felt better seeing some of the catfighting melodrama come back, because then I felt guilty for liking it.) :sd: Oh god, I should just stop reading this series, shouldn't I? :sd:

Well, guilty pleasure is what I wanted from this series, so if it's succeeding at that in the third volume, I'll be quite happy! Hiding my enjoyment of a series from friends is much funner than sharing my indignant distaste for it. And on that happy note...

I know that the teacher/student relationship is a staple of a lot of shoujo manga, but it really, really bugs in this series. It hasn't been that long since I was a teenager, and I vividly remember friends with low self-esteem who hung their entire self-worth on their boyfriends, which is what Ageha seems to be doing at this point. A guidance counselor--who is in love with someone else, mind you--who agrees to date such a girl is pretty close to the "disgusting" label for me. But I keep reminding myself that this presents an opportunity for fantastic drama and character development down the line.