GatchaGatcha Vol.#01

By: Eduardo M. Chavez
Review Date: Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Release Date: Tuesday, March 07, 2006



Creative Talent
Writer/Artist:Tachibana Yukata
Translated by:Adrienne Beck
Adapted by:

What They Say
Yuki has a big crush on Yabe, but Yabe has decided the only girl he will ever seriously date is Motoko. So what\'s the problem? Yuri and Mokoto are friends, and Mokoto doesn\'t want to have anything to do with Yabe! But is she secretly harboring a crush on him, too? Will they ever get this mess straightened out?

Only time will tell if love will tear these best friends apart in this hilarious love triangle - that may get another member.

The Review
Packaging:
The packaging for GatchaGacha is a little too much, but anything is an improvement over Hakusensha's. This volume features an image of lead character Muroi Yuri in some casual wear. You never see her in those clothes in the manga and she does not seem the pink hair type since her hair is usually black but that does not matter (Hakusensha used the same color). Above her image which is designed to look like a cut-out superimposed over a notebook, there is the logo and two buttons used for a subtitle - "Flirting is Good!" and "No It's Not!". Strange, but at least the logo looks cool. Reminds me of what you would see on a pair of jeans. The opposite cover has the same logo with a black on yellow image of Yuri next to the volume description. The art and text are on a post it note above TP's 100% Manga logo.

Inside, the print starts off funky but quickly improves. My copy starts poor, as it is a faded which is clearly visable on Tachibana's over use of tone. The volume header and much of the first chapter is definitely on the light side. The rest of the volume has stronger inking that shows off the tone well as well as the mangaka\'s linework. I found the cropping a bit distracting, but that was not TP\'s fault. TOKYOPOP has confirmed that the thin white margin around most pages was there in the source material. Knowing that TP went through the trouble to keep a detail like that, as odd as it is, I think this title should then be considered \"100% Manga\" certified.

TP kept all of the mangaka notes, the ato-gaki and also provided some nice translator notes all bumping up this grade slightly.

Artwork:
Tachibana's art is cute and fun but it is essentially derivative. Outside of the fashion style for her characters, Tachibana's designs have been done repeatedly by shojo artists. Characters are long and lanky. Motoko is exceptionally thin, to the point that the mangaka points it out as often as possible. Eyes have very little detail, actually detailing in general is kept to a minimum. Characters stand out from each other but if you open another shojo high school romance you would find these designs in every other book. Tachibana also does not give her cast much time outside of school, so her cast is always in their school uniforms. There is no chance for costume designing either. Her art is still relatively clean and fun, so while they are not very original her cast looks nice.

The layout is extremely hyper and confusing. Tachibana uses panels of all shapes and sizes, but she does not place them very well. The direction and flow is clunky. She seriously does not do a good job with bubble placement. It was very hard to figure out who was talking and where aside comments were coming from. Background art is minimal and has been compromised in favor of manpu (for comedic effect and also to set the mood).

SFX/Text:
It has been a while since I started a new TOKYOPOP series and usually when I start up with a new series one of the first things I scrutinize is the translation. GatchaGacha\'s translation sounds good, reads well and flows well but I do not feel it is perfect. First, I will give props to how clear the voices come through in this title. The layout, especially dialogue bubbles, is confusing and makes that very important. Secondly, they have included a few pages of great translator\'s notes. They cover everything from baseball team cheers to tasty fish sausage in varying level of detail. Then there is how the characters address each other. This rolls into the negatives, because these teens refer to each other through their last names. That is just perfect. It shows how close these kids are and that is how teens talk. They also use honorifics giving a better look at the social context of each relationship. What caught me off was the slang. I think it was in context and knowing the readership for this title it possibly is cool, but some of it I could not even understand (I hate feeling old and out of the lexicon before even reaching 30).

SFX are not translated. Seriously, the inconsistency is what bugs me from TP. Come on even Dark Horse is translating them now.

Contents: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Everybody possibly knows someone like Muroi Yuri. She is the type of person that knows whats she wants and looks for it everywhere but never really finds it. Yuri is sweet, fun and caring. People love her because nothing gets her down for too long and she can always see the positive side in anyone. Yuri is looking for love and she has dated people that most would have likely avoided. Each one of them has dumped her at least once (thirteen times with eleven different guys) but she is not going to give up on love. Actually she is going to get back into the game in a matter of days.

But love is only part of her problems. Yuri is so nice and unconditionally caring she also has built up a gang of some strange friends. Most of the people she hangs out with are snobby and superficial. Yuri knows these people no matter how uncaring have good sides but the poor girl doesn\'t see it. These people are self-centered and communicate through rumors. They like Yuri, but don\'t know a thing about her. Instead of taking the time to know Yuri, they abuse her and use her repeatedly. Then there is her newest friend, Mokoto. She knows everything about Yuri; possibly too much about Yuri. She actually seems to care about Yuri, but she has to if she wants to blackmail her new best friend!

Yuri has a strong will though. Considering her lifestyle she has to. She never gives up on her ideals and she never stops being positive either. All she has going for her is her outlook. If others cannot see that, then she does not have a chance because they can see how much of a victim she is from her history. So everyday is another chance for love and another chance to make new friends and learn new things. She might have to get into some fights and there will be moments where she has to check her shoes for tacks but being nice might end up landing her the man of her dreams. Yabe-kun better watch out Yuri is just as crazy as he is and she knows it!

Comments
Drama, this manga is nothing but drama. But unlike the drama you might see in LIFE or Crossroads in this manga readers are not really supposed to feel sorry for the lead character. In GatchaGacha readers should take the abuse the lead gets in stride with her poor decision-making. Tachibana-sensei makes the entire manga so twisted and self-absorbed that she wants you to take nothing at face value.

That concept, the idea that everyone has another side to their personality, is the basis of this \"romance-comedy\" which is neither (the mangaka joked about that in her ato-gaki). From the start, to be specific from TOKYOPOP\'s cover, readers should assume Yuri is a slut. She has almost had as many break-ups as she has had years lived. You are also supposed to think she is naive and a glutton for abuse, as she is picked on and abused because of her optimistic attitude. Their are truths and lies to each one, however the way Tachibana presents the characteristics for all of her main characters it is difficult as a reader to agree with the role the mangaka goes with.

Another example is male love interest Yabe. Not once in this manga, do you actually see him date anyone; there is only one person he hits on throughout this manga. Yet Tachibana repeats that he is a lady-killer. This guy rejects people left and right and the mangaka is falling for her own rumors! She says he is a bad boy (she actually says everyone is) but he is always kind and relative to the rest of the cast respectful. Yabe is not who we think he is! I get it and nobody is. Tachibana should make that clear then as she did with Motoko. Readers know Motoko is a sadist and everyone who can stand that will love her for that reason.

GatchaGacha is still a fun title because of its characters. They each have strong wills and seem to know what they want. I cannot say Tachibana has shown what she wants for this series yet. I won\'t recommend this title yet because it fails in the romance department. The humor is not the good type of schadenfreude, this is straight up mean stuff here. And Tachibana\'s layout is so confusing I cannot tell time, direction or mood. But then again when the mood is as creepy gloomy as GatchaGacha, maybe knowing the truth is not a good thing. I'd rather have fun with the never give up attitude of it's lead character.