KageTora Vol. #01A

By Jarred Pine     February 01, 2006
Release Date: March 28, 2006



Creative Talent
Writer/Artist:Akira Segami
Translated by:Akira Tsubasa
Adapted by:

What They Say
Romance, action, comedy, ninjas! All in a light-hearted and exciting brand new Del Rey Manga series about star-crossed lovers.

The Review
Based on the first volume, Kagetora is a title for hardcore fans of shounen romantic comedies, with very standard situations and fan service that will most likely not excite the more casual reader.

Packaging:
Since this is a review of an advance bound manuscript, there will be no packaging grade at this time. However, there is a look at the extras, which include some 4-panel strip comics and words from the creator.

Art:
The artwork is pretty standard material for a shounen romantic comedy manga. It is a Shounen Magazine title, so the girls are drawn to be really cute with slightly over-developed chests. A lot of the panels are framed to show off just how adorable (and vulnerable) Yuki is, with her big, twinkling, saucer-plate eyes. There is a good amount of fan service, which most readers of shounen rom-coms will expect, but it is nothing that raunchy or explicit. Backgrounds are minimal and are done quite simply. There is some use of SD designs for comedic effect that aren’t too overdone.

Text/SFX:
Since this is a review of an advance bound manuscript, there will be no grade at this time. Like other Del Rey manga releases, an honorifics guide is included as well as translator’s notes. SFX are translated using small subs, also like their other releases. The translation reads very well and I like how Kagetora always refers to Yuki as “Hime”.

Contents (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Kagetora is a skilled ninja from the hidden village Hoorai, on a mission in Tokyo for the Toudou family, who have quite the history and high standing lineage of great martial artists. Kagetora’s duty will be to serve as the martial arts instructor for the future head of the family, Yuki. Standing only 149 cm (4’ll”) tall, she is extremely cute, popular, and a bit of a klutz. Her slow reflexes keep her from being able to learn any of the appropriate martial arts mastered by the Toudou family. With Kagetora’s help, the family hopes Yuki will develop the correct skills and techniques that will make her a strong head of the family.

The story of Kagetora so far is a simple shounen romantic comedy with a little bit of a fish-out-of-water element with a ninja in modern day Tokyo. Actually, this aspect is not played up as much as say something like Full Metal Panic, but there are a few funny moments when Kagetora unleashes his ninja skills in front of his new classmates, forgetting that he wanted to hide the fact he is a ninja. The biggest distraction of all though is Yuki herself. He is supposed to be a focused martial arts master, free from distractions, but slowly he begins to develop a crush on Yuki and can’t stop blushing every time he thinks about her.

Being a Shounen Magazine title, you can definitely expect a lot of fan service moments here with overly developed high school girls. Kagetora is put into a lot of awkward situations during Yuki’s training, like nuzzling against a breast or seeing some revealing cleavage. It is actually this aspect of the title that I find to be quite uninspiring and terribly cliché. The different awkward scenarios that Kagetora finds himself in feel like they are ripped right out of a “How to Write Shounen Rom-Com” manual. You got your hot bath scenes (with girl-girl subtext no less), submissive poses, accidental gropings, beach bikini getaways, maid outfits; it all just plays out quite formulaic. The story progression through the first volume is even a little scattered, as each chapter seems to be only focused on setting up these very typical scenarios. The fan service here is so far of the PG-13 variety, with no full on nudity other than one bare butt, and plays out more as innocent fare rather than being ecchi or overly sexual.

As much as I didn’t care for the clichéd shounen rom-com aspects, I did find Kagetora himself to be a nice refreshing character for this type of manga. He is not the sneaky pervert or blood-squirting weakling that finds himself suddenly surrounded by a harem of wanting girls. His ninja training has made him a very strong and loyal person, as well as honorable and kind. He is very serious about his duty to protect Yuki, and it is his over-exuberance that sometimes accidentally lands him in those awkward situations. He also never leers at Yuki in an overtly sexual way. It is usually an unintentional glance that causes him to feel emotions that he is unsure about. A ninja is supposed to be focused and steadfast, not distracted and daydreaming about love!

Comments
At times, Kagetora feels very much like a by-the-book shounen romantic comedy that possibly only big fans of rom-com material will enjoy. It is filled with all the clichéd moments, bath scenes, beach bikinis, maid outfits, with the story pretty much focused around getting Kagetora into a situation that will make him feel uncomfortable. The fan service is adequate with most panel shots of Yuki framing her in a vulnerable pose with her big eyes looking up adorably at Kagetora.

The saving grace for me in this debut volume was Kagetora himself. I enjoyed seeing a male character in a rom-com that wasn’t weak, a pushover, or a pervert. He is an honorable ninja who just wants to carry out his duty, but his growing feelings of love towards Yuki are distracting him. It’s actually all handled quite innocently, but the sugary standard-ness of it all might leave some gasping for fresh air. There is also a fish-out-of-water vibe to the story with a ninja in Tokyo that reminds me a bit of Full Metal Panic, although not nearly as humorous.

It might be too early to tell, but Kagetora is a title that possibly will only go down well with shounen rom-com aficionados, leaving those with only a mild interest in the genre looking elsewhere.