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Reviewed by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane Haruna and Macharu take to the stage once again when their class decides to do a rendition of Romeo and Juliet. Haruna's uneasy about acting in front of the entire school, especially since her father might show up for the performance. Will the play bring Haruna and Macharu closer together or end in absolute disaster? If you've read previous volumes of Monkey High!, you already know that this is a very straightforward high school romance story with charming characters. There are really no surprises in the plot; vol. 5 marks the one-year anniversary of Haruna's transfer to Kita High, and includes the standard time-markers you find in most shoujo school manga. The school festival is coming up, and Haruna and Macharu's class decides it would be funny to have them play the leads in a somewhat unorthodox production of Romeo and Juliet. Unsurprisingly, Haruna disagrees. Later in the volume, things get awkward between the pair when Macharu has to spend the winter break in study hall and Haruna has to work on Christmas Eve. Despite the story's relative predictability, I continue to find Haruna and Macharu's relationship a lot of fun. The combination of a serious girl with a rough home life and a bubbly, energetic boy isn't exactly new, but it's well-handled here. The two have a believable connection to each other, rather than being paired off for the convenience of the story. Other characters, like Macharu's friend/rival Atsu, are also filling familiar roles without being boring. I also like that the relationship is allowed to progress. Macharu and Haruna have been going out for some time now, and while they're still a bit tentative about doing anything more than kissing or holding hands, they're actually talking about that and other aspects of their relationship. They're both somewhat naive in different ways, but the lines of communication are more open than I'm used to seeing. It's a nice change. This volume includes the creator's comments on this volume's stories and a page of cultural/translation notes. Review copy provided by VIZ Media. Think you could have written a better review of Monkey High! v5? Write us and we'll probably let you give it a shot! --EiC PC |
3 February 2010
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