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...the story is quiet humorous, while adding just the right amount of angst to keep readers interested

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Hot Gimmick Vol 1

Review by Anne B.

Author: Miki Aihara

Artist: Miki Aihara

Translator: Pookie Rolf

Publisher: Viz

Pages: 192 pages, four chapters.

Rated: PG-13 (for language and occasional sexual references)

EXTERNAL EXAM

How would you like to become the slave of the person you feared and hated most in the world to protect your family?

Hatsumi Narita is a regular sixteen-year-old girl living within company housing. This means that she and her family must always treat the head of the companies family, the Tachibana’s, like royalty to keep living there. When her younger sister has a pregnancy scare Hatsumi goes to buy a test for her, only to encounter Ryoki Tachibana on her way back!

Ryoki blackmails the shy Hatsumi into becoming his slave to save her family’s reputation. With her childhood crush, Azusa also moving back into the company housing complex, will Hatsumi’s life ever be stress free again?

DVD VISION TEST

ARTWORK: The artwork of Hot Gimmick is wonderful. Miki Aihara pays an amazing amount of detail to facial expressions, gestures, tones, and shading. Each frame is not overly cluttered with detail, making it very clear and easy to understand.

SOUND EFFECTS: All the Japanese sound effects have been translated into English.

EDITS: Nothing has been edited out between the Japanese and English versions.

EXTRAS: At the end of volume one, Miki Aihara takes the readers on a neighborhood tour through Setagaya. In addition, there is an extra section, which introduces the Narita family, providing readers with little facts on each family member.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: "Hot Gimmick" depicts the trials that the mild-mannered Hatsumi faces in her everyday life, as she tries to find her own voice and help those around her. Miki Aihara splendidly portrays her characters, making it easy for readers to relate to the individual characters, while also taking the audience through many curious and interesting plot twists.

TRANSLATION: Overall, the translation was done very well, with correct and readable grammar throughout the manga. Most of the dialogue was translated to be the equivalent of American teenage slang, which makes the characters more real and believable.

FAN SERVICE: Being a shoujo comic, there is not much in the way of fan service for the males. However, for the females, there are several bishonen to drool over. Volume one contains a fair amount of talk, attempts at sex, and one quick kiss scene.

THE 2 VIEW

While initially the bright pink cover can be a turn-off for readers, the story is quiet humorous, while adding just the right amount of angst to keep readers interested. The way Miki Aihara portrays the character’s emotions, in facial and body language as well as dialogue, is chalked full of drama and complexity that readers will enjoy.

The manga is about the discovery of feelings and the depths of love in all its different forms. The central plot is revealed within the first chapter, but new twists and turns still manage to surprise the reader throughout the remainder of the volume. If you are looking for a typical love triangle story where the girl must sort through her feelings, then this is the manga for you. However, if you are looking for something with lots of action, philosophy, and magical powers, keep looking.

The art is amazing, the characters amusing and deep, which makes you want to read it repeatedly until you get your fill of laughter and angst for the day.

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