Hot Gimmick

 Title: Hot Gimmick
 Creator(s): Miki Aihara
 Publisher(s): Shogakukan Inc., VIZ Media
 Year: 2001
 Genre(s): Shoujo, drama, romance, comedy
 Length: 12 volumes
 Reviewed by: Yukari on October 22, 2006

Synopsis

Hatsumi Narita is a timid high school girl living in a company housing complex. One day, she was asked by her younger sister, Akane, to help her buy a pregnancy test because her period was late. On her way home from the store with her purchase, she bumps into Ryoki Tachibana - the son of the president of her father's company and Hatsumi's worst nightmare (he bullied when they were younger). Taking advantage of the situation, he demands for Hatsumi to be his slave in exchange for silence. Not wanting him to tell anyone about the incident and make life hell for her family, she reluctantly agrees. This is only the beginning of a scandalous story about neighbors in love.

Review

[Warning! The following review may contain spoilers.]

If I were given only one word to describe this series, it'd be "drama." The story basically revolves around the life of the protagonist (Hatsumi Narita) and everyone surrounding her (the neighbors). Hatsumi's childhood friend Azusa becomes her boyfriend who's really just using her to get back at her father for having an affair with his mother who actually loved Ryoki's father whose son made Hatsumi his slave whose sister is crushing on a dorky anime otaku Subaru whose older sister Asahi likes Shinogu who's not really Hatsumi's real brother but is actually in love with Hatsumi. Drama? Definitely. It is also evident that Aihara's art has developed since she did "Tokyo Boys & Girls" and it grew to become quite distinctive and her own. One thing I love about her art is how she draws her bishounens!

My favorite couple in the series is Akane and Subaru. They may not be the star of the manga, but they're probably one of the cutest couple I've ever encountered in manga. Subaru yelling at Akane on Valentine's Day in Chapter 37 may not seem like an incredibly tear jerking scene , but I found myself crying with Akane as she ate his Valentine chocolates. Not only that, I found myself crying yet a second time after reading the chapter again a few months later. It's probably just me, but I found their relationship to be so sweet and innocent and this is especially so when compared to Hatsumi and Ryoki's relationship.

The series might be disturbing and offensive to readers who are sensitive to the issue of women's role in society. If you're looking for empowering women role models, you won't find any here. Hatsumi rarely stands up for herself, lets those around her abuse her, and believes that she deserves the abuse. Although some readers might be appalled by the gender politics, we need to remember that this is a Japanese manga and that the Japanese live in a world different from us. I am not saying the characters are right in their actions because they are far from being examples of human perfection. However, the culture and values of the Japanese are not the same as those of Westerners and readers have to try to understand and be tolerant of these differences.

On a completely different note, the storyline is extremely well written and simply overflows with high school teenage angst and passion, keeping readers in suspense and thirsting for more after reading one volume. With all that frenzy, I was surprised to find that the ending was short and sweet.

Final note: Some of the content is a bit racy, suggesting a more mature audience. All in all, "Hot Gimmick" is quite enjoyable if the reader is mature enough to handle these issues.

Overall Rating: 3/5