Dengeki Daisy, Vol. 5

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 26 JULY 2010

So much of shojo (girl's) manga falls under the sway of one single emotion: longing. This series ruthlessly cultivates and exploits this innocent desire. After the death of her older brother, high school student Teru Kurebayashi is the only surviving member of her family. But before dying, her brother gave her a cellphone with which she can contact "Daisy," a mysterious man who acts as a sort of cyber-guardian angel. While Teru and Daisy text each other messages those from Daisy are filled with gentle, kind words of encouragement and support the young, thuggish, school janitor, Kurosaki, suddenly recruits Teru to help pay off the repairs to a window that she broke. Kurosaki is a cranky, shiftless, character who spends most of his time smoking, playing mah-jongg, and belittling Teru. Despite their antagonistic relationship, he always seems to be around when Teru needs help. Motomi uses a deft hand at composing the narrative, arranged with soft expressions and swaying flowers, while turning typical tricks of the shojo-manga trade on its head (a scene of gently falling flowers turns out to be a scene where Kurosaki is trimming trees). As a character, Teru is sharp and courageous, and gives as good as she gets.