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Title: Dengeki Daisy
Author: Kyousuke Motomi
Publisher: Viz Media (Shojo Beat)
Volume: Volume 10 (ongoing), $9.99
Vintage: 2011 by Shogakukan, July 2012 by Viz Media
Genre: Romantic comedy, drama

[Volumes 8-9 review.]

Things have calmed down a lot since the events of the previous volumes. Calm enough for something so mundane as midterms to become the biggest problem afflicting Teru’s life. Hyperion has fallen, and Daisy and Co. barely had to lift a finger to make it happen. Teru knows almost everything about her beloved Daisy right now, including his dangerous past and his relationship with her brother, Soichiro. She’s accepted him, and he’s accepted that she’s accepted him. The circle is complete. But Teru is still in high school, and despite his often perverted words, Kurosaki is actually quite the proper gentleman, so don’t expect any moves on that front. Also, Kurosaki hasn’t quite come to terms with every aspect of his past, so he’s still unwilling to fully give in to his feelings for Teru. At any rate, midterms pass by smoothly, at least for Teru. Not so much for one of her classmates, who comes to ask for her help in a highly unconventional way. Teru has a big heart, though, and even gives up precious time with Kurosaki to help a person in need. And Kurosaki wouldn’t expect anything less. After a mild winter break, Rena tries to give Teru some lessons in romance to give her an edge on Kurosaki. Of course it backfires, because it’s just not Teru, so she goes to get advice from Riko instead. Riko teaches Teru a few feminine tricks that can “turn up the heat,” but Teru nearly forgets that men can use that trick, too. She’s fine with their slow burning relationship, however, as is Kurosaki, but it’s nice to see a scene reminding the reader that these two are technically in a romantic relationship. And it does progress every now and then, like when a particular song makes Kurosaki realize that Soichiro connected him to Teru in ways that proved he not only loved Kurosaki, but did indeed want him to be happy. Something he learns just in time to come to Teru’s rescue once again. While on her way to meet Rena and her fiancé for lunch, Teru is accosted by Akira in an elevator. Fortunately, Andy installed some new features into her phone, and Kurosaki came running to her rescue in no time flat. Akira being in the exact place and at the exact time at Teru is pretty suspicious, however, and the gang has a feeling that their calm and happy break is coming to an abrupt end.

If you like your romance on the sweet and innocent side, you’ve found the right series. There is a romance here. It’s so obvious in the way Teru and Kurosaki interact that they love each other completely. But Teru is, I think, 17, which would make Kurosaki 25. And she’s still in high school. The status and pace of their relationship is as it should be, and is really written so beautifully by Motomi. There can be romance without the guy spending his time trying to get into the girl’s pants. Where they are emotionally is far more important, and frankly is leagues ahead of most manga relationships I’ve seen (and real ones) where the focus is on the physical aspects. So that’s a nice change of pace. It’s interesting, too, because both Teru and Kurosaki are still growing as human beings. Kurosaki is older, but his emotional growth has been stunted for some time; he’s finally starting to move again, and live again. A new story arc is about to begin, bringing Akira and Chiharu back into play, as well as a mystery person who is closer to our hapless gang than they know. This time, it won’t just be Daisy and Co. involved, either. Teru’s classmates might get dragged in this time around. Knowing Teru, she’s not going to stand for that. Her resolve to be useful and to protect the people she cares about is growing; her days of being idle and ignorant of the things around her are over. The opponent this time, however, is seriously not messing around. If you’re a shojo fan, and haven’t been reading Dengeki Daisy,now is a good time to hop on.

Kris
kristin@comicattack.net
@girlg33k_kris

Review copy provided by Viz Media.