Crimson Hero, Volume 1 Book

I try to avoid sports manga. The idea that I'm suppose to find the fate of a sports team interesting is just so beyond my grasp that I know better then to even bother. However, I grabbed Crimson Hero. My expectations were so low that you wouldn't be able to limbo under them if you tried. So colour me surprised when this was totally tolerable.

What I found appealing about Crimson Hero has less to do with the manga itself and more to do with the author. In almost all shojo manga there are those little personal side articles that the author does throughout the story. The first one of these passages endeared me Mitsuba Takanashi. She's clearly challenging herself and knows that she's going to try to improve over the course of the story. And Crimson Hero could definitely use some improvement, but the potential is there.

The plot itself is actually pretty interesting. What we have here is a set up for the time ol' tale of Duty vs Desire. Nobara comes from a very traditional family who run a very high end traditional Japanese dining establishment. Her mother wants her to become the perfect Japanese woman in order to take over the family business as a perfect young host. Only problem is Nobara is more suited to playing volleyball then being the perfect daughter with her short hair, tomboy looks, and stubborn temper. This wouldn't be a problem if her mother wasn't also so incredibly stubborn. It's expected of her to do what she's told. There's no time for sports when you have to learn the traditional art of flower arranging, tea pouring and serving.

Let the battle of wills begin!

This all sounds pretty interesting. I mean, volleyball manga doesn't exactly float my boat, but troubled family dynamics do. Then things start to go down hill when we get introduced to the Crimson High's Boys Volleyball Team. AKA Douches United!

The first guy were introduced to gets his opening line after groping our heroine. Mistaking her for a guy trying to seek a peek into the girls bathroom/change room, he attacks her, and when she tells him she's a girl he has to make extra sure by grabbing her chest. Of course he is then completely surprised when she punches him in the face and gets pissed. Like, what's her problem?! It's telegraphed to you later that this guy will eventually become a romantic interest. (sigh) But what has me hopeful is the heroine. Nobara doesn't put up with anyone's shit. Granted this doesn't always work out super well for her, but hey, at least she gets angry! There are so many occasions when manga heroines just sit there and take it when they should be getting angry.

There is a lot of problems with the overall storytelling of the volume, random events happen for no reason, and certain events could have happened a lot better. It felt very sloppy.

So, I can't say this was at all a successful sell for me, but I want to know where it's going to go from here. If the author is approaching this manga with the idea that she's challenging herself and trying to improve then I'm willing to give her the chance to do so. I won't be actively be trying to obtain the next volume, but if I come across it I'll definitely read it.