Reviews for I"s, Volume 1: Iori

The average rating for I"s, Volume 1: Iori based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-11-22 00:00:00 Richard E. Sabatine I'm going to estimate this as probably my seventh re-read of the manga, and likely my tenth of this volume, with my original reading taking place sometime around 2006. On the surface, this seems like any generic high school rom com manga, whimpy guy (Ichitaka), out of his league female lead (Iori) (although especially compared to his best friend, Ichitaka doesn't seem to be so far below her league as he thinks), unrequited love, and screwball scenarios. But there's a reason I keep coming back to this one specifically, as opposed to say Love Hina, or Suzuka. There's a lot of depth to this manga that you just don't see at first. Even I didn't. I can't remember if I was discussing it with a friend or reviewing it on another site some years ago, but I distinctly remember saying "Iori is just "girl" she's that hot girl you wanted to date in high school and never nutted up and asked out. She's a blank slate so you can just throw all the things about that girl on her." And that's just not true. And the crazy part is that the manga even points to some things, but the expectations of the genre keep you from noticing them. If I'm not mistaken, there are only 2 chapters of the manga that don't use Ichitaka's immediate perspective: this means for most of the manga, you literally only see what Ichitaka sees of Iori, so it can make her seem bland because so much of the time, when she is around, Ichitaka isn't so much observing her as just being enamored with the fact she is near him. But Katsura is a master of subtlety when he wants to be (just look at some of the earlier interactions with Ichitaka and Teratani, where no words are said, but there are absences of action), and he makes the instances where Ichitaka hasn't yet entered his trances really establish Iori's character. She's completely passionate about acting, which even gets pointed out, but we see so little of it that it's easily forgotten, but she's in drama club (even doing the photo shoot solely in an effort to get the club more attention), she's constantly practicing her acting before school, she still has other friends in the class (like the as-of-yet-unnamed Yuka), she's comfortable around other men and not some terrified delicate little flower, as evidenced by her being around Teratani, and she has a good danger sense. And speaking of Teratani, he's the best friend every shy guy needed in high school, he's confident (without even needing a reason, poor guy has a snoz you could sit under for shade), he's not afraid to help make the situation turn in your favor, and he's not afraid to skin your ass raw when you need it. Even Ichitaka is at least a little more competent than most male leads in the genre. Yeah he has his emotional baggage, he got ruined young and he doesn't seem to excel at much of anything, but he does occasionally step up, like when he clears out the group of men gawking at Iori. He does unfortunately get overwhelmed and self-destruct, a woefully common (and more woefully not inaccurate) trope. He is still the weakest link in the manga, but I think that is almost intentional with some of the arcs the manga has. He has a severe lack of self-confidence, but he's also sixteen, not athletic (though it doesn't seem he's particularly nerdy either, just spends some time at the arcade and watches a lot of TV), and doesn't really seem to have a place he fits in. If anything he's the one that needs characterization, but I think that's also a theme of the manga, in that being passionate about someone can make you want to be a better person. As for the other aspects of the manga, it has a pretty decent flow for the moment, though it doesn't really stand out, but what does is that artwork, which is absolutely outstanding. Katsura is a master of expression, use of tones, line weight, comical and realistic posing, and general character design. His plotting typically keeps things interesting, and he's good at getting across necessary infodumps quickly, and making them entertaining in other ways (see the sight gags as Ichitaka explains his history with Miyoko). I'm not so up on the current manga, but I used to wile away all my weekends engrossed in manga that did see US releases, as well as those that only got online "scanlations", and this one in particular has always stood out to me. I'll be getting to the other volumes within a few days as I go through my yearly Fall re-read.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-03-20 00:00:00 Ruth Locke The premise is that shy student Ichitaka has a crush on a girl in his class named Iori. Iori herself is fairly shy, but she's also in the school's drama club, and she really gets into her parts and shines on stage. Due to a drama connection, she winds up posing in a swimsuit magazine, and the bulk of this book deals with Iori's discomfort at suddenly being treated as a sex object, as well as Ichitaka's efforts to stop making an ass of himself in front of Iori. As with this type of romantic slapstick, Ichitaka finds himself being embarrassed in front of Iori in fairly extreme ways, but most of them are handled well, and Iori's reactions of frustration and disappointment, as well as forgiveness when the truth is explained, all have sufficient heart and humor to work. Katsura is very good at capturing the inner turmoil of teenage boys. Is she mad? Bored? Tired? What should I do? Ichitaka is constantly guessing, and sometimes he guesses wrong. Othertimes, he's got exactly the right answer. However, vol. 1 is mostly setup. Ichitaka and Iori wind up working together on a school project, and Katsura places several unobtrusive references to Ichitaka's grade school best friend, a cute little girl named Itsuki, who moved to America several years ago. His current best friend, Teratini, is a great ally and friend to Ichitaka, giving Ichitaka a less girl-obtuse foil. Teratani urges him on, advices him, helps to show different sides of the characters and pushes the plot forward when Ichitaka's reticence would kill the series' momentum. And then, the final page re-introduces former best amigo Itsuki, who's now a 16-year-old hottie who'll be living with Ichitaka, and it all hits the fan. I's may not re-invent the genre, but it is a fairly pleasing book. Katsura's art is fantastic. Compared to many manga artists, he's got a fairly American style - clean lines, beautiful characters, full backgrounds, easy to follow panel progressions. And he still uses some of the best manga tricks, exaggerated anatomy to indicate excitement or stress or worry, explosive "action" scenes, and a willingness to draw cute girls in underwear!