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16
2
Finished
Aug 10, 2018 to Oct 15, 2020
6.3/10
Average Review Score
33%
Recommend It
3
Reviews Worldwide
While this manga has a great art style and decent pacing, the main issue with the story is that it is too similar to a very famous British movie from the year 2000 called Billy Elliot. In 1984, a kid from a working class home during hard economic times confronting several family issues is trying to express himself in an activity heavily associated with women. Unlike Real Clothes, which is a manga heavily inspired by a movie called The Devil Wears Prada but only for its beginning, this manga seems like Billy Elliot throughout the whole two volumes. Since even the starting year of bothstories (1984) seem to be no coincidence, I imagine the author was trying to make some sort of homage or reference, but there is a limit to how much you use from your source of inspiration. The problem isn't even plagiarism. It is more that you are setting your work to be directly compared with a famous critically acclaimed movie. While the people who will probably read this review will most likely lean more towards this manga, I particularly prefer the British movie.
A boy becomes enamored with Ribbon (rhythmic gymnastics) after seeing a young woman dancing by a shrine one evening. Years later, he steps onto the mat for a Ribbon competition. Everyone is shocked to see a boy trying to compete. Can he get past the stigma and dance on equal footing?
Reading this manga I expected to read something like to Welcome to the Ballroom or similar, but instead I was super disappointed. STORY The story concerns a boy with family problems (a sailor who is struggling to support the family and avoids his children, a dead mother and a little sister who takes her mother's place...) who falls in love with rhythmic gymnastics. The chapters are all self-contained, aimed at reminding us that the father does not want his son to do rhythmic gymnastics because it is a waste of time and the boy who wants to do rhythmic gymnastics even if he is a boy, seeking hisfather's approval. The ending is completely disjointed with a Billie Elliot-style time skip that leaves a lot to be desired. ART The drawings are beautiful but not enough to support the story alone which is leaking on all sides. CHARACTERS The characters in this manga are mostly silhouettes of what they should have been. The characterization is poor and they are quite stereotypical, including the protagonist. The dynamics between them are also boring to read and therefore, at least for me, I struggled to read the various chapters even if there are only 16! I couldn't care less about what happened to them given how flat they were.
After Rintarou sees a woman performing rhythmic gymnastics with a ribbon, he becomes determined to learn the sport himself and doesn't give up. He fights for his passion and finds his purpose in life. What I love most about this manga is its answer to the question: Why is he doing this? Why does he endure all the negative consequences and limitations? Because he enjoys it. Thatâs itâand I love the simplicity of that wish. He doesnât care about winning competitions, he just likes doing what he loves. Itâs an unspoken invitation to others: to support him, and to find their own passion in life. Thatâswhat real inspiration looks like. He takes something and makes it his own, imbuing it with personal meaning, without trying to forcefully change the system. His goal isnât to bulldoze his way to the top or win just for recognition. His goal is to pursue what he loves, and he finds a new, personal path to do that. Thatâs admirable, and thatâs what I love most about this manga. Objectively speaking, the characters could use a bit more development, and the story is essentially a retelling of the film Billy Elliot, which I saw a long time ago but honestly couldnât really connect with. Still, the story follows a classic structureâand classics endure for a reason: because they work. The story is really emotional. Rintarouâs determination ends up shaping not only his own life but also the people around himânot just in terms of sports, but also in how they deal with their own fears, goals, and dreams for the future. The art style is fantastic and fits the story perfectly. The dancing poses are dynamic, and the characters' emotions and expressions are so vividly and beautifully drawn that you truly feel what they feel. Yuunagi ni Mae, Boku no Ribbon really spoke to me on a personal level. Itâs the combination of all its individual elements that come together to form something special. Itâs a deeply emotional story with a fitting art style, and I recommend it without a second thought.