Papillon

AMAZING! The beginning is kinda weird. And I definitely don't like that a 24 year old goes out with a high school student. But their relationship never goes into "dark territories" so to speak. If you don't like the start either, stick with the story for a bit. The character development is really good, and the last few chapters are perfect. This is definitely not one of those manga's that start of really good and have a bad ending - leaving you with things to be desired. It leaves you feeling satisfied, happy (and if you are cheesy enough, tingly all over :) ).

this review will contain spoilers, so read at your own risk- ALSO THE CHARACTER IS NOT A TOMBOY SO IF IT'S WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, DON'T BOTHER READING THE MANGA FURTHER. I started reading this manga based on the number of positive reviews and recommendations on certain forums for shoujo manga involving a tomboy protagonist. As I continued to read, i sympathized and related with the main character for the unwarranted sister rivalry and i was hooked in. The story starts with the main character (Ageha) having a crush on her childhood friend Ryuusei and fantasizing about being in a relationship with him, however dueto her low self-esteem and low sense of self-worth, she doesn't confess to him nor make any move but simply stares from afar... that is until she meets this mysterious man at a festival who advises her to go after what she wants and convinces her to act ( it was weird that she listened but it was good advice). Ryuusei, finding out that Ageha's grandmother is in hospital, asks her to accompany him so he may visit Ageha's grandma. She puts in the effort to dress up and make herself decent and is surprisingly helped by her twin sister Hana. At this point, you do wonder why Hana is so eager to help but you do not doubt her motives. Ryuusei and Ageha seem to have solid chemistry and the story tries to hint that perhaps Ageha's wish may come true after all, that is, until Hana shows up dressed almost exactly as Ageha but looking prettier. She tags along to their little hangout and flirts with Ryuusei the entire time and even pretends to be someone she isnt to seem more agreeable. She then goes ahead and steals Ryuusei from Ageha even though she knew of Ageha's feelings for Ryuusei and starts dating him. Ageha's friend finding out of Ageha's crush on Ryuusei, betrays her and tells as many students as possible. They all laugh at her and mock her and since they know that Ryuusei now dates her hotter sister Hana, they emphasize that she has no chance. Ryuusei do stand up for her but confesses that there is nothing he can do as he is now with Hana. Ageha is devastated and tries to commit suicide, only to be stopped by the same mysterious man who encouraged her at the festival. Again, his advice was pretty damn good and she takes it on board. she improves herself and goes ahead and stands up for herself amidst the mockery. After witnessing her bravery, she gains support and makes friends. These friends completely support her desire of being with Ryuusei and they create situations where the two will have to interact. Eventually, she makes a move and asks Ryuusei to go with her to visit her grandmother in hospital and he agrees. On the appointed day, Ageha with the help of her friends, gets her hair done and puts some makeup on and heads out to meet Ryuusei. However, she was not aware that Hana knew what was happening. Hana calls Ryuusei and forces him to come to her acting as if something bad had happened to her. Ryuusei runs to Hana's location only to find out that Hana is absolutely fine, all she wants is to hang out. He tries to explain, he made a promise to Ageha, but Hana acts all cute and insecure making Ryuusei kiss her. Ageha witnesses this and runs away. Ageha bumps into the mysterious man again who is actually her school counsellor. he tries to cheer her up and gets her talking about her family relationship and there you understand the depth of her despair and sadness. she always felt unwanted by her family and as if she was never good enough in comparison to her sister (so far so good). She hangs out with her sensei for most of the night and did not realise that her parents would actually be worried about her. For some reason, the sensei attempts to take her into a karaoke/love hotel and is stopped by Ageha's mother. Ageha thought her mother didnt care at all and was just pretending so she stupidly decides to run without looking into incoming traffic. her mom saves her by jumping in front of her and taking the brunt of the impact. Ageha is now terrified that her mother will die and urged on by her teacher, she confesses all her pent up anger and sadness to her unconscious mother in hospital. Ageha's mother wasn't actually unconscious and heard everything and the two work things out. Their relationship improve significantly and she suddenly realises she is no longer sad nor envious of the fact that her sister has stolen Ryuusei from her. Her main focus becomes 'sensei' who seem to have given her a new start at life. And pretty much, this is where the story goes a little downhill. In terms of character development, she sheds her previous look and becomes easier on the eye. she also spends time with her family and seems to have cheered up. However, here starts the petty jealousies regarding the school counsellor Kyuu. He seems to be quite popular with the ladies and is himself quite flirty. Don't get me wrong, he is a very likeable and funny character but he probably doesn't act decently enough to be a school counsellor. The main character goes from suddenly understanding her need to grow and change herself to become childlike, a cry baby and jealous. She goes through a few experiences which you'd think would help her be more grounded and mature but it's almost like these have the reverse effect. The way Kyuu behaves is misleading and would lead any young girls to think that he has feelings for her, and would encourage girls to nurture hope. At least, in this case, he reciprocated and accepted her. Hana is not happy to learn of Ageha's new love and tries to sabotage Ageha's new relationship with Kyuu by going on a date with Kyuu and acting like an absolute b&^%h. There were many signs that this was not Ageha, so i was a little annoyed at the fact that he could not even recognise this was not the girl he liked. he almost breaks up with Ageha until things finally do come to light. but once their relationship starts, it's just filled with Ageha's constant insecurities, non-stop complaints, tears, jealousies and did i mention tears? my god, all she does is cry all the time. Anyway, to this guy's credit, he is pretty freaking patient. You'd think though that after one incident, she'd learn something but no, this goes on and on and on. By the way Ryuusei does disappear from the story after a while and it suddenly becomes all about Kyuu. The story delves deeper into Kyuu's past and his past love. Did i mention this also annoys and scares Ageha as well. Man, this girl has no trust whatsoever. But, when she gets a part-time job and starts working with a former crush who had confessed to her and realises that he wasnt joking at the time but was serious, she feels happy and has heart palpitations and even tells Kyuu about it without thinking that he may get hurt. also this very same guy happens to be her sister's ex. So Ageha who is supposed to be developing and growing in character is actually getting dumber and more annoying. I dont care if she is still in Highschool, you want an older man, grow the f@#k up! Dont get me wrong, there are many good aspects to Ageha and as a female, i can understand her need to know that she will not be betrayed nor abandoned, but her behaviour would lead any man...in fact, anybody, to madness. However, Kyuu and her do go through quite a few experiences that would test many relationships and in the end they successfully work it out. Ageha's relationship with her vicious, vindictive and poisonous twin does change but it was something that occurred more out of nowhere rather than from being a gradual change of heart. it leads you to think that perhaps Hana was abducted by aliens, brainwashed and then brought back. So although, there are many things about this manga that i didnt like, there were many enjoyable things and many lessons to be learnt. so all in all, i rate this a 6/10