 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | DEL REY | | | ▪ | AUTHOR / ART: | | AI MORINAGA | | | ▪ | FORMAT: | | JAPANESE / B&W | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 192 | | | ▪ | RATING: | | T | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 05/27/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 07/29/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | SCOTT CAMPBELL |
Hana Suzuki has it good: She’s the only girl in the Grand Hockey Club, and all the other members are super-hot guys. My Heavenly Hockey Club is the humorous story of Hana coming to terms with her new club and the antics they get into as a group. If you didn’t already know, it’s important to note that this story revolves around field hockey – not ice hockey. Although, despite the club being sports oriented, little time is spent on the sport in comparison to the laughs and the traveling to various resorts and such. In a way the club is nothing but a front for a group of students who want to hang out, enjoy the good life, and spend their time doing something – they seem like the “bored and rich” type. This is all very good for Hana as she gets to enjoy it too – but every now and then they do decide to get down to it and practice what field hockey is supposed to be all about. In volume five, Hana is invited to visit her friend Daisuke at his family’s inn at Mt. Iwate, where an abominable snowman has been sighted. Izumi can see through Daisuke’s innocent country-boy act, but can he save Hana from Daisuke’s advances? And will Izumi actually see an abominable snowman? All that and more is right here in the latest volume of My Heavenly Hockey Club! This manga is one part comedy, one part romance, one part “sports manga”, and even throws in a little “coming of age/growing up” twist to it. It’s a good story with a lot of laughs – the interactions between the very different kinds of characters are so funny because in most normal circumstances none of these people would get along very well. Hana wants to sleep and relax, while these guys want her up early to attempt to play field hockey (sometimes) and decide what hot springs to travel too - half of them are clueless by the way! Throw in an abominable snowman for volume five, and you’ve got another sure-fire mess on your hands, and a humorous mess at that! The art is fairly shoujo, but this is pretty much a shoujo manga, so no problem! It follows a good clean setup, appearing like a lot of shojo type books, having a lot of wispy lines, hearts and flowers, and “pretty boys” galore. Not to say that a boy couldn’t read this – don’t forget about the wonders of humour, as laughter is universal! The art really shines when it comes to the characters themselves, all being well designed, and their facial expressions can get the point across every time. Hana’s expressions are especially funny – she spends plently of time expressing how much sleep she is losing when she lays her head on her desk, drooling, wishing she was home in bed! All the text is highly readable, and it’s nice to have the sound effects all translated right there on the page. Visually the manga is good – no real complaints there to speak of. The end of the book includes an in-depth collection of translation notes and a preview of the next volume. It’s always an added bonus to have some revealing answers at the end of the book – especially explanations of some of the Japanese cultural jokes that may fly over most of our heads.
IN SUMMARY:
My Heavenly Hockey Club is always funny, and you can rest assure that each volume contains a number of antics that will entertain you both visually and plot-wise. Often there isn’t much hockey to speak of, but that’s all part of the joke, and you’ll more than likely love it! |
