Reviews

Kageki Shojo!! the Curtain Rises by Kumiko Saiki

cottenkiwi's review

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

helterskelliter's review

4.0

I’m this new fun and exciting manga, we’re introduced to Ai and Sarasa. Both girls have big dreams of being stars on the big stage.

Which leads them both to Kouka, a famous theatre school for girls.

Ai, a former idol who left her career after much sexual harassment and a minor scandal, wants to attend Kouka and join a world of women. Except for her uncle, men have traumatized Ai all her life and have left her afraid. In contrast, Sarasa has always dreamed of playing males roles in a female theatre troupe. She’s been mesmerized all her life.

Will these two be able to realize their dreams? More, will they be able to work together to achieve their dreams? Can they help each other?

So far, this is a really entertaining manga with a whole cast of distinctive and interesting female characters who all have their own motivations and dreams. I’m really looking forward to getting to know these girls better and watching them work towards their goals.

Definitely recommend!

ineffablefolklore's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

sunkernplus's review

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This is probably one of the best shojo manga I've ever read. Centering around the fictional Takarazuka-like play troupe of Kouka, this manga centers around an ensemble cast of girls, mainly focusing on former idol turned student Ai Narata and enthusiastic wannabe-otokoyaku and otaku Sarasa Watanabe and their one sided friendship (eventually blooming into a full on friendship with, I'll admit as a yuri fan, yuri vibes). With a unique cast of characters, tight characterization, and beautiful art, this is a manga you will not want to miss.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault

Minor: Fatphobia

emeraldreverie's review

4.0

A good intro/lead in to the series

chibin00b's review

emotional hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

monautomne's review

emotional inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

kamikazegirls's review

5.0

first and foremost: tw for child molesting, depictions of disordered eating, fatshaming (i went into this blind and these caught me by surprise, i wouldnt want anyone to have a bad experience or anything so !!)

kumiko saiki pulling me out of my manga drought and kicking off my shoujosei winter

jandi's review

4.0

The description of the manga talks about Sarasa, a cheerful tall girl that has always dreamed of performing a particular role (love the reference to [b:Rose of Versailles, Vol. 1|7877356|Rose of Versailles, Vol. 1|Riyoko Ikeda|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1268828652l/7877356._SX50_.jpg|50114623]!) in an all women musical theatre troupe. However, most of the story focuses on Ai, a talented girl with a deadpan expression that joins an exclusive training school for future members of that all women musical theatre troupe after her fall from grace as part of a teen idol group. You would expect music, dancing and humour, but it was a surprisingly mature story. Ai is not a very sympathetic character at first, but once you learn why she acts the way she does, it is quite harrowing. Instead of the story of stardom I was expecting (something like [b:Skip Beat!, Vol. 01|282282|Skip Beat!, Vol. 01|Yoshiki Nakamura|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1173395297l/282282._SY75_.jpg|273828] or [b:Glass Mask, Vol. 1|8533209|Glass Mask, Vol. 1|Suzue Miuchi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1278167384l/8533209._SY75_.jpg|7015870]), it turned into a story of healing through friendship. The story is not concluded yet; the manga was originally serialized in one magazine, and when that magazine shut down, it was picked up later by a different magazine; this very long volume collects everything published under the initial magazine. I'm happy to see that Seven Seas will also pick up volumes published under the second magazine.

Note that in spite of the pink cover and the shojo label, it covers very mature topics: eating disorders, body shaming, sexual assault, pedophilia. The treatment of these topics is careful and respectful, and it was great to see most adults acting with genuine concern to protect the students in their charge.

mudlizard's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Bullying and Misogyny