Morgan’s Monthly Manga Musings #4: “Cheeky Brat:”
Manga-ka: Mitsubachi Miyuki
Translated by: Yen Press
Rating: 13+ (although I would put at 16+ due to a few scenes, but nothing major.)
Genre: Shojo (girl romance,) school life, and mild sports (basketball.)
Cover Price: $12.99
Blurb: I, Yuki, became the basketball team manager for one reason―I had a crush on the captain and wanted to be with him, always. But when Kido-senpai suddenly announced he got a girlfriend, where did that leave me? In the clubroom, crying my eyes out…until this cheeky brat of an underclassman showed up. And now that stupid, pretty playboy, Naruse, seems determined to wiggle his way into every corner of my life…
Morgan’s Musings: Little surprising fact about me; I may not like sports, but I do enjoy watching basketball with my dad. When I saw this was a romantic manga with a little basketball thrown in, I was intrigued. Plus, the title, “Cheeky Brat,” tickled me. We meet our heroine, Yuki, in a very unique way on the first page. Our brat, first-year Naruse, accidentally puts his hand on her chest after being shoved into her, he comments, “That’s big.” As everyone freaks out, she is as cool as a cucumber, stating to herself a brat like him isn’t worth her effort to be upset. Wow. This is why I said 16+ may be a better range for this one for those who are not used to the manga culture, or like the fact they are in high school. Naruse has a good heart deep down, but he does touch Yuki enough without permission (usually not in a bad way) or reads… playboy-type mags twice where you see an outline of what it is. I wanted to make sure I warned before I dived in.
Yuki becomes the manager of the team because she has a hidden crush on the basketball captain, the bubbly, mature, nice guy jock type. Then…he gets an overly friendly and cute girlfriend. Our girl is used to keeping an even head since she has five younger siblings, but she does start to cry in the clubroom. Of course, our flirt Naruse has to find her like that and figure out her crush! Does he exploit it? A little, but he is trying to crack through her shell and prove how he truly feels about her, despite the fact he has girls flocking around him. Does he have a bratty persona and mouth? Oh definitely! If it wasn’t easy to tell he deeply cares for Yuki, I would find him fully unlikeable, even if that is the point. There needs to be a balance. The two do have some endearing and humorous moments, like when he takes her to the arcade to allow her to have fun for once even though he doesn’t like noisy places, how he notices all the work she does for the club or the cheer she yells to him randomly at the game after he hurts his ankle. HA! That was a riot!
If you want a will-they-won’t-they tale with two not-cutesy leads, this one is worth you shooting for the hoop.
Will I Continue the Series? So far, there are nine manga volumes, with two more (at least) set to release. I did enjoy this manga, but it didn’t make a three-pointer right away in my heart. I would say maybe I’ll continue at this point. But, if they made an anime, I definitely would watch it. 🙂
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Keep reading! Stay geeky! 🙂
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Educator of young minds by day, super nerdy savior of justice, and cute things by night, Morgan Straughan Comnick has a love for turning the normal into something special without losing its essence. Morgan draws from real-life experiences and her ongoing imagination to spark her writing. In her spare time, she enjoys doing goofy voices, traveling to new worlds by turning pages, humming child-like songs, and forcing people to smile with her “bubbliness.” It is Morgan’s mission in life to spread the amazement of otaku/Japanese culture to the world and to stop bullying; she knows everyone shines brightly.
For more information about Morgan and her works, check out her website, which also has links to all her social medias: http://morganscomnick.com
