'Short-Tempered Melancholic and Other Stories' (review)

Title: Short-Tempered Melancholic and Other Stories
Volume(s): 1
Author(s): Arina Tanemura
Format: Unflipped; Right-to-Left
Publisher: Viz Media
MSRP: $8.99
Genre(s): Romance
Rated: Teen (13+)

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Though she writes comics geared mainly at pre-teen girls I have to admit to admiring the works of Arina Tanemura. Her art is distinctive, her storytelling mature, and her characters complicated and realistic. Yes, she writes romantic fantasies, but she writes romantic fantasies that have class. I must not be alone in this feeling either if Viz’s release of “Short-Tempered Melancholic and Other Stories” is any indication. Though it may surprise people, most manga artists don’t just get started writing big serials in the comic business. They have to go to various art schools, then they usually assist another artist on their work first, then they have to set up a portfolio and pitch their series to an editor, and if they get THAT far they’re going to have to write some short stories first!

You know, to make sure they can tell a good story within limitations. For the most part these short series are allusive to us American’s. With the exception of CLAMP’s short stories and a couple of shorts from Tsukasa Hojo, most big name manga artists shorts are limited to their original magazine printings in Japan. Yet here we have a collection of five short stories from Tanemura, which means she much be the “name” Viz needed for their Shojo Beat banner. The first two stories involve a ninja girl named Kajika, who is supposed to keep the fact that she’s a ninja a secret from everyone. Being a teenage girl though she has a tendency to show off and it gets her into trouble.

The second story involves a sister taking the place of her older sister on a blind date. The third story involves...some wacky girl who annoys this boy she has a crush on almost as much as she annoys the reader. The final story is one of those stories where a teenage girl falls in love with the predictable good looking boy only to find the eccentric boy next to her more interesting. Of all the stories you’ll notice I only named the main character in the first two stories. I did this for an obvious reason: Only the first two stories are original. The rest of these stories have storylines that are as old as the classic Katherine Highborn movies. This is not to say the book lacks quality though. Predictable as they are, most of these stories are innocent and enjoyable. It’s pretty obvious that these are test run stories.

But as far as test run stories are concerned most of these come off as charming at the very least. Again, only the third story is terrible, and it’s only because the main character is so grating that she ruins everything. I was almost amazed how a character I spent so little time with was such a pain to read about. What would this have been like had she had her own series? Anyway, none of this is vintage Arina Tanemura. For that I’d recommend “Full Moon o Sagashite” or “Gentlemen’s Alliance” for those wishing to get introduced with the author. For those who are fans though, and just can’t get enough, this isn’t exactly a waste of money. There’s nothing here you haven’t read before, but it’s mostly cute and very harmless, so knock yourself out.