Menkui!: Volume 1

by Suzuki Tanaka and 

Kotori has had to live in the shadow of his beautiful and popular older brother his whole life, which has given him a bit of an inferiority complex. But now that he's going out with the hot and hunky... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1598163582
• ISBN13: 9781598163582
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: TokyoPop
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.0" x 7.4"
• Age Range: 14 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 9 to 12

Customer Reviews

A promising series!

The 2 reviewers before me summarized the contents beautifully. This manga is a pleasant surprise and I am please to add Menkui! to my "must read" series. Thus far Blu has not disappointed in their releases and they do keep to their time schedule, unlike the publisher of Kizuna whose terrible habit is to postpone month after month. Back to Menkui!. The plot centers on the day-to-day happenings around Kotori, complicated by the fragility of his new found love with Akaiwa. The artwork is not as gorgeous as "Little Butterfly" or "Same Cell Organism" to name a few. However the interesting plot and appealing characters (including the boys' classmates, Kotori's beautiful brother and the brother's friend) more than made up for it. The bonus story on Kotori's brother and the brother's friend is intriguing and set the background for possible complexities in future plots. There are some comical moments too, with the revelation of Akaiwa's 6 gorgeous sisters. Menkui! itself is 5 stars but the overall manga is dragged down by the last 2 separate stories which are less appealing as I am irritated with unrequitted love. Menkui! reminds me of "Shout Out Loud" another outstanding shounen-ai series with great plot and myriad interesting characters.

Menkui - A series sliding

For some reasong, my review of the first Menkui has been listed under the third book for some time now - and the five start rating does not reflect my views on the third book. Menkui Volume One - Five Stars - A truly heartwarming love story that evokes those nervous feelings of a first love. As I said in my original review: The main character is Kotori, a shy, sweet and very innocent boy who cannot believe anyone would be interested in him. Though he is called `shallow', to me it seemed as if his shallowness is only his lack of confidence in himself when surrounded by others who sparkle more. Enter Akaiwa, a beautiful and intense boy who pursues Kotori. They're burgeoning relationship is sweet, awkward, moving and nerve-racking, all at the same time. Very much the way in which people feel when falling in love in real life and *that* is the charm of Menkui. Menkui Volume Three - Three Stars - The story which began to slide in volume two had completely lost me as I realized the story was a form of parody on boys love. More strange characters were intruduced, and again the love between Kotori and Akaiwa was ignored in favor of bizarre changes and plot twists which left the story at an unsatisfyingly loose end. Additionally, the side characters I was interested in: Kotori's brother and his best friend Chikage were not developed well enough - most specifically their feelings as it relates to Kotori and Akaiwa's love - as the manga instead brought in other characters to bring more 'wacky' plot twists. Definately buy the first book, but beyond that I cannot recommend.