Hot Gimmick - What did you think of the ending?

M

Manga Girls

Hunter
Calling on all Hot Gimmick fans...

I picked up the final volume today, and as always, I found it to be a real page turner. So I was just wondering what other fans thought of the ending. My thoughts were:

- When you've got three cute boys falling over you, how hard can it be for Hatsumi to pick one? I mean seriously, it can't be that difficult...
- Shinogu's storyline - I thought it was a bit unbelivable (what he decided to do)
- Just what was Azusa plotting (when he was talking to Shinogu's flatmate) - no fair to leave us hanging like that
- I really liked that Otaku story at the end - funny but scarily accurate...

Anyway, what do you think?
 
Since I posted this message in the hope that there might be other Hot Gimmick fans in this forum, but alas that was not to be. But as people are still checking this message I have decided to change this thread to:

" The Not Hot Gimmick Manga Thread."

So if you like any of the manga's on my profile - be it Othello, Imadoki, Furuba, please post a reply and we can discuss that instead.

Bye4now...

MG xx
 
I hadn't read the ending when you started this topic so i thought i wouldn't dare go in here until i did. I have finished the series now and i loved the whole thing, a page turning series for start to finish.
All in all it ended how i wanted it to, though i thought the ending was a little rushed. I hate those little stories that they put at the end to fill space, and i thought they wouldn't have needed to here if the actual ending had had more time spent on it. Also i would have liked it to have been a little hotter, i felt like i waited all that time for Hatsumi and Ryoki to finally be together fully and it was skimmed over completely, we literally got the door closed in our faces. Also poor Shinogu, how sad, he ended up completely wasting himself by becoming a monk, slightly unbelievable, but still i was mixed between thinking 'how stupid', and 'i guess it's understandable'.
Still, despite my criticisms about the ending, it's been one of the best series i've read recently, compelling me to buy the whole thing as quick as i could :)
 
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Charter_Mage: Thank You! For posting. I was beginning to think there wasn't another HG fan in here.

Back to the story. Yes, that whole Shinogu thing actually made me laugh, I was thinking "Where did THAT come from?" But one of the more funnier moments was when Azusa sent that picture to Ryo. I know what you mean about it being a page turner. I got in to the series over the summer and I kept having to go back to the bookshop to get more volumes. I know what you mean about expecting it to be hotter. I mean, the last volume was shrink wrapped - I did get a weird look from the cashier when I bought it, like I was buying something naughty...

So what were your favourite parts of the series? Anything you would have changed? One of my favourite scenes was when Ryo is at school and he is thinking of love as a mathematical equation. It's only when he translates love in to Maths does he get it. I was thinking, poor Ryo you don't have a clue!

One more thing. In the back of the book it says there is a novelisation coming out next year and it has a different ending for Shinogu. Hot Gimmick ala Sliders. Would you have ended it differently in a parralel universe?

Sparkleness for your post,

M.G xx
 
I'm no stranger to things with a slightly more mature content, so i really would have liked the ending to have had more spice, i though for a shoujo manga we got to see an awful lot of Hatsumi's breasts and not enough of anything else, lol
But all the same i as i've already said i was happy with who she actually ended up with, what about you? But i am still very interested to buy the novel, it will be interesting to see it pan out differently, i think i would also like to see one for Azusa (wouldn't want to give away who she ends up with).

I wonder if it will ever get turned in to a anime, i think for some reson it's the type of thing thats really popular (like Mars), but never actually sees a adaption, maybe it's because of the length.

Hmmm, not sure what bits i would pick out as favourites, i'm sure if i had a really good think i could think of a tonne, but i agree with you, i love all the bits where we see the inner workings of Ryoki's mind, how everything is only understandable as a Mathmatical equation, like figuring out that what Hatsumi says means she doesn't want to be his girlfriend and that holding hands with your fingers laced means you are more in love. I think thats one of the reasons why Ryo was my favourite character because he's really intelligent but also totally clueless at the same time. Though i think all the characters have their good qualities. Do you have a favourite character?
 
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Oh my god, that is so true - your remark about Hatsumi. I thought exactly the same thing not too far back. But I liked the way they twisted who she ends up with. For a part of that volume you think its S, but then you realise its not. I've read only a couple of mature ones, but I've been really disappointed with the storylines. So I tend to stick to Shoujo or a little BL manga. Take 'Only the Ring Finger Knows' which had a cracking good story. But if you know of any manga that wont dissapont, let me know.

I'm hoping the novel will fill in the bits we don't get to know about in the manga. And yes, I want to know more about Asuza too. There's still a lot we don't know about him and the whole story about him and Ryo's dad... well, I'm sure you could make a whole volume about that. Also, does your spoiler imply you know who he ends up with?

I'm really surprised it never got turned into an anime, its such an interesting storyline, with its twists and turns or even a TV show! Oh, I like Mars too, that was one of the first few stories I picked up when I got into manga.

I think my favourite character would be Asuza, he has many different sides to his personality. You never really know what he's thinking (or planning.) He was very likable at first. But then when he does that horrible thing, I hated him. Only after we learn more about his past and how he was treated as a child did I start changing my mind. But it was when Asuza gives a flower to Hatsumi's little brother to pass on to her, that I really liked him again.

Maybe I'm a sucker for flowers ^^
 
Oh i know exactly what you about Asuza, i ended up really liking his character by the end aswell, but you go through so many different opinions of him, i went from really liking him to hating him, and then it was that flower for me too that probably changed my opinion of him, i think i quite fell in love with him for a while then :).

No i don't know anything about how things end up for Asuza, i think it was my attemp of not spoiling the ending for anyone who hasn't read the end of the manga yet, though i think we may have already given many hints at how it ends, lol.

I actually feel a little sad again about Hot Gimmick having come to a end when i talk about it again, it's depressing when a really enjoyable story comes to an end, i need to find something else to get absorbed in now :).

I am slightly tempted to agree with what you said about stories that have a more mature tone. I havn't read that many and of those i've read even less that have a good story, so i do find i actually tend to enjoy the ones with the better story more. Only the Ring Finger Knows is a good example as you said, and Antique Bakery is good in a similar way (though actually this one doesn't seem to include much BL at all). Fake i think still has to be one of my favourites, though i don't think it has the most beautiful style the romance is slowly built up until the last volume where i think it has just the right amount of steam ;)
 
Greetings Charter_Mage

(Just felt like saying that!)

Yep, I went through all that love/hate/love thing with Asuza. At one point I really wanted him to get revenge on Ryo's dad. That flower thing was lovely. Oh and that time when he was ill all by himself in his room, and he wouldn't let Hatsumi help him, and you realise just how lonely he must be.

We probably have spoiled the ending, but nevermind, what's a great ending if you cant talk about it?

If you need something to get absorbed in to may I suggest Othello. Its not to do with Shakespeare. Its about a girl who has a split personality. Yaya, our heroine, is timid, and gets treated badly by false friends as she's niave and cant stand up for herself. But something happens (wont say what) and everytime she sees her reflection, Nana takes over, and she gives 'justice' to everyone who has treated Yaya badly. Thing is, when Yaya wakes up she has no idea that Nana exists. The strapline for the manga is... 'Nana's on the rampage and Yaya doesn't know.' Which sums it up perfectly. Thats the manga i miss most.

I will check those other books you said out. Did you know that there are novelisations of Only the Ring Finger Knows? where they continue the story. I've read one and its good, the others are supposed to be out but I haven't seen them yet.

Meant to ask you, are you going to expo?

Sparkleness,

M.G xx
 
Feel like maybe I’m gate-crashing a private conversation :oops: – figured I might be talking to some people that can point me in the right direction though.

General gist - wondering if its likely Hot Gimmick is for me or not.

Pretty new to manga and seem to be having some trouble picking out the kind of thing I ‘think’ I’m after.
Sometimes think I must have an oddly diverse range of taste, going from typical male orientated violence/action to more character/relationship based material perhaps more angled towards female readers (dare I say fluffy? :wink: )
An example with the English novels I find myself enjoying – again the same sort of diversity where I get close to, but perhaps stop just short of what would be considered ‘chick lit’ – I think I would find it difficult buying/reading anything with any hint of pink on the cover! :shock:

Fruits Basket is perhaps a good example – as far as the manga goes I think I would have steered clear of it based on the girly/pretty-boy covers, but it only took watching a couple episodes of the anime to realise I really like it. This seems to be the trouble generally when I have a browse of the manga shelves – find it hard to judge if there is indeed anything that ‘looks’ like it’s to my taste.

So, I’m looking for something with strong inter-character relationships, reasonable mix of male-female characters perhaps, I can take some romance, not sure I can handle it if there is too much pretty-boy stuff, attractive females are never going to do any harm, ‘slice-of-life’ is good but alternatively something a bit mysterious and/or out of the ordinary is good too.

How does Hot Gimmick fit with any of this?
Any other suggestions?
 
Hello Jimi-Jam

You're welcome, gate crash our conversation anytime!

Hot Gimmick does have interesting characters, and the plot twists do put most soap operas to shame. They have incredibly good cliff hangers of the "Oh my god - you can't leave it there" which will either leave you in awe or agony. (I've had both) Although its set in a housing complex, the drama keeps the pace going.

Its basically about a girl Hatsumi, who buys a pregnancy test for her sister as she may be pregnant. On the way back, she runs into a childhood bully who sees the pregnancy test. Hatsumi lets it slip its for her sister and she's worried the secret will spread. She pleads with him not to tell, and he agrees, but at a price - Hatsumi will have to become his slave. Thats when things get interesting. There are many more storylines in this series but thats how the manga starts.

Don't worry too much about diverse tastes. Would you believe it, but Chuck Palahnuik is one of my favourite authors (the Fight Club guy). He's a very dark author, but you would never imagine I read him considering how much fluffy manga I read. I have pink phobia too, but I refused to buy Generation X because it was pink, only to read it years later. It is really an amazing book and having met the author Douglas Couplant, a lovely guy too!

Fruits Basket is one of those rare manga, which has an excellant mix. I haven't read anything else which can quite match it. When I first got into manga, I bought a whole bunch of manga before I realised what I really liked. I'll suggest a couple of titles below which you might want to check out.

Othello - about a girl with a split personality. Timid Yaya is treated badly by her friends but she hasn't got the courage to change things. In steps Nana, her butt-kicking alter ego, who gives 'justice' to everyone who has wronged Yaya. I can't recommend this book enough, the covers have a gothic lolita vibe, I was sad to see this end.

Imadoki - By Yuu Watase of 'The Mysterious Plays.' Her only real high school story. Tanpopo gets a place at a prestigouse high school in Tokyo and is determined to make friends. However, all her classmates are snobs from wealthy families who look down on her, but Tanpopo never gives up. When I read this, it really made me think what friendship really is (don't mean to be too deep.) but it looks at friendships in the modern world.

Chocolat - This is a Korean manga series. Are you a music junkie? I am. It about a girl who fakes her entry into a fanclub so that she can get close to her real idols. But the lead singer finds out and she is blackmailed. Korean manga is a bit more gritty, the heroine is angsty, the bad girls are bitchy and the pretty boys.... may look pretty but they have bad personalities. Reminds me of my fangirl days. Wish I had been sneaky enough to think of such a cunning plan...

Ouran High School Host Club - Okay, there is nothing serious about this whatsoever. It silly, funny and makes me laugh (a lot.) A girl looks for a quiet place to study and instead in the music room she finds the Host Club. She accidently breaks a vase and becomes in debt to the club, becoming their dogsbody. The Host Club are pretty rich boys with too much time on their hands. Tamaki their leader wants to know how the common folk live and it just gets funnier from there.

Hope this helps, there are more on my profile which are worth checking out.

M.G xx

n.b - How far have you got with Fruits Basket?
 
Hey Jimi-Jam

Yes Hot Gimmick is excellent, i ended up buying and reading the whole series in under a month - addicted.
But i would say that certainly while romance is not the only plot line in the series, it is a major part of it. I think the best way to see if it's something you will enjoy is to try the first volume and see what you think, it only took that to have me addicted.

I'm not sure what else i can recommend since my collection is mostly limited to romantic shoujo series, but i would second Manga Girls recommendation of Imadoki, i think it's a good series about friendship and has some nice characters. Also Fushigi Yugi combines both action and romance elements well, and Mars which is a romance , but at heart more of a series about how the characters help each other become stronger people.

Hey Manga Girls :)

Thanks for your recommendation of Othello, i think it's something i will definitely get, especially now i know it's nothing to do with Shakespeare, to tell the truth i had been a little put off by the title of it for a while, lol.

And no i havn't read any of the Only the Ring Finger Knows novels yet, i had wondered how good they were, and just never got around to having a look at one yet.

Unfortunatly i'm not going to the expo, it's a real shame since i really wanted to see the dub voice actors for Al in FMA and Sasuke in Naruto, but i don't have much hope getting there living in Cornwall, i need to learn to drive so i can take myself there, lol
 
Hey Charter_Mage

You know what, I was addicted by the first volume too. I then went on a zealous shopping spree to get all the other volumes too. So you like Imadoki too? I was really surprised by that series, its my favourite series by her.

The Othello manga actually gets its name from a japanese type checkers game which has black and white peices. I think its supposed to symbolise the two sides of the same thing. Its the book that got me thinking, "Just what is the deal with Harajuku anyway" which is my ulterior motive for wanting to go to Tokyo. But there are some interesting characters, especially Moriyama, the boy love interest who actually teases Yaya at first. Oh and Shohei, Yaya's rock star idol. But best of all is Nana, who can see right through Yaya's fake friends. I love it when she says "Justice is Done!" when she exacts her revenge.

Sorry you can't make it to the expo, wish you could...

M.G xx
 
Thanks MG & CM for your guidance/suggestions :D – I’ll have to get myself to a good manga shop and take a look at some of those titles – Hot Gimmick certainly sounds like it has some potential.

You mention Chocolat – I’m certainly a music junkie, its definitely where most of my spending money went before I discovered anime/manga, not sure I ever gone for the idolisation thing though, more just a great love of music itself. Having said that, being a guitar player I think the god like presence of a certain Mr. Hendrix might have some effect on me (sounds a bit like idolisation doesn’t it? :?).
I’ll give it a look though anyway – btw is Korean manga generally found on the shelves along side regular manga in the likes of FP or do you have to seek it out online?

As far as the romance goes, bit of a curious thing I suppose since so many films and books out there all have the seemingly prerequisite ‘love-interest’ angle, even a lot of your typical action films have it in there somewhere – guess it all depends on emphasis.
Fact is I’ve read and enjoyed a number of Jane Austin novels in my time where the emphasis is often firmly fixed on the ‘love interest’, so I’m not sure where exactly my line of tolerance lies it terms when the romance angle gets ‘too much’. I guess I find it interesting having a peek inside the female psyche by being put in the shoes of female lead character every now and then.

I thought I was roughly on the right lines with X/1999, which was the first manga I took took the plunge on, categorised as shoujo but Viz’s definition describes it “Manga appealing to both female and male readersâ€
 
Hi there Jimi-Jam

About Chocolat - I think anyone who has ever been a gigger can appreciate it. Music was my main vice before i found manga. Mansun and idllewild were two of my favourite bands. You kind of end up living, breathing music. Chocolat is about that kind of life set around the Korean music scene. Its published by Ice Kunion, check out their website, they have previews for most books, so you can read a chapter or two there. Korean manga reads left to right as opposed to japanese manga which is back to front. You will find it alongside j. manga at FP. I've read quite a number of Korean manga titles (or manwha as they call it) but I think Chocolat is the best. It digs into what it means to be a fan, but they also show it from the bands perspective too. And don't worry too much about idol worship, its more about anti-idol worship - you'll see what i mean. Have a look, I'm sure it will make you laugh!

Fruits Basket - Seriously, you can't go wrong with buying the dvds. It was one of the first I bought and I have watched it countless times. As its only four discs, you really are getting value for money. The anime follows the manga closely, except the ending.

M.G xx
 
Hey i bought my volumes of Chocolate from United Publications (where i buy most of my manga), but i have seen it in Waterstones so there a good chance you will find it around.

If you are into music you might want to also have a look at the Beck manga. I havn't read it myself, but i've watched a good deal of the anime and it's a good story.

Yeah Manga Girls, i like Imadoki, i really like stuff by Yu Watase. Imadoki is a series i've really enjoyed, but i still havn't finished reading it yet, only one volume left, i just never get around to ordering it
 
Hiya Charter_Mage

Hurrah! You have got Chocolat. You must tell me what you think, I'd be interested to get your opinion, perhaps we ought to start a new thred? Re-reading Volume 3 at the moment and I've been in stitches! Volume 4 comes out this month - I can't wait.... Kya!

CM - Do get the final volume of Imadoki - think of it as a Xmas present to yourself! Ah, are you reading Absolute Boyfriend at the moment? It's Yu Watase's latest. I'm reading it in Shojo Beat. Also, other interesting news for you. Do you remember we were talking about Only The Ring Finger Knows not too long ago? Apparently, the guy who wrote it has written another manga called Rin. I'm not sure if its out over here yet, but I thought I must let you know.

M.G xx
 
Hey, i've been up to the second volume of Chocolat for ages now, i didn't realise another volume was out yet, i think it will have to be another thing to add to my ever lengthening Christmas list, lol.
My thoughts on Chocolat. So far i think it is a fairly typical shoujo manga romance wise, but i do really enjoy it, probably more than i thought i would. The characters are all interesting, and it has a likable female lead (something which is always important). I like the theme, but for some reason i feel like it reminds me of something very much. I think i will have to re-read the first two volume though to refresh my memory of the story when i buy the third volume. Who is your favourite character?

No, i am yet to read Absolute Boyfriend, but it's one i've had my eye on for a little while, and certainly one i will be asking for come Christmas time.
As for Rin, it funny you say that because it was something i was looking at just the other day, but i had no idea it was by the same author as 'Only the Ring Finger Knows'. I think the first volume has just come out - Rin
 
Well, I’ve made my self a little list from your kind suggestions – think I’ll make it into town this coming weekend and have a browse – just got to get past those cute covers!

Begin to wonder if I’m actually looking for something rather elusive – something that’s shojo, but not shojo :? – perhaps Fruits Basket is indeed a rare example that achieves a fine balance.
Having said that I did enjoy the 125 pages I read of Chocolat from the preview on Ice Kunion – get past the cute cover, forget that I’m stepping into the shoes of a female lead - just let the story take you away.
Something that occurred to me; when I read English novels where the central character is female, its perhaps a lot easier for my to make the shift and to certain extent forget the gender of the character your following, with a graphic novel you have a continuous visual reminder and the 'pretty-boys' to give me a some sort of complex.
Oh well, have to see how I get on.

Incidentally, whilst surfing around I came across a series called Nana - whilst classified as shojo I was stuck by the non-typical style of the cover art, and the story sounded slightly more mature, which might suit me better, there’s also as a musical theme in there too as a bonus – either of you (or anyone else for that matter) come across this one?

I’ll tag BECK on to my list – thanks CM – had a little look at the book synopsis online, certainly looks like I’d be able to relate to it fairly directly with the guitar-player/band theme – I do wonder whether that would make it a bit too cliché for me though, its either that or perhaps I’d find it all the more entertaining - only one way to find out I guess.

Maybe this thread should re-titled to MG & CM’s Shojo Thread! :wink:
 
Hey Jimi-Jam

Glad to be of service! Hmmm... interesting choice of title you suggested :D As it happens, I'm currently reading Nana, as its being serialised in the American Shojo Beat magazine. And it is alot more grown up, its more about relationships and trying to create your own path in life. I haven't read it from the beginning (apparently everyone complains about the first chapter! Why, I don't know...) but it is rather good and it is always the first story I read when I get the magazine. Both Nana's are very cool ladies, I don't think you could really go wrong with this one, especially with your musical interest. Also, it's been turned into a movie, releasing in Japan this fall.

Chocolat is slightly different (even the creators don't know why Kum-Ji gets all the attention she does, as she's not a traditional pretty girl) But you're right, it's the story that really pulls you along.

Oh FB. As you know, I'm terribly biased but this series does stand head and shoulderd above other manga (and I've read alot) nothing quite compares. It really is in a league of its own.

I wish you happy shopping!

M.G xx
 
Lol, nice title you suggested there :).

It's a while since this thread has been added to, i'm a bit behind.

I would also suggest NANA actually. Though it's another one like Beck which i havn't actually read any of the manga, but since last April it has been a anime series in Japan, and it's become one of my favourites that i'm watching.
Definitely a much more mature story, it has romance, but it's less about the actual romance, more, as Manga Girls has said about the relationships between the characters, and about finding their path in life, and it has a good music theme too.
NANA is by Ai Yazawa, and if you want something with a more mature tone i would definitely recommend her work
 
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