[Manga Review] Tail of the Moon, Vol. 1

[chroniclesofabookworm]

BY: Rinko Ueda
SERIES: 月のしっぽ [Tsuki no Shippo] (#1)
RATING: 1 out 5
RELEASES: October 3, 2006 by VIZ Media
GENRE: Romance, Humor, Fiction
AGE RANGE: Teen
SYNOPSIS: Usagi is the granddaughter of the leader of a prestigious ninja village, but she's such a klutz that she's never made it out of the kiddie class. Frustrated with Usagi's lack of progress, her grandfather sends her to marry Lord Hanzo and have lots of ninja babies. But the lord has no interest in her or her childbearing potential!

The path to love is never easy, and Usagi has some unexpected competition. It seems that another ninja clan wants to welcome Lord Hanzo into the family, and they've sent the beautiful and talented Yuri to win herself a wedding. Usagi won't be daunted by her rival's looks and skills, but will Lord Hanzo's secret feelings for an off-limits princess be enough to send her away in despair?



REVIEW: Usagi is the granddaughter of a prestigious ninja village's leader, but she never grew out of her kiddie class. Due to Usagi's lack of progress, her grandfather sends her to marry Lord Hanzo and have lots of ninja children. Unfortunately, the lord is not interested in her childbearing abilities!

Love is never easy, and Usagi has some unexpected competitors. There is another ninja clan that wants Lord Hanzo to join their family, so they have sent the beautiful and talented Yuri to win her wedding. Usagi won't be daunted by her rival's looks and skills, but will Lord Hanzo's feelings for an off-limits princess be enough to make her give up?

The reason for my rereading of this manga is a mystery to me. My teenage self did not like it, and I still do not like it as an adult. When I saw this manga at the library, I was curious to know if my taste in manga had changed. I wanted to see if my opinions had evolved, but I quickly realized that my feelings about the story hadn't changed. The characters and plot still didn't resonate with me, and I struggled to stay engaged with the manga.

This lesson focuses on superficiality. The reason Usagi wants to marry Hanzo is that he is attractive. Although he has some positive qualities, his asshole-like tendencies outweigh all the positives (like being attractive, which is one of his defining characteristics). Nothing else really stands out about Hanzo. Looks only. My summation of him would be: "Attractive guy, somewhat arrogant; only shows kindness when reminding us that he and Usagi are destined to be together."

As for Usagi, she's not much better. It's supposed to be her job to train to be a ninja, but she fails miserably. She's lousy at everything. This woman is seriously too stupid to live. Her only talent is making medicine. Despite being naive, unquestioningly trusting people, and not very good at ninjary, she believes she can go on real missions. She is incapable of seducing one guy at all, which is something that ninjas should have the ability to do. I hated her because she kept following Hanzo around like a puppy dog, despite him being a dick, fawning over him even when he tried to tell her to leave him alone.

The series also has two "romantic rivals" -- I put that in quotes because in the "real world," Usagi wouldn't be able to compete (but this is shoujo manga, so Hanzo is going to choose her for some reason I cannot fathom). This romantic rivalry includes "rich bitch" (who even attempts to poison the competition) and "better than you in everything, but she's so wonderfully amazingly talented, you can't hold it against her" princess who is so perfect it's almost unimaginable. All they serve is to show all of Usagi's flaws and add some drama or make her work harder. While I liked the princess (in spite of the fact that she has a chance to survive, unlike our heroine), I did not care for rich bitch whatsoever.

This princess bothered me because she acted as if Usagi had broken up my boyfriend and me when it was obvious Hanzo was totally in love with her.

The princess's perfection and Usagi's flaws create a stark contrast that highlights the challenges of the romantic storyline. Despite this, the series seems determined to push Usagi as the chosen one, leaving readers questioning the plausibility of the romance.

There's nothing special about Tail of the Moon; it's just poorly written. There is no point in continuing this manga or recommending it.