About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

A shojo manga fantasy confection, The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross has a lot of what Arina Tanemura's fans love about her work: gorgeous, detailed artwork, keep-'em guessing plot twists all wrapped up in swirl of sparkly stars, flowing ribbons, romance and heartbreak.

What a pity that this pretty story is just full of complicated go-nowhere plot twists and eccentric characters with contradictory personality traits (e.g.

the tough girl with the shy side, the aloof boy who's alternately kind and manipulative). It may pick up steam in later volumes, but this first installment left me dazzled but confused.



Pros

• Beautifully-rendered artwork, filled with romantic details
• A slightly darker, more emotionally complex story than Tanemura's prior work
• Lots of plot twists that keep fans guessing and turning the pages
• Pretty costumes that have lots of cosplay appeal

Cons

• An overly-complicated plot that can be hard to follow
• Lots of half-baked, unneccessary side stories that are distracting and trivial
• The main characters have cumbersome back-stories and contradictory personality traits
• Fantasy's fine -- but this wildly unrealistic story just doesn't make sense sometimes

Description

• Original Title: Shinshi Doumei Kurosu (Japan)
• Author and Artist:Arina Tanemura
• Publishers:Shojo Beat / VIZ Media (US), Shueisha (Japan)
• ISBN: 978-1421511832
• Cover price: $8.99 US / $10.99 CANADA
• Age Rating: OT – Older Teens, Age 16+ for a few sexually suggestive situations
  More about content ratings

• Manga Genres:
  • Shojo manga
  • Drama
  • Romance
  • High School Romance
  • Fantasy
• US Publication Date: March 2007
• Other Manga by Arina Tanemura:
  • Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne
  • Full Moon o Sagashite
  • ION
  • Time Stranger Kyoko

Guide Review - Gentlemen's Alliance Cross Volume 1

There's a truism I learned in art school: Half of art is knowing when to stop. In Arina Tanemura's latest shojo confection Gentlemen's Alliance Cross, it seems this artist had so many ideas, she didn't know when to stop.

Each page bombards the reader with layer upon layer of flowers, ribbons, sparkles and flowing hair. Add in complicated character back-stories, half-baked love triangles and far-fetched high school political intrigue, and by the end of Volume 1, I was left thinking "Where is this going and why am I still here?"

Where do I start? Maybe with Haine, the heroine. Haine has a complicated past life. Her family 'sold' her to the well-to-do Otomiya clan in exchange for a business loan of 50 million yen. While her former family's fortunes have risen, the Otomiyas have fallen upon some hard times. However, not so hard that they can't send their two children to one of the most elite private schools in Japan, the Imperial Academy.

Anyway, this is shojo manga, so a slightly unattainable love interest must come into play. In this case, it's "The Emperor," the aloof president of the student council. Haine becomes obsessed with getting closer to him and finding out why this once smiling and kind person has become a scowling grouch.

There are more plot twists and quirky characters, but they appear and disappear without adding much to the story. The revolt of the "heretics"? Gloomy girl Ushio and her flirtation with the school doctor? The gay relationship between The Emperor and his trusted lieutenant Maguri? Just promising story sparks that appear briefly then fizzle out.

I've read many first volumes of manga and thought "so what?" then later found that the artist and story hits their stride after volume 3. Maybe Gentlemen's Alliance Cross is one of those series – but at this point, I can only recommend it for die-hard Tanemura fans.