Grooming Up!

by Keith Rhee

Though I was fascinated with larger-than-life stories as a child, my tastes changed as I grew up; while titles such as GUNNM (Battle Angel Alita in the USA) still prove to be highly entertaining, I've found myself enjoying more down-to-earth titles as of recent years. Perhaps this comes from the realization that there are moments in our everyday lives to relish and enjoy, and while they may not be as grandiose as in sci-fi or fantasy stories, these moments are nevertheless important to the people involved in them.
Yuuki Masami is certainly no stranger to this form of storytelling. His previous works include the PATLABOR manga, which featured robots as police vehicles but whose primary focus was on the everyday life of a police unit. Masami has a firm grip on real-life situations and knows how to weave a story in such a setting, and his recent manga, GROOMING UP ! shares the same emphasis on the moments of everyday life.
The story begins with Kuze Shunpei, a high school student, getting stranded in Hokkaido during Winter Break after running out of gas and losing his wallet. Falling asleep in the snow, he is rescued by a girl named Watarai Hibiki. Soon Shunpei winds up in the Watarai household, a family running a horse breeding farm. Having lost his wallet, Shunpei begins working as a farmhand until he has enough money to return home.
Though Mr. Watarai and the oldest daughter Abumi treat him kindly, the rest of the family are skeptical of him at first, but by and by Shunpei becomes trusted and cared about by the Watarai family.

As his own parents are hardly home, Shunpei begins returning to the horse farm whenever school is in vacation. Gradually, Shunpei becomes attached to the horse farm and the family, and begins to fall in love with Hibiki.
The story is illustrated and written in the same witty style as PATLABOR. Though the story turns serious at times, the overall tone is lighthearted -- nothing like the manic terror and angst of MARMALADE BOY. The horse-breeding and racing terminology is often difficult to understand, but it really doesn't matter that much -- the focus of the story is on Shunpei's thoughts and his relationship with the Watarai family. It was interesting to note how the otherwise lecherous Shunpei begins to really care about Hibiki. On one occasion, Shunpei realizes that he's having untoward thoughts towards Hibiki. To stop himself of thinking of her in that manner, Shunpei voluntarily gets rid of the smut magazines handed to him by the farmhand Ume-san.
A larger-than-life story this isn't. There are no babes in battlesuits or giant mecha or floating orbital space stations. But those who understand and cherish the small victories and moments of magic in life will most likely enjoy reading this story.