Sora Iro Miina

—by Eric "Scanner" Luce

Most of us have authors that we enjoy reading. After reading all the new stories that are available, we start to delve back and see what else we can find. SORA IRO MIINA is one such work. Kitazaki Taku may be better known for his most recent story, NAGISA ME KOUNIN, that was in SHONEN SUNDAY (check out the Shonen Sunday brief where this series first appeared). I found SORA IRO MIINA while wandering through Mandarake.
This is a high-school romance story. It uses pretty sound plot devices, plus a couple of twists as well as a whole secondary romance intertwined with the main one. This gives the story some good material to draw the readers in with. Instead of going over a short bit of the plot, let me talk about the characters, especially since the plot sort of follows from them.

• Katsuragi Miina (Mina): She is the main character of our story. She is thirteen years old with red hair, very long legs and blue eyes. She lives for playing sports. And is definitely a tomboy. Where all the other girls at the school wear skirts and blouses, Miina dresses in jeans and shirts. Her loud and boisterous nature frequently gets her in trouble. Miina's mother was a foreigner—this is where her red hair, long legs and blue eyes come from.
The key element of this story, however, is the relationship between Miina and her brother. Apparently, their parents died when she was very young. She was raised by her brother and they have always lived together. The two have a fixation on each other, and jealously watch any relationships the other may get in to.

• Katsuragi Shinobu-sensei: He is a teacher at Miina's school. He is the one teacher that all of the girls at the school fall for. His good looks and humorous antics make him very popular with the student body and, given any chance, the girls chase him around. Miina seems to suffer the brunt of his abuse in class, although this is more because she is prone to fall asleep or misbehave in class, rather than because she is his sister. Since he raised Miina from when she was a very small child, he is very protective of her, despite their playful relationship.

• Hirose Tamotsu: Miina's long-time friend. They grew up together and he is a good counterpart for Miina. They are always fighting (which pretty much guarantees that they will be a couple eventually). Tamotsu lives in a family with many elder sisters and, as the youngest (and a male), he gets picked on by them all the time. He is also made to do all sorts of odd tasks for them such as babysitting one of their babies, cooking their food, cleaning and buying groceries. All of this pretty much guarantees his dislike for most females. Since Miina is so much unlike them, Tomotsu does not mind being around her.

• Yoshino Shuun: There is always an alternate romantic interest for the main character in these stories, and this is Shuun's role. In many ways the opposite of Tamotsu (and Miina), Shuun is a rather shy artist. He develops a crush for Miina early on as he sees her running in track and field at school. Struck by the image of her, he started drawing her. After a couple of mishaps Shuun became a member of their circle of friends. Strangely enough, there is very little rivalry between Shuun and Tamotsu over Miina. Usually the two of them are on the other end of the stick from Miina's brother.

• Hayano Fumi-sensei: My favorite character in the series. She is the school nurse who has a severe crush on Shinobu. That everyone else (schoolgirls and Keiko) seems to like him, and they are nowhere near as shy as Hayano-sensei, leaves her at a distinct disadvantage. Hayano-sensei is extremely quiet, timid and romantic. That she is also a huge fan of ULTRAMAN, KAMEN RIDER and their ilk further complicates her shyness.

• Tagawa Keiko-sensei: The main rival of Hayano-sensei for Shinobu's affections. Having been a childhood friend of Shinobu, and quite good-looking, she seems to be the closest to him. This of course causes, Miina major attacks of jealousy. However, Keiko is perhaps too familiar with Shinobu to be the one he ends up with.

The art is a lot less refined than Kitazaki-sensei's most recent work. The characters are a lot flatter, with less detail. However, through the whole five volumes of this story, the art is very consistent. The backgrounds are rather sparse. With a few exceptions, the backgrounds seem to mainly serve as props for the main characters. In a few scenes they are used to setup location. However, like the characters, they are fairly flat. The characters' expressions and posture are excellent though. The character designs are unique enough that it is not at all difficult to distinguish them, and they show emotion very well. Kitazaki-sensei's skill is clearly evident.
Aimed at a younger audience, the Japanese in this manga is easy to follow. The biggest problem with the story is its pacing. How events unfold and eventually reach a conclusion is surprising, especially considering how slowly the plot develops. Suddenly, the conclusion just happens and the reader is left feeling like they missed something.
Overall, this story is rather enjoyable for a simple romance with some comedy thrown in. If this is your cup of tea, then SORA IRO MIINA will be a relaxing read for you, particularly since the entire series has been published and it wraps itself up quite neatly.

Published by Shonen Big Comics (Shogakukan)
5 volumes (finished)
169-190 pages, b/w
Vol. 1: ISBN4-09-150641-0
Vol. 2: ISBN4-09-150642-9
Vol. 3: ISBN4-09-150643-7
Vol. 4: ISBN4-09-150644-5
Vol. 5: ISBN4-09-150645-3
¥360 each
Available now in used bookstores in Japan
Where to buy