Hot Gimmick, Vol. 3

ホットギミック [Hot Gimmick] #3

by Miki Aihara

Lovestruck Ryoki wants Hatsumi and makes no bones about it. But worse, Azusa invites Hatsumi to a private party with her shady friends to find out what he's really up to. With people plotting against her from all sides, guess who ends up saving Hatsumi from bad and worse?

Genres: Manga, Romance, Comics, Graphic Novels, Shojo, Fiction, High School

184 pages, Paperback

First published May 25, 2002

About the author

Miki Aihara (相原実貴 AIHARA Miki) is a Japanese female manga artist noted for creating the manga series Hot Gimmick and the series Tokyo Boys & Girls. She debuted with the series Lip Conscious in the manga magazine Betsucomi.

Reviews

[ꪑꪖᦔꫀꪶ꠸ꪀꫀ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 for this "OMG INCREDIBLE ENEMIES TO LOVERS, CHILDHOOD BEST FRIEND, LOVE TRIANGLE ROMANCE MANGA THAT HAS MY HEART RACING". (but it's still somewhat problematic)

------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay, so this was the volume was SO entertaining as all hell. However, there were some parts of the book and the character's flaws that are very wrong and problematic. For instance, in the beginning, a scene where Azusa sets Hatsumi up with all of these guys without letting her know. That is a very messed up thing to do and should not be looked over or used as entertainment. I feel like Hatsumi and the other characters did not pay any attention to what happened to her? Like she was about to get sexually assaulted and once she got saved by Ryoki (thank god he was there) like no one addressed it? It was something that was kind of odd to me, I know they're all teens but not many of them treated it as a bigger deal when it should have been (I am not doxing points from this though as the rest of the book was very much entertaining). I must also note that Hatsumi's relationships with these boys in her life are not as healthy as they should be. They're all manipulating and controlling. This is blown up to create entertainment for readers and keep the plot juicy, but it's still offputting. I feel as if Ryoki is getting better, he's still demanding and controlling but I believe he was never taught how to deal with these emotions and act upon them. (The real world lacks in teaching boys how to deal with their emotions properly instead of always resulting in violence or name-calling. The excuse for this is always "boys will be boys") I'm hoping and expecting him to do better! Azusa is DISGUSTING! OMG, I HATE HIM, HATSUMI GRAB SOME COMMON SENSE PLEASE. His character went DOWN hill. I was not expecting him to be such a terrible person. I think his childhood trauma is a result of his current actions, it's a coping mechanism. However, that doesn't exclude his bad behavior. I truly think deep down he cares for Hatsumi.

Besides that, the rest of the book WAS FILLED WITH TENSION. Hatsumi's doing the best she can to please and help everyone and they're all just being so mean and bossy! For example, Hatsumi's sister INFURIATED ME. GIRL LEAVE, CONTINUE TO RUN AWAY, DON'T COME BACK, BYE. She helped her with buying her pregnancy test, which in turn caused all of this.........so why IS SHE BEING SO MEAN OH MY GOD! I think her sister and weeb friend is going to find interest in each other though, they had a very cute interaction during the last scene.

Overall, some problematic things being used for entertainment, however, the rest of the book was very entertaining and set up the next volume nicely. (if I keep reading these at this rate I may finish this 12 volume series by today or tomorrow!)

[Grapie Deltaco]

Death! to all of them!!

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The lies deceit and betrayal are out on the table, what will Hatsumi do? :) Who is her hero?

[Carrie (The Butterfly Reader) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man.... I can't stop reading, but I don't like anyone other than her brother.

[Sophie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This series is fucked up. Hatsumi has two guys after her, both of whom think it's perfectly okay to sexually assault women. Azusa is so cold-hearted that he wants to seek revenge on Hatsumi's father by filming her being gang-raped by a group of male models. And what's worse, is that his manager (and thus the author Aihara) tries to make the reader sympathise with Azusa because of a sob story - I'm sorry, but no matter how shit your life is, being involved in sexually assaulting someone makes you an asshole. There is no coming back from that.

Aihara also made Ryoki some sort of hero for saving Hatsumi from being raped... errrm HELLO! He's been molesting and trying to rape her for ages, emotionally abusing her and calling her his slave... just because he now wants her to be his girlfriend, that doesn't make him a nice person. Just because he wants to rape her for his own gain, as opposed to having her gang-raped for revenge, does not make him a better person. This manga is fucked. Aihara must have a twisted sense of romance if she thinks this is a romantic story. This is not a manga warning young girls about naivity and abusive relationships, this is very much meant to be a romance story, and it's just fucked up.

Oh.. and the only person who seems way too into Hatsumi and actually seems like a decent guy... is her brother. Please... don't let this turn to incest too!

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume really should be docked a star for the whole thing with Azusa. But it's distinctive for me in being where the series finds its stride, starts delving into the hearts of its characters rather than depending entirely on tawdry melodrama to keep the reader's attention.

Hatsumi: There's a huge difference between slave and girlfriend, okay? Do you even understand that?

Ryoki: (There is?) Well, either way, it means you're mine, right? It's not that big a difference.

Hatsumi: You are so clueless.

Ryoki (aggravated): About what!

Hatsumi: I mean... a slave... is owned against her will. By force. But a girlfriend... wants to be with the person she's with. She belongs to him because she wants to. You meet someone... you're attracted to him... you start hanging out and having fun together... you share your problems and help each other out... and you fall more and more in love... until you start to feel like you belong to that person.

Ryoki: So, what are they?

Hatsumi: Huh?

Ryoki: Your problems. What are they?

If an interaction like this makes you laugh, you will probably enjoy this series.

[Whitney (The Cover Collector) · Rating 1 out of 5]

So attempted gang-rape, manipulation, and abuse have no consequences in this book, except to make the victim look like the villain to everyone else. And at the end of the day, it's all 'okay' as long as he likes her. I no longer feel sympathy for the MC. She'd rather hide this abuse and blackmail than get help. She believes that if the guy likes her than it's justified. She cares more about the guy's feelings, who orchestrated her gang-rape, than herself.

[JiixBooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

How is this getting more and more horrible by the volume
Attempted gang rape, no backbone protagonist keeps apologising for breathing, main love interest still keeps forcing himself on her ......

[Megan (BookWifeReviews) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why do I keep reading this?..

[Isla Chiu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, our hapless heroine Hatsumi. She is unfortunate AND dumb, a bad combination. Exhibit A: Azusa, her childhood friend and the guy she has a crush on, attempts to have her gang-raped(!) as some sort of fucked up revenge scheme (unfortunate). And what does she do during the attempt? She APOLOGIZES to her would-be rapist for not being considerate enough of him when they were younger (DUMB, JUST SO DUMB!). For once, I agreed with Ryoki, who was like, "Um, you idiot, why are you apologizing to this bastard?!?!"

Also, our poor virgin heroine gets majorly slut-shamed though her only crime is attracting the attention of creeps. INJUSTICE!!!!!

Alas, this book is still my form of literary crack.

[Emylia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really hate what Azusa did to Hatsumi. I know that when you hate that person so much, you would want a bad stuff to happens to them. But Hatsumi is not in the wrong here. It’s her dad. So why Azusa is hell bent on taking revenge on her? Plus Ryoki is kinda becoming a sweetheart but still need to improve on his attitude towards Hatsumi. That hopeless guy.

Plus, Akane is such a bitc* thou, if she can’t have Ryoki, so she decided the need to take revenge and reported it at Ryoki’s mom? Lol. Grow up. As you said, you are far more prettier that your older sister so many people will like you. Then what’s the point on reporting? Shinogu sure not have some sort of sis-con… turns out he's in love with his sister; Hatsumi. Damn.. more drama will issues now.

[Cris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ryoki comes to terms that he has feelings for Hatsumi when he has to save her from a group of guys. Azusa plan comes out and his reason. What an a$$! Yet the books suck you in and make you want to see what’s going to happen next!

[Brandie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I woke up in a depressed/foul mood today and thought, ‘Sitting in some sunshine and reading a fun manga should get me out of this funk!’ Oh boy, was I ever wrong! This is the wrong book for THAT! Though, I think the sunshine helped.

Yikes! This book starts out really TW! rough! I am glad I didn’t track down the first two volumes. Are any of the characters likable?

[Katt Hansen · Rating 1 out of 5]

In continuation of the last thought....ARGH! This goes too far...seriously! What is the author thinking? And WHY AM I STILL READING THIS?

[Kaley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating: 5/10 (2.5/5)

The abuse and manipulation at beginning of volume was bad (knew it was coming but still wasn't handled well and can be triggering), but still kept reading :/
Conflicted atm.

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. Azusa's real motives come out, Ryoki learns he's been rapey and backs off, and Hatsumi stands up for herself. Yay!

[Soobie has fog in her brain · Rating 1 out of 5]

Allora, Azusa chiede ai suoi amici di violentare Hatsumi. Ryoki la salva per puro caso. Alla fine del volume lei è ancora lì che pensa ad Azusa, perché - poverino! - mica è colpa sua se lui è diventano così cattivo. È causa della sua famiglia, come dice la sua manager. E Hatsumi ci crede.

Quell'altro invece ha forse capito che trattar da schiava la ragazza che ti piace non è il modo migliore per vincere il suo cuore. Ancora un po' le ordina di diventare la sua ragazza. E quella scema dice sì. Però gli fa notare che quello che cerca di farle lui non è tanto diverso da quello che volevano fare gli amici di Azusa.

Evviva! Viva la capacità delle donne di decidere! SIGH!!

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the last volume I never mentioned how Asuza was revealing himself to be a proper dick. He did majorly, indicating that he was using Hatsumi. If last volume was an indication, this volume was an all out war. Asuza is cold inside. Incapable of seeing what he's done to Hatsumi. He literally arranges for his former childhood friend to be raped by his cohorts all so he could exact revenge on Hatsumi's father. It's perverse, it's twisted and there's no excuse.

Asuza's treatment of Hatsumi almost makes how Ryoki treats her okay in comparison. Let's not forget Ryoki is domineering and a bit too handsy. That said, he truly only has eyes for Hatsumi, he wants to protect her, and as the volume progress, we learn that he also wants her to be his girlfriend. It's nice to see him beginning to turn things around. It's nice that he saved her and did everything he could to protect her. However, he's still got quite a ways to make up for some of his abusive behavior.

As for Hatsumi, I don't envy her. I don't want to be her. I wish that her life turns around because it seems quite lonely and miserable. Things just keep happening that she doesn't deserve.

[Miss Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

okay i'm going to attempt to review this volume with a minimum of swear words. i'm working on becoming a children's librarian; figuring out how do a clean critical review seems like something i should sort out now

so. azusa needs to die. he is a blight upon the hot gimmick universe and should be removed immediately. the fact that aihara attempts to extend sympathy to him via hatsumi and his manager is frankly mind boggling. setting up a girl to be gang raped is so far beyond the moral event horizon it's in another universe

i also really dislike that aihara is using that to try and argue ryoki is less abusive by comparison. this waste of air has made multiple rape attempts on hatsumi, he needs to GO. i have never seen a better argument for kill all men than this manga. 1 star

[Rachel MacNaught · Rating 3 out of 5]

the volume was a little all over the place.
at this point, i'm somehow still more on board with the Azuza-Hatsumi ship than seeing her end up with Ryoki. i realised it's a toss up between two mentally (and physically) abusive bastards but Ryoki is so socially backwards i cannot take him seriously. and sure, Azuza almost got her raped but he apparently he had a sad look on his face, so that makes it okay. apparently.

i don't understand the role of Ryoki's mother in anything. that keeps taking me out of the story. i understand the class levels, but she's written as though she is a queen of their building and iiii don'tttt get ittttt.

[quinnster · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't believe that this is what shojo is! It's way creepy. I hope teenage girls aren't reading this and thinking this is how relationships should be.

First the slave thing is just gross. He's basically molesting her whenever he gets the chance and the only reason why he hasn't raped her yet is because he gets interrupted. I kept reading though the first three books hoping that this was just some joke and it would get better, but it doesn't. It's just disturbing and kind of sick.

The art is good, but the two main male characters look so much alike I keep getting them confused!

[Sylwia]

While the male characters in this book are really messed up, I still feel like their behaviors are more realistic than a lot of those I've read in the past few months, so I am still enjoying this series. I like the way it's going and how the protagonist female is aiding to the interesting progressions. I was not crazy about the shove (and of course I hated the apartment scene, even though it at least made sense), but I am continuing on. I wonder how things will unfold with the brother.

[Danielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ridiculously lame, and if I could remove it from my YA GN collection based on the fact that it's utterly stupid, anti-feminist, and truly offensive, I would.

I was kind of hooked on the first two, but the portrayal of the main female character in this volume really pushed it over the edge for me.

[Diana Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is even more rape-y than the first two. It reminds me a lot of Gossip Girl and that's probably why it's so addicting. It's soapy and the main protagonist is helpless which is annoying, but the characters are developing some depth and the secrets are coming out so I'm definitely into it. 6/10.

[Nikki Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best shoujo manga EVER. Hands down.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, admittedly this is a soap opera, and smut! But it's sooooo addicting! D, I blame you.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is really disturbing, but too damn addictive to stop reading...argh!

[veloci.reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow. This series is really messed up. I hope little Japanese girls aren’t reading this and thinking that any of these relationships are normal.

[Lady Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

How dare Azusa do that! And how dare Ryoki make any attempt to make Hatsumi his girlfriend! Many this is just getting more and more twisted....