Dragon Girl, Vol. 1

Dragon Girl Omnibus #1

by Toru Fujieda, Tomo Kimura (Translator)

Fiesty, fierce Rinna Aizen is a girl with a dream - to follow in her father's footsteps as the legendary captain of Shoryu Senior High's cheering squad. Only problem? Shoryu High is an elite all-boys' school! Or it was...until now! With the school going co-ed, Rinna might be one step closer to achieving her dream, but the road to a successful cheering squad is still full of hurdles...can Rinna clear them all?!

Genres: Manga, Graphic Novels, Shojo, Romance, Young Adult, Comedy

499 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

FUJIEDA Toru
Name (in native language): 藤枝とおる
Associated Names:
藤枝十榴
FUJIEDA Tooru

Fujieda-sensei has a cat named Buttons who loves to steal Godiva chocolate.
She also loves to research the Edo period of Japan. Especially its hairpins/ear-cleaners.

Blood Type: B

Zodiac: Virgo

Reviews

[Abi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was decent. The art was mostly well done. I liked Rinna, the MC, and her two friends. The cheer squad was okay. I feel like this would make a decent anime. The plot was decently paced overall, but the romance aspect wasn't very good. It was sporadic and not done well. There were multiple possible love interests, and a love pentagon or square? It was more confusing than anything else. Overall, this was a decent manga, and I had fun reading it. It was funny and entertaining, and I liked the sports aspect. 4 stars.

[#ReadAllTheBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd seen this on the shelves & flipped through it a few times but it wasn't until I managed to pick this up for ultra cheap that I finally gave this series a try. Why do I mention that? Because the price for this manga is rather steep for casual collectors. I'll justify my reasons for saying this later.

First off, let me just say that this is a rather cute manga. The main character of is pretty energetic & while the whole "happy go lucky girl everyone likes" character is pretty done to the point of death in the world of manga, Rinna does manage to remain endearing. You can't help but root for her. Something else that I liked was that there was no clearly defined "winner" of her love. You know what I'm talking about- when the manga sets up one guy that you just *know* is going to be the one the heroine ends up with. While that can be fun, it's kind of nice when I find a series that doesn't bash me over the head with "these two are totally supposed to be together" foreshadowing. Rinna has about three love interests that are worth mentioning & so far I could see her ending up with just about any one of them. And the artwork? Awesome. There's no "one face/hair/style fits all" for these characters & being different actually helps give them that much more personality. (You know what I mean by one size fits all, when manga characters all generally look the same.)

Unfortunately where this series falls a little short is that at times it's just a little bit too all over the place. Things happen pretty quickly in this series & at times I just felt like it was just a little forced. I sort of felt like this would have been better served with maybe a few more chapters so the story can unfold a little further & come along a little more naturally. The male characters were also a teensy bit annoying at times & once in a while I just kind of wondered why Rinna even bothered with some of the characters she tried to befriend. (Then something cute would happen & Fujieda's art would draw me back in again- the artwork is truly the best part of the series.)

Offhand I'll say that there was enough here for me to warrant purchasing the next volume in the series. It's pretty cute & while this wasn't the absolute best manga I've ever read it still manages to stand out enough to get & keep my attention. The only other drawback is the price. At about twenty dollars in the average store (not including online prices) it's a pretty expensive venture for a series that isn't really that well known in the US. While other series might have compilation sets that are just as expensive as this is (such as Wallflower), they're also fairly well known & have a big fanbase who wouldn't mind investing in a set this expensive. This is still a very good price as far as manga goes but I can't help but think that the price tag will scare off a few readers. (I didn't take off any stars for it, though. That's not fair to the series.)

3.4/5

[audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A prestigious all boys high school is in its first transitioning semester of becoming co-ed. The manipulative student council is actively phasing out traditional customs and clubs to forge a new identity for the school. Rinna is a feisty, ambitious girl intent on following in her estranged father's footsteps by joining the cheering squad. Hasekura is the current cheer captain trying to uphold tradition while adamantly deterring female students from joining. They must overcome their differences in order to prevent the club from being disbanded. The series is completed and compiled within two omnibuses. This is the first omnibus that is comprised of thirteen chapters.

I think the cover art misrepresents this manga in a lot of ways. Overall, the artwork is clean and attractively stylized without being excessively romantic. The characters are wonderfully designed with unique features that enhance their personalities. The layout is also designed well and flows nicely.

Dragon Girl is a lighthearted and amusing manga that I enjoyed reading. The story is very character driven with an initial simplistic plot. It's more of a slice of life focused within the school setting and its related activities. The overall story is fast paced with continuous tension and conflict that manages to remain charming and humorous throughout. The later chapters begin to develop romance story lines and complex back stories while hinting at an intriguing plot from the antagonists.

The story has a large cast of characters that possess wonderful characterization. I liked how each character stood out in their own way while adding a comedic or conflicting element. I loved the main character and I'm so glad this manga was recommended to me. Rinna is assertive and ambitious while remaining charismatic. I thought it was cute how she impacted the other characters. I found it amusing how she would awkwardly succeed at the challenges presented to her. I liked that she was flawed and wasn't interested in romance initially. I think this made it more impactful when she was vulnerable. The romance story lines were also more engaging with the slow build up and development.

I admit this manga contains familiar stereotypes found throughout shojo manga and lacks the high caliber of the more popular established series currently out there. However, I think Dragon Girl is a fun and refreshing short series worth reading if you can find it at a decent price.

[Sakura · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first glance Dragon Girl kind of looks like a mediocre/average series. In a way it is kind of is - it really isn't that unique or special. As someone who's read shoujo for years, it's actually pretty cliche, the whole must-save-the-school-club and the girl-joins-school-to-find-her-first-love story lines. However, I still found this series to be pretty enjoyable for what it's worth. It's definitely the different cast of characters that make it entertaining, plus some of the characters have their own secrets/issues that are slowly revealed throughout the series, so no, it's not just about a cheer club.

As someone who has completed the entire series, I was also somewhat surprised at some of the minor twists as well. I can actually see why Yen Press decided to release this as an omnibus (multiple volumes in one big, thick format). I don't think I would have liked this series enough to continue reading the next volume if they had only released it as volume 1 (one single, thin regular-sized graphic novel format).

A pretty typical, yet fun and enjoyable shoujo read. I at least recommend all shoujo readers not looking for anything deep and compelling or unique, to give it a try. Just because a series is cliche or may not offer anything new, doesn't mean it still can't be entertaining.

Pros:
- Interesting cast of characters (all different looks and personalities so at least you don't get confused with them like some other shoujo series).
- Some interesting plot twists.
- Pretty likeable heroine (shoujo can have some of the most annoying female characters).

Cons:
- It's pretty shoujo (like something younger girls might be more into), so it might not be as enjoyable for much older readers. Those looking for something with a bit more should look elsewhere.
- Since it's only like 5 volumes total (completed in 2 omnibus formats), the characterization for some characters may feel a bit shallow/rushed (what can you expect with a short series though?)

[David Doel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The further into this manga I got, the less I liked it. Rinna keeps adding new potential boyfriends and none seem worth the trouble. The story makes little sense to me; irrationality rules the day. If you like pretty boys, you might like the art in this manga. The story just doesn't make sense.

[Angelica Dimeo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the art and the story line of this book

[Apricotteacup · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elite, all boy’s school Shoryu Senior High has just officially gone coed and among the handful of females attending for the first time ever is Rinna Aizen, who longs to join the boy’s cheering squad so that she can live up to her old man’s cheering legacy at the school.
Dragon Girl is an extremely light hearted read that’s condensed into two oversized volumes which follow feisty go-getter Rinna as she takes on maniacal student council presidents, cross-dressing rival cheerleaders, boys who are desperate to photograph her panties and her own kinda weird obsession with her father. It’s pure wackiness mixed with a tiny pinch of romance and a lot of enthusiastic students shouting “I’m going to give it my ALL!”
The story is a little chaotic at first, especially because almost every member of the ensemble cast is introduced in the first handful of pages. But the non-stop action and rotating cast is a plus in the long run and it won‘t take you long to figure out who‘s who (the character bios sprinkled throughout the book are helpful).
The heroine, Rinna, is sweetly single-minded and has a curly ponytail that sort of trails off of her head like a cloud. The other characters in the series are manga staples: the withdrawn genius with glasses, the guy who’s so gorgeous that everyone thinks he’s a girl, the arrogant mean guy who‘s kinda hot, the vague conglomerate of friends distinguishable only by their hairstyles, etc. The stand out character is the cheer squad’s overly intense captain, who looks like Jack Sparrow if someone took a straightening iron to him.
I’m a big fan of the random filler episodes in most anime where the characters do something mundane and wackiness ensues, and Dragon Girl feels a lot like that. The characters are so much fun and the plot moves so quickly that the oversized book doesn’t feel encumbering in the least. It’s a fun read that’s nicely packaged, has fantastic art and is very nearly appropriate for everyone (the word “fag” is used too casually for me to say this is an all ages book). I give it my stamp of approval.

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Entertaining, but not quite entertaining enough to merit the extra boost to three stars. The art is decent and the characters are nice to look at, but the plot is really thin. Thin and over-stretched. This entire volume (three volumes originally) is drawn out exposition and character intro; plot-development doesn't seem to occur until after this almost-500 page volume. Depending on how interesting the intro stories are, the fact that the meat of the plot kicks in later might not matter, but with Dragon Girl I didn't find these stories too compelling and the characters felt a bit flat and stereotypical to me.

I also think my expectations for this series were influenced by a bit of false advertising. One of the first things you are introduced to is a little boy, who in classic shojo trope-dom will be the heroine's love interest. I keep thinking that the romantic plot-line will kick in soon but there is little to be said in that department after 500 pages. It's great to see a strong heroine whose passion isn't finding a boyfriend, but she unfortunately comes off a bit two-dimensional and it is her love troubles that make her a more rounded character, which is almost oxymoronic. The cheering squad captain is similar, but as he is drafted with more comedic elements, he leaves more a impression than Rinna does for me.

Hopefully the second finishing volume is better and more entertaining. I have decent hopes for it as it looks like the plot is moving along.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable but unremarkable shojo manga about a fiesty girl who forms part of the first co-ed class at a previously all-male high school. Upside: pleasantly illustrated and often funny. Downside: I sometimes confused a couple of the characters due to similar designs, and overall the characterization felt a bit shallow. I am curious to see whether Fujieda does anything more interesting in later volumes; she's certainly capable of it, from what I've seen of her other work.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished up to volume 3. It was fun and the cover scared me off originally, but luckily the drawing style within wasn't so...flowery. Entertaining characters and it was fun learning about all the different aspects of cheering squads.