High School Debut
Encyclopedia
is a shōjo
romantic comedy
manga
by . It was serialized in Japan by Shueisha
in Bessatsu Margaret
from 2003 to 2008 and collected in 13 bound volumes
. The series was adapted as a drama CD and as a series of six light novels written by Yuu Kuramoto. The manga is licensed in North America by Viz Media
, which published English editions of all 13 volumes between January 2008 and February 2010.
The series follows the relationship between Haruna Nagashima, an enthusiastic former softball star, and Yoh Komiyama, the cool boy she convinces to coach her in romance. It has been praised by reviewers as a standard shōjo manga premise made highly entertaining by Kawahara's handling of the characters, particularly the romantic leads, and artwork.
He agrees to coach Haruna after her great persistence but on one condition: she mustn't fall in love with him.
in the shōjo (aimed at teenage girls) manga magazine Bessatsu Margaret
between 2003 and August 2008. The 52 untitled chapters were collected in 13 tankōbon volumes
. It is published in North America by Viz Media
under the Shojo Beat
label, with all 13 volumes published in English. It is also published in Italy by Star Comics
and in Korea.
Two sequel short stories called "Enren Debut" ("Long-Distance Love Debut"), set in the months after the conclusion of the series, were published in the March and May 2009 issues of Deluxe Margaret.
movie of High School Debut
with filming beginning in October 2010 was released April 1, 2011. Mizobata Junpei
and Ohno Ito starred as the leading actor/actress.
's Deb Aoki lists High School Debut as the best shōjo manga of 2008.
Volumes one and two of the English edition were named as two of the Great Graphic Novels for Teens of 2008 by YALSA. A reviewer at About.com
named the English translation a favorite new manga of 2008, calling it "well-crafted and lovable"; a reviewer at PopCultureShock similarly described it as a series that "just make[s] you happy". School Library Journal
described the series as "standard fair for younger manga readers" and "a good purchase for schools and libraries." Joanna Draper at Comics Worth Reading called it her "favorite shojo series running" for being entertaining and inventive. Otaku USA criticized the first volume for the predictableness of the story.
Kawahara's art was praised for its clean style and layout, dynamic figures, and emotional expressions, and was compared by one reviewer to Yoko Kamio
's.
Reviewers consistently hailed Haruna as a comic heroine and a key to the series' appeal, but Kawahara's handling of the other chararacters was also praised, particularly with Yoh and his sister Asami. They also praised Haruna's relationship with Yoh, which is presented as a pairing of friends and equals. Some critics noted that the story's initial makeover theme was more deftly handled than a short summary led them to expect, though some still expressed reservations about it.
Shojo
The term refers to manga marketed to a female audience roughly between the ages of 10-18. The name romanizes the Japanese 少女 , literally: "little female". Shōjo manga covers many subjects in a variety of narrative and graphic styles, from historical drama to science fiction — often with a strong...
romantic comedy
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Comedy can refer to* Romantic Comedy , a 1979 play written by Bernard Slade* Romantic Comedy , a 1983 film adapted from the play and starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen...
manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
by . It was serialized in Japan by Shueisha
Shueisha
is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...
in Bessatsu Margaret
Bessatsu Margaret
, or for short, is a shōjo manga magazine published monthly in Japan by Shueisha. It is targeted at girls aged roughly 12-17. It is a spinoff of the magazine Margaret.-Current:*360° Material - Touko Minami*Acanthus - Izumi Yamaguchi...
from 2003 to 2008 and collected in 13 bound volumes
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
. The series was adapted as a drama CD and as a series of six light novels written by Yuu Kuramoto. The manga is licensed in North America by Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
, which published English editions of all 13 volumes between January 2008 and February 2010.
The series follows the relationship between Haruna Nagashima, an enthusiastic former softball star, and Yoh Komiyama, the cool boy she convinces to coach her in romance. It has been praised by reviewers as a standard shōjo manga premise made highly entertaining by Kawahara's handling of the characters, particularly the romantic leads, and artwork.
Plot
Haruna Nagashima gave her all to softball in middle school, now that she has made her high school debut, she has decided to give her all for a new goal: getting a boyfriend and falling in love. However, she has one small problem—since she never paid any attention to fashion or trends in middle school, she has no idea how to go about attracting her yet-to-be-found love. But a chance encounter with the popular Yoh Komiyama provides her with the opportunity she needs. If he coaches her in how to become attractive, surely she can find herself a boyfriend.He agrees to coach Haruna after her great persistence but on one condition: she mustn't fall in love with him.
Main characters
- A high-school girl who played softballSoftballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
and was devoted to manga in middle school. She is known to be a very dense person, a personality similar to Yoh's friend Fumi. Shortly after entering high school, she becomes determined to find a boyfriend under the influence of all the shōjoShojoThe term refers to manga marketed to a female audience roughly between the ages of 10-18. The name romanizes the Japanese 少女 , literally: "little female". Shōjo manga covers many subjects in a variety of narrative and graphic styles, from historical drama to science fiction — often with a strong...
mangaMangaManga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
she reads. She accidentally meets Yoh after a failed attempt at being "picked up" by guys. Shortly after that, she finds out Yoh goes to the same high school as Haruna and asks him to coach her on how to be attractive. After being rejected, she meets Asami, Yoh's sister and they become friends. Soon, Yoh reluctantly accepts to be Haruna's coach with one condition – she is not to fall in love with him! Yoh helps her on a daily basis, with clothes and such, and even gives her advice on what to do when she falls in love with one of Yoh's friends. Haruna can be described as simple-minded and doesn't seem to pay much attention to her surroundings, though she is very kind hearted and cannot refuse anyone who needs help. Her friend once stated that she is "pure-hearted to the point of being scary".
- A "total hottie" who's in the grade above Haruna. He knows the ideas on how to impress men from a woman's point of view. Although a little shy and easily embarrassed, he represents a figure of cool demeanor, he was even once confessed to by most of the girls in his class. In the beginning when Haruna asked him to tutor her about profession in boyfriend-making he warned her not to fall in love with him or cry around him.
- Yoh's little sister. Although she's pretty and admired by many boys, she often shows her conceited side. She has a serious brother complex. She wants Yoh and Haruna to be together, but she sometimes tries to protect her older brother when she thinks Haruna is trying to get to Yoh sexually. Often, when Haruna goes to her when she's having a problem, Asami says it's going to be "fun" but quickly replaces it with "trouble". She likes Fumiya, but wanted to test him and see if he would wait forever in the snow for her. Haruna helped her notice how kind hearted Fumiya was and they have been going out. She gets angry at Fumiya when he didn't take any notice of her, even when she tried her cute poses. She has a mischievous side which can cause others trouble. (Yoh once accused her of being "mischievous and evil", her response: "No, I'm just mischievous.")
- Yoh's friend, also known as "Fumi". He's a bit on the slow side, not getting some things straight even if it is right before his eyes. His caring demeanor was suddenly vicious when women and children are being bullied or harassed. His nickname is "Sleeping Bear" which was given to him when he used to do judo.
- Yoh's friend. He has a part-time job at a restaurant, and like Fumiya, he is calm and caring (fortunately, he has some common sense and is not as dense as Fumiya). Yoh says that ninety percent of what Asaoka says is out of kindness and that whomever goes out with him would be happy because of all the kind words he says. He once went on a date with Haruna to make Yoh jealous. When Yoh finally appears at date Yui tells her that he was acting. He hides his true feelings in jokes, but when Mami tells him: "You're always deceiving yourself by passing things off as a joke, so...now you don't even know yourself what your true feelings are." :After that he told Haruna that he likes her, but she thought that he just was acting.
- Haruna's best friend since middle school. She is notably calm and collected, being able to read Haruna like an open book. Their friendship is a close one and Haruna has described how Mami first became her friend by helping her with her pitching. She has a part-time job at a video rental shop and was the softball captain of their team. Haruna often has a very high opinion of Mami believing that she is 'amazing. She describes Mami as kind, clever and calm, which is often replied to by the statement that Mami is a 'nice girl' or a 'good girl'. It has been revealed too that Mami extremely values her friendship with Haruna, even going to the extent of saying that she 'betrayed' Haruna for not believing and trusting in Haruna's pitch, which had lost them that game in third year.
- Mami has proven at several times, that she is highly perceptive, especially concerning Haruna. Haruna, in turn, demonstrates her affection for Mami by trying to help her find her own love.
Manga
High School Debut was written and illustrated by Kazune Kawahara. It was serialized in Japan by ShueishaShueisha
is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...
in the shōjo (aimed at teenage girls) manga magazine Bessatsu Margaret
Bessatsu Margaret
, or for short, is a shōjo manga magazine published monthly in Japan by Shueisha. It is targeted at girls aged roughly 12-17. It is a spinoff of the magazine Margaret.-Current:*360° Material - Touko Minami*Acanthus - Izumi Yamaguchi...
between 2003 and August 2008. The 52 untitled chapters were collected in 13 tankōbon volumes
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
. It is published in North America by Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
under the Shojo Beat
Shojo Beat
Shojo Beat is a shōjo manga magazine formerly published in North America by Viz Media. Released in June 2005 as a sister magazine to Shonen Jump, it featured serialized chapters from six manga series, as well as articles on Japanese culture, manga, anime, fashion and beauty...
label, with all 13 volumes published in English. It is also published in Italy by Star Comics
Star Comics (Italy)
Star Comics is an Italian comic book publisher born in December 1985 that publishes Italian edition of manga and Italian comics in Italy. Until the birth of Marvel Italia in 1994 it also published Italian editions of many Marvel Comics's comic books...
and in Korea.
Two sequel short stories called "Enren Debut" ("Long-Distance Love Debut"), set in the months after the conclusion of the series, were published in the March and May 2009 issues of Deluxe Margaret.
Drama CD
The series has been adapted as a drama CD released 10 June 2005. Cast:- Haruna Nagashima: Junko NodaJunko Nodais a Japanese voice actress. Noda is formerly affiliated with Aoni Production. In addition, Noda is part of the Hinata Girls and she is best known for her work in the Love Hina anime series...
- Yoh Komiyama: Hikaru MidorikawaHikaru Midorikawais a Japanese voice actor from Otawara, Tochigi who is represented by Aoni Production.He is most known for the roles of Softon in Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, Tamahome in Fushigi Yugi, Seiran Shi in Saiunkoku Monogatari, Heero Yuy in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Kaede Rukawa in Slam Dunk, Zelgadis Greywords in...
- Asami Komiyama: Rika KomatsuRika Komatsuis a female seiyū born February 25 in Kōchi. Currently, , she works for Aoni Production.-Anime:*Animation Runner Kuromi *Animation Runner Kuromi 2 *Boys Be.....
- Mami Takahashi: Sayaka OharaSayaka Oharais a Japanese voice actress. She is currently affiliated with Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society. She is a graduate of Aoyama Gakuin University's Department of Literature. Her nickname is...
- Fumiya Tamura: Katsuyuki KonishiKatsuyuki Konishiis a Japanese voice actor from Wakayama, Wakayama Prefecture. He is currently affiliated with Ken Production. His debut role was Volfogg/Big Volfogg in GaoGaiGar....
- Asaoka Yui: Akira SasanumaAkira Sasanumais a Japanese voice actor who is a member of Arts Vision.-Notable voice roles:*Crush Gear Turbo *Gundam Seed *Gundam Seed Destiny...
Light novels
The series has also been adapted as a series of six light novels written by and illustrated by Kazune Kawahara. They were published by Shueisha under its Cobalt imprint starting in June 2007.- , published 28 June 2007 (ISBN 978-4-08-601047-4)
- , published 1 August 2007 (ISBN 978-4-08-601060-3)
- , published 1 November 2007 (ISBN 978-4-08-601097-9)
- , published 26 December 2007 (ISBN 978-4-08-601120-4)
- , published 1 April 2008 (ISBN 978-4-08-601154-9)
- , published 2 September 2008 (ISBN 978-4-08-601212-6) - This is an original story, and not an adaptation.
Live action
A live actionLive action
In filmmaking, video production, and other media, the term live action refers to cinematography, videography not produced using animation...
movie of High School Debut
High School Debut (film)
is a 2011 Japanese film directed by Tsutomu Hanabusa and based on the manga of the same name. It was released in cinemas in Japan on April 1, 2011.-Cast:* Junpei Mizobata as Yō Komiyama* Ito Ōno as Haruna Nagashima* Masaki Suda as Fumiya* Rina Aizawa...
with filming beginning in October 2010 was released April 1, 2011. Mizobata Junpei
Junpei Mizobata
Junpei Mizobata is Japanese actor, best known as Saga Kazuma in Hanazakari no Kimitachi e. He also appears in the drama Akai Ito as Atsushi Nishino .-TV shows:* Detective Conan - Kudo Shinichi...
and Ohno Ito starred as the leading actor/actress.
Reception
High School Debut was among the best-selling manga in Japan during publication. For example, volumes 9, 10, and 11 all reached number 2 on the Tohan best-seller list, and volumes 12 and 13 both debuted at number 3. Volume 13 was the 34th best-selling manga volume in the six months before 17 May 2009, selling over 360,000 copies. About.comAbout.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
's Deb Aoki lists High School Debut as the best shōjo manga of 2008.
Volumes one and two of the English edition were named as two of the Great Graphic Novels for Teens of 2008 by YALSA. A reviewer at About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
named the English translation a favorite new manga of 2008, calling it "well-crafted and lovable"; a reviewer at PopCultureShock similarly described it as a series that "just make[s] you happy". School Library Journal
School Library Journal
The School Library Journal is a monthly magazine with articles and reviews for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with a focus on technology and multimedia. Reviews are included for preschool to 4th grade,...
described the series as "standard fair for younger manga readers" and "a good purchase for schools and libraries." Joanna Draper at Comics Worth Reading called it her "favorite shojo series running" for being entertaining and inventive. Otaku USA criticized the first volume for the predictableness of the story.
Kawahara's art was praised for its clean style and layout, dynamic figures, and emotional expressions, and was compared by one reviewer to Yoko Kamio
Yoko Kamio
is a Japanese manga artist and writer. She is most famous for , for which she received the Shogakukan Manga Award in 1996. Her work has been translated and distributed in Asia, Europe, and North America.-Biography:...
's.
Reviewers consistently hailed Haruna as a comic heroine and a key to the series' appeal, but Kawahara's handling of the other chararacters was also praised, particularly with Yoh and his sister Asami. They also praised Haruna's relationship with Yoh, which is presented as a pairing of friends and equals. Some critics noted that the story's initial makeover theme was more deftly handled than a short summary led them to expect, though some still expressed reservations about it.