Karakuri Odette
Encyclopedia
is a shōjo manga by Julietta Suzuki
that was serialized in the bi-weekly Japanese shojo manga anthology Hana to Yume
. Though Karakuri Odette is actually Suzuki's second series, it was awarded the "Outstand Debut" award in the 31st Hakusensha Athena Newcomers' Awards. The series's 35 chapters were compiled into 6 volumes
by Hakusensha. The series is licensed for an English release in the United States and Canada by Tokyopop
.
Iwasaki
Hashiba
Shirayuki Ringozaka
A-ko
Prof. Alex Owen
Travis
Grace
in Hana to Yume
in 35 chapters between September 2005 and December 2007, and collected in six volumes
. The series was awarded the "Outstand Debut" award at the 31st Hakusensha Athena Newcomers' Awards. It is licensed in North America by Tokyopop
and in Taiwan by Tong Li Publishing. Tokyopop's license for the series was accidentally announced by a listing for the first volume on Amazon.com
.
, says that while Suzuki could have made Odette very unlikable, she instead "created a genuinely likeable teen robot who is more human than she thinks". Aoki praised the series, saying that it has "more to say than just your usual "he loves me, he loves me not" drama" of most shojo series. Aoki also mentions that the lack of "usual fussy school uniforms, floral flourishes or bishonen (pretty boy) eye-candy" is refreshing because it allows for the series's "heartfelt sincerity, gentle humor and thought-provoking sci-fi twists [to] shine through." Michelle Smith of the Manga Recon part of the Pop Culture Shock website says that in Suzuki's hands the series is "positively charming." Smith also notes the plainness of the art and that sometimes the bodies are "awkwardly posed," but felt that the paneling is good. Carlos Santos of Anime News Network
also had words of praise for the series calling it a "heartwarming bit of escapism" though he does note that the lack of real scientific facts could make this unreadable for some. Santos later gave the second volume a B, saying, "Perhaps the most impressive thing is the series' ability to entertain even though it's not particularly ambitious or spectacular."
Julietta Suzuki
is a Japanese manga artist born in Fukuoka Prefecture.Her first series, Akuma to Dolce is on hiatus, but ran in Hakusensha's Hana to Yume, while her third and current series, Kamisama Kiss is currently serialed in the same magazine.-Personal:...
that was serialized in the bi-weekly Japanese shojo manga anthology Hana to Yume
Hana to Yume
is a semi-monthly Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Hakusensha.The magazine is published on the 4th and 22nd of every month. It is often nicknamed as among the readers...
. Though Karakuri Odette is actually Suzuki's second series, it was awarded the "Outstand Debut" award in the 31st Hakusensha Athena Newcomers' Awards. The series's 35 chapters were compiled into 6 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...
by Hakusensha. The series is licensed for an English release in the United States and Canada by Tokyopop
Tokyopop
Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...
.
Plot
Odette is an android created by Professor Yoshizawa. One day she asks to be enrolled in school so she can learn and understand the difference between "those girls" (high school girls seen on a TV program) and herself.Main characters
- The heroine of the series, an android designed by Professor Yoshizawa. She is enrolled into a school by the Professor after she asks to go to school. Only the staff knows that she's an android, as it is kept a secret from the students. Odette is capable of expressing human emotions and is programmed to not harm people in any way, which is the main detail that gets her accepted into the school. She is curious as to what makes her different from humans.
- Commonly referred to just as Professor. He created Odette, remodeled Chris, and is an android scholar. The Professor cares a lot for Odette and tries to make her happy to the best of his ability, giving her just about anything she wants, except a cellphone. He is a fatherly figure for Odette and Chris.
- Originally known as "Chris Number Seven" or "the bomb boy," Chris is an android created by an unknown person, later revealed to be Prof. Alex Owen. He was number 7 out of 10 "Chrises", created to assassinate certain professors. He first arrives claiming to be "sent by Professor Trout of Silicon Valley for maintenance." However, Chris was really sent to Professor Yoshizawa to blow him up, but waits with Odette, since the Professor is away at a Christmas party. Odette is kind and friendly towards him, and before Professor Yoshizawa arrives home, Chris locks Odette in the wine cellar and goes to blow the Professor up. The bomb within Chris turns out to be a dud, and the Professor tells him that he can make his own decisions, like Odette does. After the professor remodels him, Chris lives with Odette and the Professor, eventually joining Odette at school.His character is best described by a phrase that he repeats often when a choice is presented to him: "Either one is fine." In the Chapter 25 special side story, Chris number 10 was sent to kill his designated professor but he stayed with the professor's family, only to sacrifice himself to save a girl named Reina, who was the heir of a fortune, after finding out that Reina's uncle was going to kill her and blame Chris 10 for it.
Classmates
- A punk boy who is known throughout the whole school as being a holy terror. When Odette interferes in a fight and gets hit over the head with an iron pipe he takes her to the school infirmary, where the nurse lets slip that Odette is a robot. He later becomes Odette's friend and thus is at the receiving end of Chris' hatred. He is a year ahead of Odette, and has a crush on Yoko Morino. He is often the one helping or comforting Odette, even when he doesn't want to admit it. He is a different quality punk than Hashiba.
- Odette's first close friend at school, who has a chronic respiratory illness. She is in love with a boy named Okada.
- A close friend of Odette and Yoko.
Iwasaki
- A friend of Asao. He is more outgoing and talkative than Asao. He invites Odette to do karaokeKaraokeis a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
with him.
Hashiba
- A punk boy at the school. He is a year behind Odette. He is first seen in chapter 11. He is a different quality punk than Asao Kurose.
- A best friend to Hashiba. Yukimura falls in love with Odette when he first meets her, "at first sight," in his own words. He tells Odette that he likes her, in the same way that Yoko likes Okada. He is first seen in chapter 11.
- A rich girl in the same class as Yukimura. He asks her for advice in approaching Odette. Her answers show her annoyance. Odette guesses that she likes Asao, since her heart beats faster when we are talking about him. She is first seen in chapter 13.
- Yoko's boyfriend. Mentioned and shown in brief glimpses earlier. He and Yoko and Odette and Asao go on a double-date to Pixie-Land in chapter 17.
Shirayuki Ringozaka
- Rich girl isolated by her ability to hear the inner thoughts of others. After meeting Odette ("I cannot hear anything"), discovering that Odette is a robot (from the inner thoughts of the professor) and hearing Odette declare that her school is fun, Shirayuki decides to enroll in that school. After a difficult first day, and about to give the project up, she tells Odette that she has decided that she will stay in school a little longer, so as to protect Odette from being taken advantage of. Also because she needs Odette in some way. Introduced in the fourth volume, chapter 18.
A-ko
- English translation name for a fake friend hired by Shirayuki's family to accompany Shirayuki at school, to sit with her at lunch and so forth. The little sister sort of girl. Shirayuki rejects A-ko, which simply means that A-ko attends the class next door instead and comes over when she can.
Prof. Alex Owen
- Another genius at creating robots. He is self-absorbed and egotistical. Professor Yoshizawa describes Owen as a "mad scientist" to Asao. He had created the Chris series of robots, on commission, so he hadn't known what they were intended for. Or so he tells Prof. Yoshizawa. Prof. Owen wants to acquire Odette and merge her with his masterpiece, Travis. First seen in chapter 27.
Travis
- A robot created by Prof. Alex Owen, his masterpiece! They had come to Japan to find a bride for him, though he doesn't really know what a "bride" is, and he isn't much interested in becoming his "papa's", Prof. Owen's, ultimate anything. First seen in chapter 26.
Grace
- An earlier robot created by Prof. Alex Owen. His masterpiece, before he had built Travis and lost interest in her. Prof. Owen had also, at one point, promised that she would become Travis' bride. After he had created Travis he had remodeled her body and weaponized it. She typically wears an ankle-length dark skirt, a matching dark jacket and dark wide brimmed hat. Her character is rather stolid and unimaginative. Travis complains that she is boring and no fun to play with. First seen in chapter 26.
Manga
Karakuri Odette was published in Japan by HakusenshaHakusensha
is a Japanese publishing company. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo.The company mainly publishes manga magazines of various genres and is involved in certain series' productions in their games, original video animation, musical and their animated TV series....
in Hana to Yume
Hana to Yume
is a semi-monthly Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Hakusensha.The magazine is published on the 4th and 22nd of every month. It is often nicknamed as among the readers...
in 35 chapters between September 2005 and December 2007, and collected in six 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 awarded the "Outstand Debut" award at the 31st Hakusensha Athena Newcomers' Awards. It is licensed in North America by Tokyopop
Tokyopop
Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...
and in Taiwan by Tong Li Publishing. Tokyopop's license for the series was accidentally announced by a listing for the first volume on Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
.
Volume list
Reception
Deb Aoki, the manga guide on 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....
, says that while Suzuki could have made Odette very unlikable, she instead "created a genuinely likeable teen robot who is more human than she thinks". Aoki praised the series, saying that it has "more to say than just your usual "he loves me, he loves me not" drama" of most shojo series. Aoki also mentions that the lack of "usual fussy school uniforms, floral flourishes or bishonen (pretty boy) eye-candy" is refreshing because it allows for the series's "heartfelt sincerity, gentle humor and thought-provoking sci-fi twists [to] shine through." Michelle Smith of the Manga Recon part of the Pop Culture Shock website says that in Suzuki's hands the series is "positively charming." Smith also notes the plainness of the art and that sometimes the bodies are "awkwardly posed," but felt that the paneling is good. Carlos Santos of Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
also had words of praise for the series calling it a "heartwarming bit of escapism" though he does note that the lack of real scientific facts could make this unreadable for some. Santos later gave the second volume a B, saying, "Perhaps the most impressive thing is the series' ability to entertain even though it's not particularly ambitious or spectacular."