Kasumi is an original English-language manga

Original English-language manga

Original English-language manga or OEL manga is the term commonly used to describe comic books or graphic novels in the "international manga" genre of comics whose language of original publication is English...

 written by Surt Lim and illustrated by Hirofumi Sugimoto and published by Del Rey Manga

Del Rey Manga

was the manga-publishing imprint of Del Rey Books, a branch of Ballantine Books, which in turn is part of Random House, the publishing division of Bertelsmann. It was formed as part of a cross-publishing relationship with Japanese publisher Kodansha. Some of the Del Rey titles, such as Tsubasa...

. The first volume of the manga was released by Del Rey Manga

Del Rey Manga

was the manga-publishing imprint of Del Rey Books, a branch of Ballantine Books, which in turn is part of Random House, the publishing division of Bertelsmann. It was formed as part of a cross-publishing relationship with Japanese publisher Kodansha. Some of the Del Rey titles, such as Tsubasa...

 on July 28, 2008.

Production

As Surt Lim is an American writer and Hirofumi Sugimoto is a Japanese manga artist

Mangaka

is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...

, most of the collaboration between the two were done with "online Japanese-English translator, instant messenger

Instant messaging

Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...

, e-mail and the assistance of a bilingual translator based in Tokyo". To draw shōjo

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...

 manga, shōnen

Shonen

The term refers to manga marketed to a male audience aged roughly 10 and up. The Kanji characters literally mean "few" and "year", respectively, where the characters generally mean "comic"...

 manga artist Hirofumi Sugimoto had to study shōjo manga, especially those of Moto Hagio

Moto Hagio

is a manga artist born on May 12, 1949 in Ōmuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, though she currently lives in Saitama Prefecture. She is considered a "founding mother" of modern shōjo manga, especially shōnen-ai. She is also a member of the Year 24 Group...

's.

Inspired by Boys Over Flowers

Boys Over Flowers

is a Japanese shōjo manga series written by Yoko Kamio. It was serialized in the bi-weekly anthology magazine Margaret, which is aimed at high-school-age girls. The manga series ran continuously from October 1992 to September 2003, and was collected into 37 tankōbon volumes. In 1996, it received...

, Special A and The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross with their "exclusive private school" setting, Surt Lim wrote Kasumi with "an average girl in a high school with lots of hot guys" in mind. Both Surt and Sugimoto agree that the manga contains both shōjo and shōnen elements, like Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle

Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle

is a shōnen manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist group Clamp. It takes place in the same fictional universe as many of Clamp's other manga series, most notably xxxHolic. The plot follows how Sakura, the princess of the Kingdom of Clow, loses her soul and how Syaoran, a young...

.

Reception

Comics Worth Reading's Johanna Draper Carlson comments on the illustrator's portrayal of the male protagonist by putting an "unusual twist on the standard otaku

Otaku

is a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga or video games.- Etymology :Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another's house or family , which is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun...

 geek". Mania.com's Erin Jones criticises the manga for most of the characters being "clichéd, overly-predictable" as well as the plot that takes "too long to be implemented". 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....

's Deb Aobi commends the manga for its "clean, simple and appealing artwork that doesn't get in the way of the story" but criticises it for "the characters' occasional lack of noses", which she feels is "distracting". A later review of Volume 2 by Deb Aoki commends it by "A lot more action-packed than Volume 1" but criticises it for overusing "sound effects".