By REBECCA P.

“Her whole life, Hikari Hanazono has been consumed with the desire to win against her school rival, Kei Takishima — at anything. He always comes out on top no matter what he does, and Hikari is determined to do whatever it takes to beat this guy … somehow!

At age 6 Hikari lost to Kei in an impromptu wrestling match. Now, at 15, Hikari joins “special A,” a group of the top seven students at a private academy, for the opportunity to trounce the guy who made her suffer her first defeat.”

My thoughts
Poor Hikari just can’t seem to beat her lifelong rival, Kei. Despite years of failing to beat him in anything, she continues to work hard. Hikari and Kei are the top two students at an elite private high school and belong to the top group of students known as “Special A.” All of the students, excluding Hikari whose father is a carpenter, come from rich families and strong backgrounds; sound familiar?

The first volume of SA is average to say the least, but it’s not without potential. The characters don’t stand out a lot themselves and this results in a bland atmosphere and dialogue pattern. However, Hikari is a strong character with a good head on her shoulders and is a welcome personality in the world of shojo. For Kei, I found him to be a curious character whose feelings and motives are unclear as of the end of the first volume.

Story-wise I had to laugh at Hikari. As much as she tries to beat Kei she comes up just short. Kei isn’t uncaring to her efforts to beat him and in more than one scene shows that he admires her work ethic and worries that she tries too hard by scolding her. Yet, by the same token he teases her to keep trying. By the end of the volume, the author has set the stage for a potential “thing” between Hikari and Kei, but the question is how will it develop and not become a stale romance out of rivalry.

I do have a pet peeve with SA. Every chapter begins with a story summary. This includes reintroducing all seven members of the special class and Hikari’s rivalry with Kei. It takes away from the story and quickly makes things repetitive. It’s unnecessary and SA isn’t the only manga I’ve read that does this. All it succeeds in doing is boring the reader and adding useless details unnecessary for the story or reader enjoyment.

Speaking of story, not a lot happens in the first volume. It feels as if the first volume is composed of short story shots that try to build character but ultimately create vague spots of shallow plot development. There is potential, I just don’t think we’ll see it until the second or third volume. The artwork of SA is well done and the individual characters have looks that reflect their personalities. Hikari has a determined and strong look while still looking feminine, and Megumi looks quiet yet artistic.

Overall, SA as a volume is well, average. It’s a mixed bag of shojo fun that has a lot of clichés, good artwork and room for potential. I didn’t dislike reading SA, and it can be a fun read at points, but it’s obvious the author didn’t go as far as she could have. The question remains if the author will utilize this or if SA will just become another high school shojo.