Girl Got Game Vol. 1by Alysson WyattReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 8 Kyo is in a real fix. It all started when her father signed her up at the high school with the best men's basketball team in the region ... as a boy. With a short haircut, a men's uniform, and a new look, Kyo must attempt to make it as a high school freshman on the men's basketball team while keeping her gender a secret. It doesn't help that she's forced to share a dorm with the rudest, most obnoxious member of their team. Even more frustrating is that she can't seem to make any friends when most of the girls she meets develop a crush on her. Can she manage to keep her secret from everyone while actually having a good time playing men's basketball?I don't care much for basketball. But I like my tough female characters, and this one is no exception. Kyo has some serious guts, and she isn't afraid to take charge of a situation, even in potentially violent confrontations. Of course, she has to have a lot of courage and toughness to be able to hold up in the playoffs against a team of men, most of them bigger and taller than her. Kyo certainly manages to hold her own, but the manga-ka makes sure to remind us every so often that Kyo is still a woman deep down, and she's no less the strong one for it. The art is very good, not too sweet and sappy like a shoujo (because this really isn't a shoujo after all). Both guys and girls can enjoy reading it, without having to be big sports fans. In fact, I wouldn't really call this a sports manga, because so far it doesn't seem to be about the basketball as much as about Kyo herself and her developing friendship with Chiharu. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of basketball play in it, but the plot doesn't really focus there. This series isn't a drama either, exactly, nor is it action/adventure. I'm not really sure where to place this series, but maybe that's part of the reason I like it so much. It's not as though all manga titles have to fit into convenient little categories. Sometimes the best series are the ones that cross over several genres at once. Once Kyo gets the haircut, she does look convincingly like a boy. Heck, I've seen bishonen look *way* more feminine than her, and most of them don't get mistaken for women. So why not? Sometimes the humor is situational, other times the artist manages to pull off a good laugh from readers with pictures or facial expressions that only magnify the hilarity. There's the caught-in-the-bath scene that's only inherent with this kind of story, but the way Kyo gets herself out of danger is certainly not what I expected. This book is not entirely predictable, which makes it all the more fun to read. Did I mention the editor for the English adaptation of the series is one of our very own Tarts, Kelly Sue DeConnick? She does a wonderful job on the dialogue, making things easy to follow while keeping the speech patterns well suited to each character (and no I'm not just saying that cause she's a Tart!). Excellent art + good storytelling = interesting read. You do the math. Written: January 14, 2004
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