A shy middle school girl’s life turns upside down when her new plushie comes to life.
Creative Talent
Writer/Artist: Machiko Sakurai
Translated by: Athena and Alethea Nibley
Adapted by: Athena and Alethea Nibley
What They Say
Ame is a quiet and shy high school girl. Without any friends, she spends all her time with her toy collection. But one new toy – Nikori – will change her life. Nikori’s not just a cute stuffed animal, she can talk and had a mind of her own. With Nikori as her best friend and confidant, Ame’s sure to unlock her potential and become the girl she was meant to be!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Ame Oikawa is an extremely shy middle school girl. She’s so withdrawn she spends more time with her collection of toys than socializing. However, during a school field trip to an amusement park, she sees a plushie of an unpopular character get knocked down from a bargain bin. Feeling sorry for the toy, she decides to buy it. However, to her delight and amazement, her new purchase comes to life!
Immediately, the whole amusement park goes into an uproar as the plushie Nicori starts walking and talking before the astonished crowds. Camera crews burst onto the scene to cover the astounding phenomenon. Nicori, who is determined to make himself famous, soaks up his newfound attention with glee, and as Nicori’s owner, shy Ame is thrust into the spotlight as well. With Nicori in her life, the shy girl is in for a lot of changes.
In the mangaka’s closing note, she admits to being a fan of Toy Story and Pixar, and so she has made her own contribution to the world’s collection of stories about toys coming to life. Unlike Toy Story, however, her story is less about the secret lives of toys and more about what happens to a group of ordinary middle schoolers when a plushie decides to break the rules and come to life. There are two brief instances where Nicori interacts with one another plushie and a couple flashbacks of brief conversations in the Nicori plushie sales bin, but the remaining interactions in the story take place between Nicori and humans or just between humans.
The human cast of Minima! is made up of a bunch of stereotypical characters. The main character, Ame, is one of those middle schoolers who is so painfully shy she can’t speak up for herself and does not have the courage to talk to her crush. Her crush, Masahiro, is a standard bishounen, who is adored by the entire school. Then there is Midori, the classic neighbor/childhood friend who is always there to encourage and get Ame out of trouble. We also have the combination good friend/tomboy Kei and the gaggle of nasty girls that spend all their time snubbing those outside their clique and swooning over gorgeous Masahiro.
For Ame, the story is all about the awkwardness of adolescence. She’s extremely quiet and spends most of her time and effort on her collection of toys and character merchandise, partly because she loves toys and partly because they’re easier to deal with than people. However, once Nicori comes crashing into her world, she’s in for a lot of change. She winds up discovering who her real friends are and aren’t, speaking up for herself, and actually talking to the object of her crush.
As for Nicori, he’s a bit hard to warm up to. As mentioned in the ART section, he’s not that cute as far as looks go, and his personality is even more un-cute. He has severe self image issues, which manifest themselves as an obsession with wanting to be famous and adored. He is also extremely ignorant when it comes to the subtle meanings of human interactions. He talks down to Ame and her friends and treats them as if they are the toys and he is the owner. However, he eventually grows out of his selfishness as he starts to discover how much Ame cares for her toys and begins to care for her himself.
In Summary
So if you are interested in a manga about middle school social awkwardness or toys coming to life, you may want to give Minima! a try. This title is rated “teen” for a kidnapping scene, an anxiety attack, and violence to plushies.
Content Grade: B-
Art Grade: B-
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Del Rey Manga
Release Date: February 26th, 2008
MSRP: $10.95
