A satisfying end to a romantic comedy that was always heavy with the ecchi.
Creative Staff
Writer/Artist: Hiroyuki Tamakoshi
Translation: David Ury
Adaptation: David Ury
What They Say
Anju has always had feelings for Akira, and now she’s finally ready to make her move. The only problem is: She’s got competition. It appears that her big sister, Yurika, may be after Akira too. Wow, with two gorgeous sisters fighting over him, Akira couldn’t be luckier'”or could he? Just when things are going his way, Akira lets out a thunderous sneeze right in front of Anju and transforms into his girly alter ego, Akira-chan! Now Akira’s secret is out, and it seems only a matter of time before Anju spreads the word. Is this the end for Akira?
This is the final volume of Gacha Gacha: The Next Revolution.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Akira-kun starts his day like any other, except this time he read his horoscope. “You may lose your family jewels . . . avoid sweets . . . a rival love will soon appear . . . it may be time to close the curtain on your love life”. Like myself, Akira-kun thinks horoscopes are stupid and decides to ignore it. Only problem is, each of these predictions are becoming true, one at a time. Can Akira-kun put a stop to this prophecy before he loses Yurika forever?
A new transfer student fills the niche of the rival lover and quickly leads to Akira-kun losing his family jewels. Later, a trip to the ‘Rock Stock’ for some treats and specialty time with Yurika ends poorly (should have avoided those sweets). Now Akira-kun believes his horoscope and he is truly afraid things could get worse, so he changes into Akira-chan to get closer to Yurika. In the past, this tactic has worked wonderfully, but Akira-chan only succeeds in making matters worse.
An aspect of this story that I have always enjoyed is the love triangle between Yurika, her sister Anju, and Akira-kun, even if it never fully manifested itself. Before things can get better for Akira-kun, Anju witnesses his transformation. Instead of telling everyone his secret, which would be bad considering how many times Akira saw the girls naked while disguised as Akira-chan, Anju decides to blackmail him. Of course Akira-kun would do anything to keep his secret from the others. Unless, that means ruining his chances with Yurika, and Anju’s wish for Akira-kun to take her on a date may do just that.
The remaining chapters begin to tie up loose ends, sort of. Akira-kun and Yurika seem to get closer to really dating instead of just hanging around each other, but things become even more troublesome for Akira-kun before things end. The creators of the Gacha Gacha game, which ‘cursed’ Akira with the ability to change into a girl, have finally tracked him down. They inform him that his brain could meltdown at any moment from the stress of transforming, but they also know how to fix it. Obviously, Akira will take their treatment to save his sanity, but that means Akira-chan will have to disappear forever. His chances to see the others naked aside, he knows Yurika will be really depressed after Akira-chan disappears.
Will Akira decide to go without treatment so he can keep Yurika happy? Will he ever ‘officially’ ask her out on a date? Will Anju ever get made enough at Akira to reveal his secret?
In Summary:
As this series comes to an end at eleven volumes, I’m left feeling both satisfied with the story and the length of the series. This series could have successfully ended around volume eight or nine, but anything less would have been disappointing. Any more than the eleven volumes and ‘Gacha Gacha: TNR’ probably would have begun to feel forced since much of the funniest material can be found in the first five or six volumes.
For those that haven’t tried this series and are wondering if it is worth it, I’ll try and summarize by staying in the Del Rey catalogue. For romantic comedies, I would say ‘Gacha Gacha: TNR’ is goofier with much more ecchi than ‘Pastel’, and not as interesting as the first ‘Gacha Gacha’ series, which has completely different characters. The characters in ‘Gacha Gacha: TNR’ are much more likable than those in ‘Suzuka’, but the story is no way near as complex. I am a big fan of Hiroyuki Tamakoshi’s art style, which reminds me of American cheesecake art with its focus on depicting the girls in various outfits and poses. Personally, I have enjoyed ‘Gacha Gacha: TNR’s’ larger format size, humorous look at teenage relationships, and the sporadic nudity didn’t hurt. If any of this sounds appealing to you, I highly recommend reading the first ‘Gacha Gacha’ series (five volumes) before ‘Gacha Gacha: TNR’.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 18+
Released By: Del Rey Manga
Release Date: March 23rd, 2010
MSRP: $13.99
