Take a passive heroine and the difficulties of the acting world, and you get one entertaining volume.
Creative Staff
Writer/Artist: Miki Aihara
Translation: HC Language Solutions
Adaptation: Liz Forbes
What They Say
It’s only the first day of Yura’s acting career and things are already getting out of hand. Someone has ruined her costume and there isn’t enough time to find a replacement. With the director ready to roll on a promotional photo shoot without her, Yura better think fast if she wants to keep her job from going down the tubes. Can she find a solution to her wardrobe malfunction in time to get in front of the camera?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
It’s Yura’s first day on the job, and she’s already having to deal with sabotage from a jealous cast-member. She scrambles to find a solution to the wardrobe malfunction and manages to pull it off, but the trouble with her new career has just begun. A press conference reveals that her reputation as the daughter of stars had more than a little bit to do with her getting the part. Yura’s reaction is understandable, but the way she changes her mind so quickly makes her seem like she’s just a martyr. The table reading, where a rival of Yura’s mother is determined to give her a hard time, is almost painful to read because she takes the punishment that others are so determined to heap on her. And I mean that in the best possible way–the way Yura keeps subjecting herself to this whole ordeal turns the cringe-worthy moments into delightful melodrama.
But if there’s going to be drama, there must also be relationship drama, and the second volume fills the quota on that. Q-ta fills in nicely as Yura’s knight in shining armor, although his attention is shifting away from adoring her father to actually liking her. Haruka is still just confused about his own feelings, which are growing as they spend more time together on the TV project, but is never able to act on them in an effective way. Neither of the brothers are particularly compelling characters yet, and the brief glimpse of insight we get into the one-sided rivalry isn’t ground-breaking. The outcome of the love triangle is still obvious, but like Yura’s problems in the acting industry, it’s fun to see the drama unfold.
In Summary:
Yura’s continuing struggles in the acting world are, well, a little painful to watch. Everything seems to go wrong, whether it be the people she trusts most betraying her or suffering because of something her mother has done in the past. Things only get better when one of the three male characters step in to save the day in their respective way. Yura is, for the most part, a heroine who is acted upon rather than taking action herself. The few times that she does react, it’s either to run away or to give herself an internal pep-talk. Even her most impressive moment, which happens at the very start of the volume, is inspired by one of her co-stars. Maybe her helplessness is why it’s so much fun to see every obstacle imaginable thrown in front of her. I find it hard to like Yura or to root for her, but I do want to see what she goes through next. If you like that sort of thing and are looking for a new guilty pleasure, you can’t do much better than Honey Hunt. It makes me feel as guilty–and as entertained–as anything else out there.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: B-
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: July 7th, 2009
MSRP: $8.99
