- Kare First Love
Infobox animanga/Header
name = Kare First Love
caption = Cover of the tenth volume of the original Japanese release, showing Karin and Kiriya
ja_name = 『彼』first love
ja_name_trans =
genre =Drama , RomanceInfobox animanga/Manga
author =Kaho Miyasaka
publisher =Shogakukan
publisher_other = flagicon|GermanyEgmont Manga & Anime flagicon|Canada flagicon|United StatesViz Media flagicon|FranceGénération Comics flagicon|IndonesiaLevel Comic s flagicon|Denmark flagicon|SwedenMangismo
magazine =Shōjo Comic
first = March 2002
last = August 2004
volumes = 10
demographic =Shōjo nihongo|"Kare First Love"|『彼』first love| is a ten volume
manga series byKaho Miyasaka . It first premiered in the March 2002 issue of "Shōjo Comic ", with new chapters continuing until August 2004.It has been published in English in
North America byVIZ Media .Plot
The main character, Karin Karino, is a bespectacled and shy girl who happens to meet three boys on a bus. The boys, from Takashiro (a local boys' high school), are named Tohru Ebihara and Aoi Kiriya. The boys, who are taking pictures of girls on the bus, initially make snide remarks (such as "four eyes") at Karin for her wearing glasses. Then Kiriya approaches her when he realizes that she is reading a book called "Blue", a book by a photographer named Yuuji. Karin is uneasy about the advances and starts to leave when the bus stops at the stop for Seika Girls' Academy, which is Karin's high school. Karin drops her book, and Kiriya inadvertently lifts Karin's skirt when he tries to give her book back. The skirt-lifting, combined with the fact that Kiriya still has his camera in his hand, causes Karin to think that Kiriya is "
upskirt ing" her. Karin hits Kiriya and leaves without her book.At school it is revealed that Karin has low
self-esteem , and her "friend", Yuka Ishikawa, exploits Karin for free answers to homework. Karin and Yuka later meet the Takashiro boys, and the two begin to fight over Kiriya. Later volumes focus on the romance developing between Karin and Kiriya.Characters
;nihongo|Karin Karino|狩野 花梨|Karino Karin:Karin is considered a plain-looking girl by most people, due to her wearing glasses and her tendency to dress conservatively. She meets Kiriya on the bus, and he is able to see past that to realize she is an attractive girl. Karin has low self-esteem at first and is unable to say the things she really wants to when being used by her so-called friend Yuka and say the things she really wants to say. Due to her self-image, she initially doubt Kiriya's compliments and thinks he just teasing her. Through her relationship with Kiriya, and her new friendship with Nanri she finds her self-confidence and is eventually able to stand up not only to Yuka, but to her parents about what kind of future she wants. At the end of the series, she goes to music school and marries Kiriya.;nihongo|Aoi Kiriya|桐矢 葵|Kiriya Aoi:Kiriya first encounters Karin on the bus to his school, when he accidentally pulls up her skirt while picking up a book she drops. He is eventually able to convince her that his attraction to her in genuine and to go out with him. As their relationship grows, Kiriya pressures Karin about sex, but after some arguments allows her the time she needs to get comfortable with the idea. As he lives alone, due to a conflict with his father, Kiriya works several part-time jobs in order to support himself. He loves photography, a hobby he learned from his late brother, and wants to be a professional photographer. Towards the end of the series, with help from Karin, he is finally able to get his father to accept his career choice. At the end of the series, he proposes to Karin and they marry. ;nihongo|Yuka Ishikawa|石川 ユカ|Ishikawa Yuka:One of Karin's classmates who pretends to be Karin's friend. She takes advantage of Karin's shyness and low self-esteem. When she finds out Karin and Aoi are together, she becomes enraged and does things to push Karin away from him. After Aoi rescues Karin when Yuka locks her on the school's roof in the rain, she fades out of the storyline. ;nihongo|Nanri Ayase|綾瀬 南里|Ayase Nanri:Nanri is the confident girl who helps Karin in a nonchalant manner. When Yuka picks on Karin, she defends Karin or often seeks her out afterwards to see to her. She dislike Yuka and her buddies, referring to them as "low class people." She's not afraid to speak up to Yuka or call her out when she's being spiteful. She becomes best friends with Karin. She always assists Karin when it comes to problems about her relationship with Kiriya. She also believes herself pregnant at one point but this is found out to be a false alarm. She later decides to become a translator.
Reception
"Kare First Love" was well-received in Japan, selling more than 1.5 million copies.cite web |url=http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/5026.html |title=Viz Plans Major New Series |publisher=ICv2 |date=2004-06-03 |accessdate=2008-02-29 ]
Media
Manga
Written by
Kaho Miyasaka , the first chapter of the "Kare First Love" manga premiered in the March 2002 issue of the bi-monthly magazine "Shōjo Comic ". New chapters continued running until the August 2004 issue, when the series concluded. The series was published in "collected volumes" byShogakukan inJapan , with the first volume releasedJuly 26 ,2002 . Each cover of the series alternates between Karin and Kiriya drawn in various poses with butterflies, to reflected theirmetamorphosis throughout the series. The fourth and seventh volumes were made available in regular and special editions, with the fourth volume special edition including a postcard, and the seventh including a DVD containing a digital manga. [cite web |url=http://skygarden.shogakukan.co.jp/skygarden/owa/solc_dtl?isbn=4091590152 |publisher=Shogakukan |title=小学館:コミック 『「彼」first love[特別版]スペシャルポストカードブック付き 4』 |language=ja icon |accessdate=2008-02-29 ] [cite web |url=http://skygarden.shogakukan.co.jp/skygarden/owa/solc_dtl?isbn=4091590152 |publisher=Shogakukan |title=小学館:コミック 『「彼」first love〔特別版〕スペシャルデジタルコミックDVD付き 7』 |language=ja icon|http://skygarden.shogakukan.co.jp/skygarden/owa/solc_dtl?isbn=4091590209 |accessdate=2008-02-29 ]On
June 4 ,2004 ,Viz Media announced that it had acquired the license for the on-going "Kare First Love" series. [cite press release |url=http://www.viz.com/news/newsroom/2004/06_newmanga.php |publisher=Viz Media |title=Viz Announces New Manga Releases for Q3 |date=2004-06-04 |accessdate=2008-02-29 ] The first volume was released in August 2004, with the remaining volumes released on a quarterly schedule until the final volume was released in December 2006.Graphic novel list
VolumeNumber = 1
OriginalRelDate =July 26 ,2002
OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-137064-8
LicensedRelDate =August 11 ,2004
LicensedISBN = 978-1-59116-394-7
Summary = Graphic novel list
VolumeNumber = 2
OriginalRelDate =October 26 ,2002
OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-137065-5
LicensedRelDate =December 28 ,2004
LicensedISBN = 978-1-59116-395-4
Summary = Graphic novel list
VolumeNumber = 3
OriginalRelDate =January 25 ,2003
OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-137066-2
LicensedRelDate =March 22 ,2005
LicensedISBN = 978-1-59116-701-3
Summary = Graphic novel list
VolumeNumber = 4
OriginalRelDate =April 24 ,2003
OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-137067-9
LicensedRelDate =June 7 ,2005
LicensedISBN = 978-1-59116-802-7
Summary = Graphic novel list
VolumeNumber = 5
OriginalRelDate =July 26 ,2003
OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-137068-6
LicensedRelDate =September 13 ,2005
LicensedISBN = 978-1-59116-986-4
Summary = Graphic novel list
VolumeNumber = 6
OriginalRelDate =October 25 ,2003
OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-137069-3
LicensedRelDate =December 13 ,2005
LicensedISBN = 978-1-4215-0139-0
Summary = Graphic novel list
VolumeNumber = 7
OriginalRelDate =February 26 ,2004
OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-137070-9
LicensedRelDate =March 14 ,2006
LicensedISBN = 978-1-4215-0325-7
Summary = Graphic novel list
VolumeNumber = 8
OriginalRelDate =June 25 ,2004
OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-137868-2
LicensedRelDate =June 13 ,2006
LicensedISBN = 978-1-4215-0546-6
Summary = Graphic novel list
VolumeNumber = 9
OriginalRelDate =September 24 ,2004
OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-137869-9
LicensedRelDate =September 12 ,2006
LicensedISBN = 978-1-4215-0547-3
Summary = Graphic novel list
VolumeNumber = 10
OriginalRelDate =December 20 ,2004
OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-137870-5
LicensedRelDate =December 12 ,2006
LicensedISBN = 978-1-4215-0548-0
Summary =CDs
Pioneer Entertainment produced adrama CD , nihongo|"Kare First Love Dramatic Image Album"|ドラマティックイメージアルバム「彼」first love, that was releasedJuly 23 ,2004 . The CD includes eight scenes and a bonus track covering the first two volumes of the manga series. [cite web |url=http://www.neowing.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=MMCC-4060 |title=ドラマティックイメージアルバム「彼」first love |publisher=Neowing |language=ja icon |accessdate=2008-02-29 ]Released
September 23 ,2004 , nihongo|"Kare First Love - Songs And Melodies"|彼 first love~ソングス アンド メロディーズ~ is an instrumental CD produced byMomo & Grapes . It features six tracks from Japanese artists Juli and Laynah. [cite web |url=http://www.neowing.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=ABCA-5065 |title=彼 first love~ソングス アンド メロディーズ~ |publisher=Neowing |language=ja icon |accessdate=2008-02-29 ]Neither CDs have been released outside of Japan.
References
External links
* [http://www.viz.com/products/products.php?series_id=87 "Kare First Love"] at
Viz Media
*
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