Le Gardenie

Infobox Asian comic series
name = Le Gardenie


imagesize = 220
caption = Cover, "Le Gardenie"
genre = School, Drama, Romance
Romance = y
author = Benny Wong
illustrator =
publisher = flagicon|Malaysia Art Square Group
publisher_en =
publisher_other =
demographic =
magazine = flagicon|Malaysia Utopia
first = 2006
last = 2008
volumes = 3
chapter_list =
related =
content =
subcat = Malaysian comics
sort = PAGENAME

"Le Gardenie" is a Malaysian high school drama/romance manga created by Gempakstarz's artist Benny Wong Thong Hou. The manga was created in year 2006 and finished in 2008 in Utopia magazine's 139 issue. On June 22 2006, Le Gardenie received third place in Japan's first International Manga Award. The series is a coming-of-age tale about a group of teenagers in a secondary school which is located in a Venice-like town set in another world with fruit-based names such as Lemon, Orange and Kiwi.

The artist for this series was formerly by Ben but has been since replaced by artist Juice (Normah Noh) under the alias GempakStarz, as Ben is now working under a new company as a creative director. The company he works for release a new series of comic cum entertainment magazine titled Powder.

Characters

Orange, the main protagonist of the series. He is a sweet and shy 15-year old boy. He and his parents live in the bottom part of a conjoined house with Kiwi and her mother as their upstairs neighbor. He is Kiwi's childhood friend and classmate. He is known to have a crush on Apple. Because of his nature of being oblivious about his surroundings, he is constantly being tricked and used by Lemon who even tries to expel him from school by placing a bag filled with money for the school's fund but was foiled by Kiwi.

Kiwi, Orange's childhood friend and neighbor. She is a 15-year old tomboy who lives with her mother since her father abandoned her and her mother when she was a little girl. She is also Orange's classmate in the bottom class of their year. She is known to be protective of Orange up to the fact that she even beats up people who bullies him. She has a bitter rivalry with Lemon. Because of Lemon's dishonorable plans, Kiwi gets expelled instead of Orange when she tries to hide the school's fund money (which she finds inside Orange's locker) to avoid him from getting framed.

Apple, Orange's love interest. She is active in co-curriculum activities and also smart student. Usually she didn't bother whatever Lemon or Orange up to, but when she is involved in Lemon's party, it is all changed. She become close to Orange and lastly she realize she also had feeling towards him.

Lemon, the main antagonist of the series. She always want to make people miserable and she able to laugh at them because of it. She think Orange is her pet because of his naivety, and only use him as a tool to make other people's life miserable. Kiwi realize this and makes Lemon her rival.(And so does Kiwi) But Kiwi falls in the end because of Lemon's trick and with the help of her minions. Then she tried to trap Apple next, because she thinks Apple's life is perfect, and she want to ruin it. She is a granddaughter of school principle, and being treated like a princess in school and at home, she is very spoiled, even resorting to using her status in school for her own undesirable needs.

tory

The intro shows what happened years ago before the actual story. Orange and his family moved into Picturesque Garden Town, a Venice-like town full of canals. A young Orange, curious and excited about moving into a new environment, wanders about, and meeting an equally young Kiwi, who is interested (and a bit shy) about Orange. Later, at the young boy's birthday celebrated in his new house, he receives his new pet, a squirrel (later to be named Charmaine).Orange meets Kiwi a second time, and a new friendship is born.

Several years later, Orange and Kiwi, now adolescents, prepares for their first day in school. Kiwi had a little trouble getting up, and appears to be a tomboy as she appears in a boy's school uniform. Arriving in school, a bit late (thanks to Kiwi) the duo are eager to find out their classes. Orange desires to be placed in another class different from Kiwi, thinking her bad results and low grade will jeopardize his future to become a doctor, whilst Kiwi was more of an optimistic person and prefers to enjoy her school life as much as possible, not to study all day long. To his astonishment (and her annoyance) Orange is placed into a different class from Kiwi.

In the new class, Orange receives a nasty surprise when another girl, Apple, enters together with the school's principal. He is interested in making friends with Apple, perhaps sparking off a romantic relationship, when the principal states that there is a mix-up: Apple was to be in Orange's class, and Orange was to be in the same class with Kiwi (again!). Kiwi didn't seem to mind, though. Later, in the school's assembly, as Orange and Kiwi heads for the School Hall, they met Apple again, who gives Orange a few safety pins, much to their surprise. Orange thinks she had feelings for him... until, during assembly, Kiwi points out the big hole behind Orange's pants, revealing his boxers.Orange's feelings of joy are subsequently replaced by embarrassment and dismay.

Later, in the evening when Orange had dinner with his family, Kiwi comes to visit, inviting him to a short cruise down a canal on a gondola. Kiwi starts a conversation with Orange about his feelings towards Apple, when suddenly a chameleon from out of nowhere lands on Orange's face. Kiwi beats the reptile off, and as they approach a bridge, they met another couple on the bridge - the guy is Manggo, one of Orange's friends, while the girl's identity is unknown (later revealed to be Lemon).

The next day, Orange and Kiwi prepares for school, but Orange carries a saucepan containing the chameleon, whom he presumes it is Manggo's pet(to Kiwi's disgust). She heads off to the market to grab a bite, with Orange following her(carrying the chameleon in the saucepan). Orange met Apple again, and he tries to propose to her (she appears not to know who Orange was), and his plans are cut short when an accident involving the chameleon suddenly popping out the saucepan sends Apple leaving.

Later that day after Orange had co-curriculum activities with Manggo, in the locker room, Manggo reveals to Orange that he was secretly in love with the girl on the bridge that day (Lemon), but they broke up after Manggo shows his pet chameleon to Lemon and causing her to fling his pet into the canal, where the same unfortunate accident occurs a night ago on Orange. As they leave the lockers, Orange found a note in his locker... from Lemon, inviting him to a date in the school's compound.

An excited Orange waits in the compound, expecting Lemon to show up, but he was instead confronted by four bullies, where the leader of the bullies challenges a horrified Orange. As Orange was being confronted, he didn't realize Lemon spying on him. One of the bullies took a swipe at Orange's face, but before things could get any worse, Kiwi arrives to the rescue, kicking one of the bullies on the face and then challenging the leader. Lemon then comes to break up the fight. Kiwi confronts Lemon, feeling that she had planned the attack, when the school principal arrives. It was then revealed that Lemon is the principal's granddaughter.

After school,Kiwi did her best to reduce the swelling on Orange's face. She tells Orange on what she thought about Lemon, how she thinks Lemon is responsible for the attack, but he brushes all these aside. As she leaves, Lemon arrives, apologizing to Orange about how her note found in his locker had gotten him into trouble, and giving him a plaster to cover his bruises (coincidentally, the plaster has the motif of a lemon). She also admits the leader of the bullies that picked on Orange is her cousin, which is very protective of her, then leaves in the principal's car - the school's principal actually knows Lemon was more or less responsible in the bullying.

Next day in school, Orange attracts quite some attention, mostly because of the plaster on his face. At the same time, Manggo meets Lemon again, hoping to re-evoke a relationship with her. She only replies by telling him to find Orange. During recess,Kiwi and Orange met Apple, and then a furious Manggo that confronts Orange. Apparently there is a misunderstanding - Manggo thinks Orange is after his crush, Lemon, behind him, then calling Orange a traitor and leaving in a huff. Apple, a bit shocked, leaves as well, and moments later, so does Kiwi when she realizes he had been dishonest with her.

That night, a low-spirited Orange went out alone for a stroll, thinking how he'd lost his friend, best friend, and crush in the same day. Rather unexpectedly, he met Lemon, and she appears to be sorry for him. She also tells him how the plaster on his face was the cause of a school fight some time ago. Seeing she was in the cold without a jacket, Orange gave her his. Another unexpected visit from Kiwi comes, because she is still worried over him and considers him as a friend.

Next day in school, Kiwi decides to confront Lemon, ordering her to stop manipulating her friend. Lemon merely reply's with an insulting answer on Kiwi, and a fight nearly starts between the two girls if Orange didn't intervene. Apple is the only witness besides Orange on the fight that nearly broke out, but she left quickly, and moments later, so does Kiwi when Orange expresses more care and sympathy on Lemon.

Back in her home, Kiwi expresses her feeling to the only one she trusts - Charmaine, the squirrel. In a flashback, it appears Charmaine is Orange's present to Kiwi when they are still young, after she saved him from bullies. Kiwi fears what will become of her friendship with Orange... All appears to be lost until Orange paid Kiwi a visit, and gave her a packet of nuts for the squirrel, which she accepts.

Things went for the better the following day in school. Kiwi and Orange are close friends again. Lemon met them, and returns Orange's jacket (whom he forgot to take back two nights before) to him. While packing their stuff in the lockers, they had an unexpected guest - one of the four bullies that assaults Orange earlier - the same person who was injured by Kiwi. The bully is actually a prefect in school, and demands that Orenge follows him to the principal's office. Worried that the prefect may be one of Lemon's protege and another trap is set for Orange, Kiwi decides to keep Orange's jacket as the prefect leads him away. Feeling suspicious, Kiwi unlocked Orange's locker with the keys in his jacket.

Inside Orange's locker, Kiwi finds a leather bag, full of money. Suspecting foul play, she decides to take the money away from Orange's locker. Meanwhile, Orange and the prefect reached the principal's office. Orange finds Lemon, and Lemon's cousin that picked on him, and he is relieved to learn the principal called him because he wanted Orange to make up with the bully. But, out of the blue, the school's secretary enters, reporting the school's funds had been stolen. Because of that, all the students in the school are called to an assembly.

Kiwi, still holding the bag of money, which is the school fund that curiously appeared in Orange's locker, hides in the school's garbage disposal room, where she eventually decides to dispose all the money into a nearby garbage bin.

As Kiwi met up with Orange in the hall, the school's janitor, an elderly woman, comes to collect the garbage. The prefect who was previously assaulted by Kiwi was doing a clean sweep of the school to ensure all students are in the assembly, when he saw the janitor taking out the trash. Seeing her taking out a leather bag (the bag Kiwi had disposed) he halts the janitor and demands she follows him to meet the principal.

In the assembly, prefects are doing a throughout search on every student when the prefect led the janitor ito the hall, telling the school's staff the stolen school funds has been found. Also, a student who noticed Kiwi sneaking to the garbage disposal room earlier with the bag of money points out that she is the thief. With all evidence pointing at Kiwi as the thief, courtesy of the prefect who made up a story on how she could've gotten away with the money (perhaps he's looking a chance for revenge on Kiwi, on the kick she landed on his face) poor Kiwi had to be sent back home, while the school decides on actions they should take, whether to expel her from school or not.

Returning home, Kiwi could only find consolation in Charmaine the squirrel - Orange didn't even try to help her. For all she had done for him! However, she is shocked when she finds Charmaine motionless in her bed. The aging squirrel, her pet since she was a toddler, had died in its sleep.

Orange stayed back in school, ashamed of what had happened, how he didn't stand up for her. Lemon comes, appearing to console him. There is a rude visit from the prefect who put Kiwi into the blame, but he left when Lemon spanks the ignorant prefect. So does Orange and Lemon. Returning home, Orange finds poor, tearful Kiwi standing over a grave she had made for Charmaine in the backyard. The story ends at a cliffhanger as Kiwi glances at Orange.

equel

There is a sequel to Le Gardenie, that is Le Gardenie: Foolish Fruits, which was released in August 2007. The second story picks off after the events in Le Gardenie. On 1st August 2008, the new volume, Le Gardenie:Party of Three was released

Awards

* 2007, International Manga Award

ee also

*Fatal Chaos