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More shoujo fluff! I read volume 1 of this nearly a year ago, so I don't remember much, save that Nakajo had awesome sketches of figure skaters in the chapter breaks.

I'm also a little confused as to the status of the series. I thought it was a 2-volume series, and I'm fairly sure the Taiwan version has a "fin" character on volume 2, but Wikipedia hints otherwise.

So, Shun and Maya are working to save their rink! There is, of course, a nefarious plot against them, plus obstacles such as Maya's lack of money for a new skating outfit to surmount. Overall, nothing surprising happens, but I was still charmed by Maya's youth (she's 13, younger than most shoujo heroines I read) and Nakajo's knowledge of the sport. There isn't a ton of figure skating in here, but I enjoyed what I saw.

I think I mentioned it in my write up of volume 1, but I very much appreciate that the scope of this is so small, that it's not Maya turning into a figure skating prodigy and going to the Olympics or something. My impression is that Nakajo's figure skating fannishness works for her in that respect; she knows what's more within the realm of possibility. Although I still laughed when we find out Maya's Sekrit Power, because it wouldn't be a sports series without one!

I also found the lack of romance refreshing.

Cute but probably not interesting to people who don't care about figure skating, although it's possibly suitable for a much younger audience than some of the shoujo I read.
oyceter: man*ga [mahng' guh] n. Japanese comics. synonym: CRACK (manga is crack)
Maya goes skating in her ice rink for the first time ever, and to her surprise, she ends up being scouted! The coach who finds her wants to pair her with Shun, who used to pairs skate with his sister, but Shun doesn't think much of her.

Unsurprisingly, Maya's talent and work ethic gets Shun to finally notice her and coach her.

Like so much of what I seem to be reading these days, this is not a brilliant manga. But hey, it's about figure skating! And while I found Maya's sudden talent highly unbelievable, at least she's 13 instead of the 15 or 16 that I first thought. I'm also guessing that pairs skaters can start older since their careers don't end as quickly as singles skaters? Particularly the women.

Mostly I read this and laughed at Nakajo's illustrations of her favorite skaters between chapters, most of whom I don't recognize, with the exception of Mao Asada. I think she's been watching skating for much longer than I have. And it's sort of awesome to have a fan write about it! She's got the bit on how you have to listen to the sound the skates make on the ice (the smoother, the better), and will probably have even more to come!

Enjoyable fluff, if you're a fan of figure skating like me.

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