I'm too lazy to write up a summary, so I'll just quote the back of Volume 1:
"When high school girl Hatsumi has to go buy a pregnancy test because her popular sister Akane is 'late,' who does she run into but her creepy bully neighbor Ryoki! And now he's blackmailing her to become his slave! How will mild-mannered Hatsumi get out of this mess? Will Hatsumi's childhood crush (and male model) Azusa be able to save her from Ryoki's clutches?"
The series begins in a straightforward manner but quickly becomes something very, very different. There are plot twists left and right.
So far this seems like a pretty polarizing series, though. People either love it or hate it. But I'm really getting hooked. Even though I want to slap Hatsumi half the time, even a ditz like her has charm.
I just started on Hot Gimmick, and it really does have an interesting story line. I can see where it's heading generally, but I have no clue how it'll finally end up and who Hatsumi will choose to be with. Needless to say, I'm hooked and waiting for my next 3 volumes to come via mail. lol
Don't know how many volumes there'll be total, but I've read up to 9, and I really hope that Hatsumi and Ryoki end up together. He's so cute, even when he's being arrogant and commanding. I'm eagerly waiting for volume 10, which, unfortunately, doesn't come out for another month.
Honestly. Manga releases these days! Seems like it takes forever for the next volume to come out on some series.
Yea... but fruits basket releases are the worst at the moment... 4 months between volumes!!! Well i just read volume 7 of hot gimmick and so at the moment i dont want Ryoki and Hatsumi together... it's like one moment he's nice to her then the next he's hitting her on the head?!?!?! What's up with that??? Evil...
Yeah i guess four months isn't that long... but its still anoying!!!
Um... he may be getting there - but he wont go very far if he's still slapping people around the face... By the way - what's going on with the whole affair thing - is Ryokis mum involved some how???
Well, of course I finished this series years and years ago, but the ending still sticks with me... not in a good way. Meaning, I was very disappointed in it.
Spoiler:
The fact that all of Ryoki and Hatsumi's character development was concluded by sex just felt incredbily cheap to me. In the end, the character I was hoping would change the most (Ryoki) stayed pretty much consistent throughout, which was the biggest disappointment to me. I wanted him to finally grasp what being in a loving relationship is all about; I wanted him to have some kind of big epiphany that he didn't want his love life to end up like his parents', or that he wanted to create a good family with Hatsumi, or some other romantic nonsense. I wanted him to comprehend, even if only a little bit, that sex isn't the only benefit of a relationship, and thus it shouldn't be the goal.
But in the end, no. Their only sign of love is apparently Ryoki pressuring Hatsumi into sex, which is what he was aiming for the entire series.
I guess the only thing this series made me realize is that guys really are all only about sex? :S
Also, all the bullshit about Hatsumi's brother going off to be a monk is outrageous. Come on! Surely he can find happiness with some other girl, and fall in love somewhere else. Surely he doesn't have to completely remove himself from the world. It's like the mangaka decided, "Hey, let's send him off to a life of celibacy, just to make it REEEEAAALLY obvious that he and Hatsumi won't end up together!" What a cop-out!
Did anyone else finish this and have the same reaction?
