In The Magic Touch Volume one, Izumi Tsubaki delivers a brand new shojo manga based around the art of massage and the odd circumstances that bring an unlikely teen couple together.
Chiaki is a fairly normal teenager - except that she lives in the shadow of her much more attractive sister, Saya, and isn't too good at math or sports...or much of anything else except massage. Even though Chiaki is known for being quiet and isn't particularly popular, she's the star of the school Massage Research Society Club. Students line up at the end of school every day just to get a massage from Chiaki. One day, she falls in love with a gorgeous back: the back of Yosuke, the most attractive guy in the entire school.
Without a second thought Chiaki asks if she can massage his back, and he agrees, but under one condition: she has to make him fall in love with her. The situation isn't as easy as it seems when Yosuke learns that his younger brother was once snubbed by a girl who is also named Chiaki.
By far the best part of this manga was the short story "Teach Me Prince," about Chiaki's brother, the so-called "prince of massage," even though it appeared in the middle of the volume instead of at the end where it wouldn't have interrupted the story. It's a little strange to me that the side story featured a character who had not yet been introduced in the main story, which led to a considerable amount of confusion about how the story related to the overall plot arc of the manga. Despite this, the story itself was absolutely adorable and features some amazingly cute moments that made it highly emotional and memorable.
Aside from this, the plot itself is decent. Even though it's highly predictable, it has some cute little moments that really hit home with me and took me back to my high school days. It also had very effective, believable comedy that made me laugh aloud while I was reading. Though it didn't have amazing character development or story, The Magic Touch has a really adorable plot that's fun and entertaining.
Article comments
1 - Alvaro
I don't read shoujo to oftenly, but since the girl in the front cover looks like the Shoujo version of Misao Kusakabe( a character from the popular anime "Lucky Star"). I'll give it a try. :)