B.O.DY. is a shōjo romance/comedy revolving around Sakura Ryouko, an ordinary high school girl, who constantly thinks of Fuji “Ryu” Ryuunosuke, her classmate. Her friends think she has strange taste, but Sakura is attracted to Ryu's aloofness and strict personality. When she finds out he has a host club she is conflicted, but eventually overcomes her hesitation and asks him out, to which he agrees.
Highlights:
This volume didn't really stand out for me that much. The one major thing was a combination of two cliches; the former tutor who is also an ex-girlfriend comes back and makes things complicated. However, Ao Mimori is able to give these well-used ideas some interesting twists. Ryu is not at all pleased to see his ex-tutor Izumi Hirano, who has become the class's substitute teacher. He goes out of his way to distance himself from her which makes Sakura feel awkward. It's also later revealed why this was the case; Izumi had used him to console herself when she was upset with her boyfriend and, according to Sakura, this jaded his outlook on women. While Momori gives plenty of lead-up to the final revelation, it is still a rather unusual setup.
Overview:
B.O.DY. Volume 7 has largely moved beyond that point; Sakura and Ryu have been dating for some time. They have had their rough patches and are having another one with Izumi and later on with Sakura as well. Indeed, there is only one reference to Ryu's host club work in this entire volume and then only briefly. Seems like it may be time for Viz to update the back cover's brief synopsis. It makes me wonder if Momori is having a similar problem to Tsubaki in her Magic Touch manga ― the premise is not really strong enough on its own for a long series and thus the manga continues to move farther and farther away from its initial plot and setting.
Beyond Momori's ability to take a common romance cliché and twist it, the main thing I enjoyed was the omake section, responses to her letters and other comments made on the side of the pages. I particularly enjoyed her attempt at Sawako from kimi ni todoke. B.O.DY. also seems at least somewhat popular with male audiences as well, something the mangaka was pleasantly surprised at finding out from her female friends. I really can't say enough good things about these side panels and the like found mostly in shōjo manga. I wish other genres would use this. I can't think of many people who wouldn't want to hear a word from their favorite mangaka.
The artwork in B.O.DY. is, like in most comedy manga, especially shōjo and to a lesser extent shōnen romance/comedies, very light. However, B.O.DY. also has a number of darker shadings as well compared to other series like Magic Touch. It may be due to the heavy nature of the current volume. A number of the dialogue bubbles have inverted coloring ― grey background and white text. I noticed the inverted bubbles were usually in more intense scenes. I also noticed similar aspects in the way she sometimes artificially shaded characters in certain panels.
B.O.DY. is a great read for anyone who loves romantic comedies; this includes the male population as evidenced in the manga itself. Even if it's not your cup of tea, its still worth checking out as the mangaka seems to be a decent storyteller and artist.
ComicsOnline gives B.O.DY. Volume 7 3 out of 5 ex-girlfriends who suddenly return.
