Shojo manga is full of bad relationships, but what happens when you combine that with one of shojo manga's fluffiest creators?
THE YOUNG MASTER'S REVENGE (Kimi no Koto nado Zettai ni), by Meca Tanaka. First published in 2014 and first published in North America in 2018.
PLOT:
As a child, Leo was forced to play with Tenma because her wealthy family owned a fancy department store and Leo's family had a clothing company that wanted to get in good with them. He mostly got dragged around by Tenma and got nothing for it but mockery from the other kids and turtle bite scars in an awkward place.
Ten years and one extended stay in the US later, Leo's family is fabulously wealthy, Leo is a handsome young teen, and he's ready to enact his revenge. His plan: seduce Tenma with sweet nothings and princely behavior, only to dump her and leave her in misery. Those plans get complicated when he learns that Tenma's family went broke and that she's ready to enter into an arranged marriage to ensure her family's future. Leo's determined that no one and nothing is going to get between him and his revenge, even if it means financially supporting Tenma, teaching her about the world, and saving her from trouble at private school.
STORY:
How do you take a series that's basically a shojo-fied take on Masamune-kun's Revenge and make it not the douchiest manga ever? Leave it to Meca Tanaka to find a way.
Tanaka is known for writing some of the most sugary-sweet shojo manga on the market, so I was legitimately curious to see how they would handle such a (comparatively) dark premise. Turns out their answer was "make it about the two dumbest kids possible and let the rest take care of itself." For example, right from the start she shows us that Leo's so-called 'revenge' mostly stems from stubborn pride and a hilarious accident that led to a mildly scarred butt. It lays bare just how juvenile he is under his suave demeanor and undermines any potential for cruelty in his actions.
It also helps that his target is completely heedless to any potential malice Tenma is no haughty princess but instead a hapless dork who is happy to be free of obligation and simply wants a friend (be it human or animal) all her own. She's so innocent that all of Leo's romantic overtures go completely over her head, and mostly she's grateful for Leo being so (literally) invested in her welfare. She doesn't even mind being reduced to a maid because she sees it mostly as a way to learn about the real world. Things don't change all that much once the setting shifts to private school, where every snotty rich kid's attempts to bully them fail due to Tenma's obliviousness, Leo's interference, or a bit of both.
Finally, Tanaka doesn't drag out the premise for too long. It's clear that Leo's resolve to break Tenma's heart is wavering with each new chapter, and his plan (and his butt scars) are laid bare by the end of the volume. With the two of them now on equal ground, the antics can continue with everyone's consent. It becomes less about revenge and more like a dare between two kids who are too naive and too dumb to figure out their feelings. It's maybe not the direction I expected this premise to take, but I have to applaud Tanaka for spinning this douchey pile of straw into shojo gold.
ART:
The art here is typical of Meca Tanaka: wide-eyed, cutesy, kind of busy (particularly during the moments of madcap comedy) but otherwise quite pleasant. It lacks the ebullient charms of Meteor Prince, but it also doesn't have that manga's more fantastical qualities to work with. That being said, I do wish they'd calm down with the screentones a little. When combined with some of the more chaotic layouts, it creates a lot of visual noise that makes scenes hard to follow.
PRESENTATION:
This manga is published by Viz. This series is complete in Japan with 4 volumes available. All 4 volumes have been released and are currently in print.
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