Product Description

Sachie Wakamura just lost her mother, and her estranged grandfather has shown up to take care of her. The only problem is that grandpa is the head of a yakuza gang! Too scared to join her new family, Sachie tries to continue living her normal life. She can't run far though, since one of the most popular guys in school is part of her grandfather's gang and her new protector. No one at school knows about Rakuto's hidden life, and soon Sachie finds herself falling for her bodyguard. But she's the granddaughter of Rakuto's boss, and he can never show his feelings for her. Can Sachie find a way to fit into her new family and grab her chance at love?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #303542 in Books
• Published on: 2007-12-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 200 pages

About the Author

Kiyo Fujiwara made her manga debut in 2000 in The Hana to Yume magazine with Bokuwane. Her other works include Hard Romantic-ker, Help!!, and Gold Rush 21. She comes from Akashi-shi in Hyogo Prefecture but currently lives in Tokyo, and her hobbies include playing drums and base guitar and wearing kimono.

Customer Reviews

Adorable!
For those who are familiar with the 5-volume manga, Happy Hustle High, I highly recommend Wild Ones! The heroine is anything but normal, but its still fun and full of laughter. It's about a young girl who's grandfather has taken her in since her mother is dead, and she ends up falling in love with her "guardian" -- who happens to be the most popular boy in her class! It's full of laughter and fun, and I highly recommend this manga to anyone. It also has a lot more about the traditional Japanese culture than most modern manga does, so its also really great if you are interested in learning more about traditions, and things like that!

Cute, but Not a New Favorite
This may be good for readers who are younger (say under 16) or new to shojo and manga, but otherwise it is only mildly entertaining and doesn't set itself apart from other manga series enough. It left me a little disappointed.

I liked the characters quite well, but everything moved so quickly as if the author wanted to have as much as possible happen in the first chapters and was willing to sacrifice proper time for characterization. Even the comedic elements didn't really have me chuckling, just an occasional smile if that. Same for the romance, because the characters are developed enough for it to be moving so fast.

Even though I wanted to like this (and it does have potential) I could tell I'd be selling it back to Hastings as I reached the end of the volume. As another reviewer said, it could've been better. Shojo Beat has released other, better series that I'd highly recommend over this one: MeruPuri, Sand Chronicles, and High School Debut.

Could've Been Better
I read the preview for "Wild Ones" in Shojo Beat magazine. The story is about a girl named Sachie who's mother has just died. The only person who can take her in is her grandfather, who just so happens to be a Yakuza boss. Sachie isn't too crazy about living with the Yakuza, especially since her grandfather insists that she have the moody Rakuto as a bodyguard. However, after getting to know everyone, her feelings about her new family- and Rakuto- start to change. Really, I wasn't too into the preview, but I liked the idea of a girl living with a family of yakuza. So I decided to give it a try anyway.

Unfortunately, my first impression was right. Let's start with the characters. First there's Sachie, our heroine. She got off to a good start. Her mom recently died, but she's doing her best to keep her head up. At first, she's not too happy about living with the Yakuza, but changes her mind when she gets to know them better. I thought that showed open-mindedness. Sachie also has high moral standards, and isn't afraid of standing up for them. I thought she started out as a very good heroine. However, I think she got cheated. Even though she tries to stand up for herself, she usually ends up getting herself in trouble and has to be rescued by the guy in the end. She's also a little too dramatic about her Rakuto. Then there's Rakuto, the hero. He's Sachie's personal body guard, assigned to her by her grandfather. He's the strong, easy-going-but-troubled-underneath type. He keeps his distance from Sachie, sometimes by being overly polite, sometimes by being caustic. He really likes her, but thinks his boss's grand-daughter is too good for him. Finally, there's Sachie's grandfather. I actually liked him. He's got a strong sense of honor, but he also treats his Yakuza family like a real family. He's strict, but he really cares about them. Sachie inherited her strong moral sense from him, and he holds himself to it, as well as others. There are other Yakuza members, but they can really be counted as one entity. It's a shame, because I would have liked to have seen Sachie interact with the different ones. However, I have a feeling that this will be done later in the series, so it might be ok.

Next, there's the story. The romance between the main characters is flat. Sachie is really confused by Rakuto. She likes him, but doesn't understand why he's nice sometimes, and is a jerk at others. And Rakuto is something of a cold fish. Most of the romance consists of Rakuto rescuing Sachie, Rakuto comforting Sachie, and Rakuto going out of his way to make Sachie happy. Sachie doesn't really have to do anything but be admired. It's sexist, but more than that, it's boring. There's no real connection between the two. It's kind of hard to figure out why Rakuto likes Sachie. Oh, that's right, it's because the first time they met(which was actually when they were children), Sachie was kind to poor, orphaned Rakuto. Give me a break. Not only is this insubstantial and sickeningly sweet, it's a cliche that's been done to death in shojo manga. The whole story is like that. It's pretty episodic, and all the episodes are familiar. The only one that really stood out was the part when Sachie goes shopping with the Yakuza. It was unique and funny, and I wish there had been more scenes like that.

Finally, the art. This was really the best thing about "Wild Ones." It's simple, but pretty. The characters are not too "sparkly," and they're expressive. The costumes are also well done.

Overall, "Wild Ones" is pretty average. I think the manga-ka wasted some good potential with both Sachie's character and the plot. It may still get better, but as of volume 1, I can't give it any more than three stars.