Kaynil
Well-known member
[size=small]IMO Peach Girl is an a-bit-better-than-average manga and just an average anime. It is not something I would typically flock into. In fact I am kind of on the fence regarding making this thread because I don't really want to be associated with it. If I admit here that this is one of my guilty pleasures you might decide to give it a go (noooooo, don't!) and be like "What the heck? I thought you had a better taste than this!". However, being frank with you, Peach Girl is one of the reasons I was hoping for this area. It just frustrates me to the point I want to make a full rant about it. I will try to keep spoils caged but I make no promises. You read this at your own risk. [/size]
[size=medium]Peach Girl is the story of a highschool girl who because she used to swim a lot before, her hair looks bleached by the water chlorine and has a very tanned skin. Many mistakenly dismiss her as just one of those ko-gal 'easy' girls and because of this Momo Adachi has no classroom friends except for Sae. Unfortunately Sae is not the best companion as she is envious, manipulative and she usually tries to call dibs on everything else Momo happens to like.
Momo has a secret crush and is the reason she chose the school she's in. Unfortunately for her, she heard he doesn't like dark skinned girls. When eventually Sae puts her on the spot by asking who she likes, Momo in a panic (fearing that once Sae knows his identity she'd possibly covet him), decides to point at another person at random. That person turned out to be Kairi, a popular lover-boy from the school. This act marks the beginning on how her life becomes tangled in misunderstandings and drama between trying to understand her own emotions and having her classroom realise she is not the kind of girl they believe her to be.
[/size]
IN GENERAL
In general there were times in both formats where it all just felt forced and some things that were supposed to reveal deep feelings other characters had kept felt instead like they just changed their mind. Even with all these flaws the manga can be enjoyable for a good chunk of the time to the point of making you curious enough to see what happens next.
A N I M E ADAPTATION
When I learned there was a an anime version I thought that was a good thing. From the first episodes I realise they had decided to tone things down.
I still decided to watch it all because the story and characters seemed consistent. Oh, boy.
Momo's starts as a strong character but soon her life goal is just to get the guy she has liked for years. Circumstances tease them together and set them apart and before she knows it, she has accepted to give a chance to another suitor for whom she starts developing feelings for that threaten to surpass those of her original crush.
Momo feels even more ambivalent in the anime with her love, to the point that by the time when the anime tries to make the last arch of "Alright, this is definitely the guy she is choosing to stay with" you feel that she can easily change her mind in a few more episodes. It made feel like she didn't learn from her mistakes and past experiences and she only got this far because other characters walking her there and not because they fought and overcome obstacles.
They also toned down Peach brain, opting to focus more on her thoughts relating to her love struggles and at times even leaving out the rest of her doubts and arguments, so a scene that in the manga makes sense as you can understand how the character reached a conclusion in the anime version seems to just jump at it for no reason at all and it is highly frustrating. The anime cuts off a lot of the mental reasoning and scenes for other characters as well.
With the 'shock' factor of the drama toned down I could pay more attention to the overall plot, which is pretty average and could be executed better. In the anime all the plot twists it packs unravel way too fast and some don't give you enough time to soak them in.
IN CONCLUSION
Peach Girl started good and had some interesting twists, but I feel they were too afraid to deviate from the norm. It toys with the idea of consequences but never goes ahead with it. the characters are interesting but everybody holds the idiot ball way too often. The second half introduce new characters with the explicit purpose of complicating things with new triangles that don't really bring anything different nor change the main plot. The ending is bittersweet regardless on the guy you were hoping her to choose. It feels rushed and other characters are left up in the air.
To be fair, in its defense I can see that the patterns and insecurities are common traits during the teenage years. Even though it seems silly know how things get out of control because they don't communicate or trust each other as they should, that is kind of the drill growing up. Not everyone has a smooth sailing and at the time the school's world and everything that happens there is a huge deal. Taking this in account before dipping into it makes it more bearable.
It is definitely a story aimed to girls and while many say that this is recommended only to fans of the manga, I'd argue that the opposite holds true. For manga fans this adaptation can be really disappointing. Anime fans might find more insight on this story collecting the manga. The story is basically the same in both formats so if you don't get hooked in one format I'd doubt the other will change your mind.
I'll repeat myself: I don't recommend it, specially if shoujo is not even your thing, and Manga is the better version out of the two.
Kudos for reading or at least skimming through it.
[size=medium]Peach Girl is the story of a highschool girl who because she used to swim a lot before, her hair looks bleached by the water chlorine and has a very tanned skin. Many mistakenly dismiss her as just one of those ko-gal 'easy' girls and because of this Momo Adachi has no classroom friends except for Sae. Unfortunately Sae is not the best companion as she is envious, manipulative and she usually tries to call dibs on everything else Momo happens to like.
Momo has a secret crush and is the reason she chose the school she's in. Unfortunately for her, she heard he doesn't like dark skinned girls. When eventually Sae puts her on the spot by asking who she likes, Momo in a panic (fearing that once Sae knows his identity she'd possibly covet him), decides to point at another person at random. That person turned out to be Kairi, a popular lover-boy from the school. This act marks the beginning on how her life becomes tangled in misunderstandings and drama between trying to understand her own emotions and having her classroom realise she is not the kind of girl they believe her to be.
[/size]
IN GENERAL
- Momo was an interesting protagonist during the first chapters. She had no qualms standing up for herself against bullies and tell her opinions. I thought that with her special appearance this was going to be a story about learning to love yourself and be proud of who you are. Sadly as the story progressed she became annoying, in typical fashion of soap operas protagonists; digging herself into drama by not communicating clearly and believing things before double checking.
- I am attracted to cunning - manipulative characters as I want to be able to write one and in my opinion Sae delivers. For some she is far fetched but for me she is a character that can strike some chords with people who had to deal with friends or family members that without remorse toy with other people's lives for their own amusement. She is also a key character that puts everything in motion. I think even the ending is reached thanks to her.
In general there were times in both formats where it all just felt forced and some things that were supposed to reveal deep feelings other characters had kept felt instead like they just changed their mind. Even with all these flaws the manga can be enjoyable for a good chunk of the time to the point of making you curious enough to see what happens next.
A N I M E ADAPTATION
When I learned there was a an anime version I thought that was a good thing. From the first episodes I realise they had decided to tone things down.
They replaced the first condom with an unrelated item, turning a "they'll have sex" find into a "oh, so they have met each other". They don't even bother explaining when or how the item was planted.
Momo's starts as a strong character but soon her life goal is just to get the guy she has liked for years. Circumstances tease them together and set them apart and before she knows it, she has accepted to give a chance to another suitor for whom she starts developing feelings for that threaten to surpass those of her original crush.
At one point she even threatens to jump out of a window to force the guy she likes to listen and make the point she lives only for him; the witnesses acted as if this was something to admire... and this pissed me off more than it should have. It wasn't just far and uncharacteristic of Momo. It didn't just reduced her worth to another person's whims. What got me is that this was supposed to be a powerful love scene gets invalidated soon enough when as soon as she gets dumped switch guy half way the series. So much for her "my-life-in-the-line" devotion.
Momo feels even more ambivalent in the anime with her love, to the point that by the time when the anime tries to make the last arch of "Alright, this is definitely the guy she is choosing to stay with" you feel that she can easily change her mind in a few more episodes. It made feel like she didn't learn from her mistakes and past experiences and she only got this far because other characters walking her there and not because they fought and overcome obstacles.
They also toned down Peach brain, opting to focus more on her thoughts relating to her love struggles and at times even leaving out the rest of her doubts and arguments, so a scene that in the manga makes sense as you can understand how the character reached a conclusion in the anime version seems to just jump at it for no reason at all and it is highly frustrating. The anime cuts off a lot of the mental reasoning and scenes for other characters as well.
With the 'shock' factor of the drama toned down I could pay more attention to the overall plot, which is pretty average and could be executed better. In the anime all the plot twists it packs unravel way too fast and some don't give you enough time to soak them in.
For example, at some point Momo is abducted by some famous model. She doesn't care about him but somehow she wakes up in a hotel room to learn from him that they just had a candid night with consensual sex, with proof just there in the bin. This is a big deal and Momo has self-worth and self-blame issues afterwards, before it is revealed that actually it was just a cruel prank. The "used" condom had just been filled with shampoo. In the Anime they kill the surprise and make you know straight that she is just being misled. The scare pass and Momo doesn't even has the time to reflect on what happen, bring on what's next!
IN CONCLUSION
Peach Girl started good and had some interesting twists, but I feel they were too afraid to deviate from the norm. It toys with the idea of consequences but never goes ahead with it. the characters are interesting but everybody holds the idiot ball way too often. The second half introduce new characters with the explicit purpose of complicating things with new triangles that don't really bring anything different nor change the main plot. The ending is bittersweet regardless on the guy you were hoping her to choose. It feels rushed and other characters are left up in the air.
To be fair, in its defense I can see that the patterns and insecurities are common traits during the teenage years. Even though it seems silly know how things get out of control because they don't communicate or trust each other as they should, that is kind of the drill growing up. Not everyone has a smooth sailing and at the time the school's world and everything that happens there is a huge deal. Taking this in account before dipping into it makes it more bearable.
It is definitely a story aimed to girls and while many say that this is recommended only to fans of the manga, I'd argue that the opposite holds true. For manga fans this adaptation can be really disappointing. Anime fans might find more insight on this story collecting the manga. The story is basically the same in both formats so if you don't get hooked in one format I'd doubt the other will change your mind.
I'll repeat myself: I don't recommend it, specially if shoujo is not even your thing, and Manga is the better version out of the two.
Kudos for reading or at least skimming through it.
