Penguin Revolution: Volume 1

Penguin Revolution #1

by Sakura Tsukuba

When Yukari Fujimari sees a pair of wings--indicating acting potential--on Ryoko Katsuragi's back, she sees promoting Ryo's career as a way out of her unstable life, but little does she know that beautiful Ryo is actually a boy.

Genres: Manga, Romance, Shojo, Comics, Graphic Novels, Manga Romance, Comics Manga

200 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 2005

About the author

TSUKUBA Sakura ( 筑波さくら ) is a Japanese manga-ka who currently works for Hakusensha, the publisher of LaLa and LaLa DX, both popular manga magazines for young girls.

She is best known for Land of the Blindfolded (Mekakushi no Kuni), her first published series, and Penguin Revolution, both of which has been licensed in English by CMX. She has also released numerous other one-shots, some of which have been included as bonus chapters in her published volumes.

Reviews

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this will teach me to read the summary. I fully admit, I read Penguin Revolution for no other reason than that I liked the title and the cover art was cute. Look at it! It's a wee penguin! If I had actually bothered to read the summary, I would have noticed that it's actually an "idol" centered contemporary romance manga. There are very few manga concepts that would interest me less. As it turns out, Penguin Revolution wasn't able to overcome my crippling apathy towards this sub-genre. It's just not for me. I'm giving it three stars instead of two, because the interior art really is exactly as cute as it looks on the cover (which I still love, sigh) and because I think people who like this sort of story would probably enjoy it. I'm not interested in continuing with the manga, but I wouldn't mind having a poster or something by the artist.

[Nina {ᴡᴏʀᴅs ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ} · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hesitant to begin reading this, but, now that I'm finished, I can just say this. This was totally worth it.

The Plot
At first I thought it was another Crash!-like manga, but it's not. Well it kind of is, only I think it's fair to say Crash! was like this rather than the other way around :).

Yukari Fujimaru has a magical ability to "see" talent in others. Now she uses this gift to become a manager for a competitive talent agency -- under the condition that she convinces everyone she's really a guy!
The battle is on as the Peacock agency finds itself under attack by rival Yasuoka Productions. The ambitious Noriko Kano is ready to use any means necessary to put her agency back on top, even if it means exploiting a relative of Peacock's star client Ayaori Mashiba. Peacock's President is going to have to draft Yukari into this battle to have a shot at winning this war.

Characters
Yukari Fujimaru>I like her character she's girly yet she's a tomboy. I felt even though she was the main protagonist, that Ryou and Ayaori were the main focus rather than her, which I thought was good, because I liked her character more for it. (She's definitely not the annoying kind!)

Ryou> for the easy going beautiful guy type, he's not just a Great guy but he has a personality too!
Ayaori> for the silent hot guy type, he has a great personality Lol

Supporting cast, I like them all, some of them were just weird lol

Setting
Japan, duh. But more specifically the school they go to and the Peacock Agency.

Writing/Artwork
Good overall, enjoyable. It's a light manga, even with the tragedies. So definitely a fluffy read. Though the ending kind of disappointed me, wasn't this advertised as a romantic shoujo? I mean yes there was the kiss scene but that was an accident, and yes, you see the characters full on blush, but you never actually get the final result, even at the ending...
Artwork: pretty

Overall
Good, light, fluffy read, I certainly had heaps of fun reading it. And it made me smile.

[Lord · Rating 1 out of 5]

The problem with Tsukuba Sakura is that she has original ideas but fail to execute them. Like with Land of The Blindfolded (where main heroes can see past or future), I was excited about the girl that can see "wings on people". But the story turned out to be a ridiculous teenage cross-dressing nonsense with tons of young guys with average faces that are really hard to remember. It's slightly more enjoyable than Land of the Blindfolded, but I still had troubles finishing the first volume. The art is nice but it's butchered by horrible paper and printing quality by CMX manga publisher (not a surprise here).

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is beyond fabulous. As I was reading this volume my grin just kept getting wider. I was entranced by the characters and the storyline. I feel that this is going to be an awesome reading experience.

[Skye (Skye's Scribblings) · Rating 4 out of 5]

10/14 A young male actor with enormous potential and the girl who sees it (literally, in the form of wings) and strives to help him. Boy pretends to be a girl, girl pretends to be a boy. And lots of gorgeous eye candy. Absolutely loved.

[Faith · Rating 2 out of 5]

**FULL SERIES REVIEW**

While Penguin Revolution begins decently strong with a plucky protagonist and an intriguing set-up, it unfortunately doesn't keep pace with expectations.

I will admit: idol-focused manga isn't really my thing. However, I do appreciate a good rom-com shoujo and cross-dressing shenanigans, so I figured this one would be some breezy fun. And it does have a good start; nothing absolutely memorable but very fun! The manga has cute designs, fun moments, and hints of romance, but it plays everything a little too straight and really can't figure out how to deliver on its promises and plot threads.

For instance, despite a big hook into the series is Yukari seeing "wings" of potential of people's backs, they never explain why or really do much with it other than have her comment on other people's. The backstory for our male main characters has a lot of potential, but it just got played up for drama without being fully fleshed out or explored. With the cross-dressing, I expected more hjinks and threats of being found out, but it seems like the author mainly forgot about this tension point. There is also a love triangle hint that is left unresolved and completely unsatisfactory, not to mention that the ending comes absolutely out of the blue and feels way too convenient.

Overall, the manga is fine, but it's nothing special and unfortunately disappointing. I probably won't revisit it.

[Terrence · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you were expecting a quirky, penguin filled book from the cover and title... You'll be disappointed. This is a more straight up Shoujo manga. It's rom-comedy-ish, though it never felt laugh out loud funny to me, and again, played a bit too straight for my taste.

There's a cross-dressing element to the story, though it's not as fun or quirky as So Cute It Hurts. Our heroine winds up cross-dressing as a man to serve as a manager for her client, a model and fellow classmate whom she befriends. Her becoming the manager, and her actual managing skills remain a bit of a mystery to me. She doesn't really seem to do anything very manager like in these opening chapters. She's more of a hanger on lookie-loo. About her only skill is her supernatural BS talent vision, her being able to see normally invisible wings as a sign of power level on the backs of the stars of the penguin talent agency.

It was just ok. Nothing I would want to dive into again I think, but I have volume 2 on hand, so I'll give that a look. 🐧🐧

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

The art is adorable, the characters likable, but the pacing is a mess. It's really obvious that the author was forced to shorten the story. Side characters come and go without any real arc and the main characters often take a backseat to whatever big event needs to happen to move the plot forward. There were also some plot devices that could have been completely eliminated without changing the basic flow of the story. I definitely enjoy this author's one-shots more than her longer stories.
That being said, the main character actually had a backbone, so it doesn't do as much harm as some Shojo. (Though I definitely prefer Kamisama Kiss, Fruits Basket, Gakuen Alice, and other series that have a chance to delve more into both the world and the characters.)

[Shalma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another manga from my childhood. The plot is fresh and new, and I, for the first time, discovering my type in men. Yep, the one who looks like Ayaori. I like the ending, but I don't really like the fact that Ayaori fell into Fujimari too (I hopin there's chapter when he's being bi and realized his feeling for Ryo, but we all know that it won't happened, so i guess I gotta move on)

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found book one and two at a goodwill and was not gonna pass up on cheap manga. I’d never heard of it so I was prepared to be disappointed because the back says it was about stars, I thought it would be crude or stuck up. I actually enjoyed reading it.

[R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of a fun read, I love the penguin illustrations! Not a series I'll continue though, I just don't care enough about the characters to find out what happens. Sorry Tsukuba-san!

[Fai · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is super cute... Just light and sweet and fluffy - exactly what I needed. :)

[Avi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it a long time ago and I remember liking it.

[Stephanie Jachymek · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5

[エミリア · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are a fan of an old drawing style manga, then this manga is for you. The plot is so-so but the drawing is old and not my cup of tea :(

[Larosenoire299 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really love this series. The characters, world buidling, plot.... are great. But I wonder who will the female lead will end up with. I need an extra story :<

[Emerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genuinely in love with this, it has such a comforting tone throughout the series

[Tahira · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Mosley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the story concepts to be a little wacky and yet they still came off as very basic. Not bad but nothing to write home about.

[Kitty Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Series is best described as serene slice-of-life. Avoid if you need plot more than characters and character interactions. But the troubling thing is that the characters are not really my type thusfar either. I like intense, crazy people and these guys are so mild-mannered and sweet, nary a bad guy in sight- aside from the main character’s parents. It’s a bit interesting as our heroine, Yukari, reminds me of Roald Dahl's Matilda. She is the opposite of her parents- they are uncaring, unreliable, just awful. She's been forced to grow up fast and struggles to maintain order and make something of herself/dreams of a respectable career and being a productive member of society.

Her fate is actually more glamorous than that and has her involved with a bunch of handsome aspiring young male actors. There’s no romance as of yet, just a few sweet looks and the starts of a precious friendship. A pinch of magic/fantasy here too since Yukari can see glittering wings protruding from the backs of individuals who have incredible fates ahead of them. That can also be interpreted as star quality- she can also see darker wings at times, indicating that a person may not be what they seem..

This series is much like Land of the Blindfolded so far, another series by this manga artist and one of my favorite manga of all time. That one did not hook me in at the first volume, it was around v.3 or so when I could not stop reading and was utterly smitten.

So I’m curious to see what will happen with Penguin Revolution since it is so mild as to be boring thus far. I would probably give it up now if I hadn't loved Land of the Blindfolded so much.

Some other things I should have mentioned but failed to-

*There are no penguins- at least not yet. Basically, the heroine is compared to a penguin because she’s so short.

*The two lead characters crossdress. It’s a situation similar to Ichigo Channel (not a series I was fond of, Penguin Revolution is already better than it) and stretches the boundaries of believability to ridiculous (at times tongue-in-cheek) degrees.

*The artwork is as you'd expect from looking at the covers- pretty stuff. No odd quirks and very much up to the standard of its contemporaries- though not challenging that and thus not very special. I do like the "softness" of it and appearance of textures though.

If you liked this series I would strongly recommend W-Juliet.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

(stejná recenze pro všechny díly)
Kresba byla opravdu překrásná, tento styl naprosto zbožňuji. <3 Hrozně se mi líbilo celkové vykreslení obličejů, okolí a hlavně kresba křídel.
Příběh rychle utíkal a to mi přišlo jako hrozná škoda, protože to prostě moc rychle uteklo a já si prostě chtěla užít více příběhu. Na druhou stranu je to asi dobře, neboť tam nebyl žádný moment, u kterého bych se nudila, a nebo bych chtěla, aby to už konečně skončilo.
Příběh byl sám o sobě zajímavý a v jistém směru i originální. Jen mi prostě přišlo, že se to všechno udávalo moc rychle, hlavně vývoj postav, jejich hereckých a podobných schopností. Ale nijak zvlášť to nevadilo, protože to ději neubližovalo.
Zajímalo by mě, jakým způsobem autorka vybírala styl křídel. Od těch nejhorších se to dá pochopit, ale proč ty nejhorší jsou tučňáčí? Jako nemyslím si, že by měla ukazovat lepší talent. Jen když se řekne pták, rozhodně mě jako první nenapadne tučňák. A jeho křídla také nejsou úplně typická pro ptáky. Možná to bylo prostě z toho důvodu, aby byl hned jasný rozdíl?
Jsem ráda, že si ke konci nikoho nevybrala, přestože bylo jasné, ke kterému má srdce blíže. Neboť jako obvykle jsem si více zamilovala toho druhého. A pana mistra bojových umění jsem měla také velmi ráda, ale nechtěla bych, aby s ním skončila . Hrozně se mi líbili jeho kočičí oči. Tenhle ten styl očí naprosto zbožňuji. <3
Vůbec jsem nevěděla, co si mám myslet o řediteli celé té společnosti, protože někdy se choval opravdu zle. Ale většinou s dobrým záměrem, hádám? Každopádně jsem ho prostě neměla v oblibě.
Na druhou stranu jsem měla hrozně ráda hlavní hrdinku. Byla hrozně roztomiloučká, a ten nevinný obličej... <3 A přitom byla hrozně silná... A dobrá v padání. Kdo by řekl, že umět padat je tak užitečná vlastnost? :D A hlavně při tom vypadala elegantně.
A jako kluk vypadala opravdu přesvědčivě, až to bylo děsivé. Hádám, že traps jsou všude. :D Ale jak se jí podařilo schovat její přednosti? A že byly opravdu velké.. Stačí soudit podle obličeje černovlasého, když ji uviděl nahou. :D
Většina obálek se mi líbí. Zdá se mi, že někdy ty velké výrazné květiny právě dojem z celé té obálky zkazí, protože se tam úplně nehodí. Sami o sobě ale vypadají hezky.
Dávám 78% Jazyk: Aj

[Katie (Katie's Corner Blog) · Rating 3 out of 5]

see full review @ Katie's Corner

Mini manga review here again. And this time I have a story, which just killed my “romance meter” at the end. I mean, I was okay that he didn’t really confess to her, but really after ten years you come back to Japan and you ask the girl you love to be your manager? Is it a joke or what? In the beginning I thought the translators were having fun, but I just went and looked for a raw and asked my Japanese friend to translate it for me. I got the same answer and I went ballistic.

Overall the story is pretty good with great characters and situations. The portrayed showbiz world was interesting and fascinating. There were a lot of funny moments, but I guess the relationship development sucked to the core. Okay, there were many promising characters, but still the idea of not giving a definite answer just kills the youth in our hearts.

I do hope you’ll take it up to have fun and cheer up during bad days. Have fun and stay tuned for more! Happy reading!

[Sinta Nisfuanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gara-gara punya ayah yang tidak bertanggung jawab Yukari terpaksa harus mencari pekerjaan. Beruntunglah, muncul tawaran menjadi manager dari Ryo Katsuragi, salah satu artis yang masih tergolong kelas penguin, sebutan untuk artis yang masih baru.

Kemampuan Yukari dalam melihat tingkat kemampuan artis dari 'penampakan' sayap, ternyata berhasil membuatnya diterima oleh agensi artis tempat Ryo bekerja. Syaratnya, Yukari harus menyamar menjadi laki-laki, jika ketahuan maka dia dan Ryo, yang juga berpura-pura menjadi perempuan, harus keluar dari agensi.

Selain masalah penyamaran, ternyata konflik juga datang dari sesama artis. Fukatshu, pemilik sayap besar nan indah tapi berwarna hitam ini, berusaha untuk menjatuhkan Ryo, yang dipandangnya berpotensi mengalahkan dirinya.

Satu lagi, tokoh utama bernama Ayaori yang merupakan artis no. 1 dengan sayap yang sangat indah, dilihat dari penglihatan Yukari, tapi misterius. Hanya saja, pada volume itu tidak terlalu disinggung.

[Ika Utomo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yukari Fujimaru, a 15 year old girl who have magical ability to see "wings" on the back of several people, rescued her beautiful senior, Ryoko Katsuragi from a naughty boy. Since then, Yukari found out Ryoko's secret that she actually was a boy named Ryo Katsuragi, a penguin level actor at Peacock Agency. Yukari became Ryo's manager and helped him to achieve higher level at his job. But in order to do that, she had to live in Ryo's apartment, where he lived with Makoto Ayaori, a top actor and a number 1 at Peacock Agency; his rival and friend. Then funny things happened...

Amazing story. Ryo and Ayaori are both sooo handsome....I fell instant ^_^

[C-chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is rated a 4, because it took into late in this volume or the second one for me to really get hooked on this short series. As a whole, however, it is A++++++++++++++++++ amazing.

There are several interesting characters in this series, and interesting twists that make for an ambiguous romantic setting. I will admit to wiggling like a happy fangirl at many parts, especially later on in the series.

I borrowed this from the library, but it's definitely worth getting my own copy of (if I can). I hope I can lay my hands on it sometime in the near future!

[Soobie is expired · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ho comprato questa serie solo per il titolo e la copertina.

Allora, ragazzina con un padre snaturato rimane senza casa e deve improvvisarsi manager di un idol alle prime armi che fa parte dell'agenzia Peacock. Solo che, per non ho capito bene quali ragioni, lei deve vestirsi da manager uomo e lui deve vestirsi da donna quando va a scuola.

Seguono avventure nel mondo degli idol. Non è uno dei miei sottogeneri preferiti ma i personaggi sono simpatici e lei, quando vede le ali delle persone, è piuttosto divertente.

Dai che ci mettiamo a leggere anche questa!

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A girl pretending to be a boy helps a boy pretending to be a girl become a star. Yukari can literally see people's talent in the form of wings. Now she's been drawn into the world of the Peacock talent agency as manager to Ryo, but the eccentric president of the company insists that all his employees disguise themselves in public (including at school) by cross-dressing.

Despite the somewhat ridiculous premise, this is kind of a charming series so far.

[Rena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right off the bat, I liked this story. It seems kind of cheery and magical. It is a gender-bender in both directions that I find quite satisfying. There is a legitimate reason for this, and I feel like it adds another element to the story. The two main characters are absolutely adorable, and the whole premise of the acting business is really entertaining. I am really looking forward to how this story continues to play out. I am definitely cheering for the penguin.

[Jami · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read. Yukari Fujimaru, whose mother has walked out on her and whose father is a horrible businessman, is left alone when her father looses his company again and runs away. After learning a classmate's huge secrect she becomes the classmate's talent manager and lives with him and his roommate. Now she must convince the talent agency she is a guy while keeping her secrect that she can see wings on anyone with star potential.

[Toshi_mango · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tsukuba mangaka of Penguin Revolution did a very great job on the usual clique where we see a girl dressed up as a guy. This left me hungry for more to read and wished the author continued the story. MOST FAVORITE MOMENT how the author drew the scene of Yukari being tripped.