Kare First Love

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Kare First Love
Image:Kare First Love - Volume 10.jpg
Cover of the tenth volume of the original Japanese release, showing Karin and Kiriya
『彼』first love
Genre Drama, Romance
Manga
Author Kaho Miyasaka
Publisher Shogakukan
Demographic Shōjo
Magazine Shōjo Comic
Original run March 2002 – August 2004
Volumes 10

Kare First Love (『彼』first love?) is a ten volume manga series by Kaho Miyasaka. It first premiered in the March 2002 issue of Shōjo Comic, with new chapters continuing until August 2004.

It has been published in English in North America by VIZ Media.

Contents

[edit] Plot

The main character, Karin Karino, is a bespectacled and shy girl who happens to meet three boys on a bus. The boys, from Takashiro (a local boys' high school), are named Tohru Ebihara and Aoi Kiriya. The boys, who are taking pictures of girls on the bus, initially make snide remarks (such as "four eyes") at Karin for her wearing glasses. Then Kiriya approaches her when he realizes that she is reading a book called Blue, a book by a photographer named Yuuji. Karin is uneasy about the advances and starts to leave when the bus stops at the stop for Seika Girls' Academy, which is Karin's high school. Karin drops her book, and Kiriya inadvertently lifts Karin's skirt when he tries to give her book back. The skirt-lifting, combined with the fact that Kiriya still has his camera in his hand, causes Karin to think that Kiriya is "upskirting" her. Karin hits Kiriya and leaves without her book.

At school it is revealed that Karin has low self-esteem, and her "friend", Yuka Ishikawa, exploits Karin for free answers to homework. Karin and Yuka later meet the Takashiro boys, and the two begin to fight over Kiriya. Later volumes focus on the romance developing between Karin and Kiriya.

[edit] Characters

Karin Karino (狩野 花梨 Karino Karin?)
Karin is considered a plain-looking girl by most people, due to her wearing glasses and her tendency to dress conservatively. She meets Kiriya on the bus, and he is able to see past that to realize she is an attractive girl. Karin has low self-esteem at first and is unable to say the things she really wants to when being used by her so-called friend Yuka and say the things she really wants to say. Due to her self-image, she initially doubt Kiriya's compliments and thinks he just teasing her. Through her relationship with Kiriya, and her new friendship with Nanri she finds her self-confidence and is eventually able to stand up not only to Yuka, but to her parents about what kind of future she wants. At the end of the series, she goes to music school and marries Kiriya.
Aoi Kiriya (桐矢 葵 Kiriya Aoi?)
Kiriya first encounters Karin on the bus to his school, when he accidentally pulls up her skirt while picking up a book she drops. He is eventually able to convince her that his attraction to her in genuine and to go out with him. As their relationship grows, Kiriya pressures Karin about sex, but after some arguments allows her the time she needs to get comfortable with the idea. As he lives alone, due to a conflict with his father, Kiriya works several part-time jobs in order to support himself. He loves photography, a hobby he learned from his late brother, and wants to be a professional photographer. Towards the end of the series, with help from Karin, he is finally able to get his father to accept his career choice. At the end of the series, he proposes to Karin and they marry.
Yuka Ishikawa (石川 ユカ Ishikawa Yuka?)
One of Karin's classmates who pretends to be Karin's friend. She takes advantage of Karin's shyness and low self-esteem. When she finds out Karin and Aoi are together, she becomes enraged and does things to push Karin away from him. After Aoi rescues Karin when Yuka locks her on the school's roof in the rain, she fades out of the storyline.
Nanri Ayase (綾瀬 南里 Ayase Nanri?)
Nanri is the confident girl who helps Karin in a nonchalant manner. When Yuka picks on Karin, she defends Karin or often seeks her out afterwards to see to her. She dislike Yuka and her buddies, referring to them as "low class people." She's not afraid to speak up to Yuka or call her out when she's being spiteful. She becomes best friends with Karin. She always assists Karin when it comes to problems about her relationship with Kiriya. She later decides to become a translator.

[edit] Reception

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Kare First Love was well-received in Japan, selling more than 1.5 million copies.[1]

[edit] Media

[edit] Manga

Written by Kaho Miyasaka, the first chapter of the Kare First Love manga premiered in the March 2002 issue of the bi-monthly magazine Shōjo Comic. New chapters continued running until the August 2004 issue, when the series concluded. The series was published in collected volumes by Shogakukan in Japan, with the first volume released July 26, 2002. Each cover of the series alternates between Karin and Kiriya drawn in various poses with butterflies, to reflected their metamorphosis throughout the series. The fourth and seventh volumes were made available in regular and special editions, with the fourth volume special edition including a postcard, and the seventh including a DVD containing a digital manga.[2][3]

On June 4, 2004, Viz Media announced that it had acquired the license for the on-going Kare First Love series.[4] The first volume was released in August 2004, with the remaining volumes released on a quarterly schedule until the final volume was released in December 2006.

# Original English
Release date ISBN Release date ISBN
1 July 26, 2002 ISBN 978-4-09-137064-8 August 11, 2004 ISBN 978-1-59116-394-7
2 October 26, 2002 ISBN 978-4-09-137065-5 December 28, 2004 ISBN 978-1-59116-395-4
3 January 25, 2003 ISBN 978-4-09-137066-2 March 22, 2005 ISBN 978-1-59116-701-3
4 April 24, 2003 ISBN 978-4-09-137067-9 June 7, 2005 ISBN 978-1-59116-802-7
5 July 26, 2003 ISBN 978-4-09-137068-6 September 13, 2005 ISBN 978-1-59116-986-4
6 October 25, 2003 ISBN 978-4-09-137069-3 December 13, 2005 ISBN 978-1-4215-0139-0
7 February 26, 2004 ISBN 978-4-09-137070-9 March 14, 2006 ISBN 978-1-4215-0325-7
8 June 25, 2004 ISBN 978-4-09-137868-2 June 13, 2006 ISBN 978-1-4215-0546-6
9 September 24, 2004 ISBN 978-4-09-137869-9 September 12, 2006 ISBN 978-1-4215-0547-3
10 December 20, 2004 ISBN 978-4-09-137870-5 December 12, 2006 ISBN 978-1-4215-0548-0

[edit] CDs

Cover of the Kare First Love drama CD
Cover of the Kare First Love drama CD

Pioneer Entertainment produced a drama CD, Kare First Love Dramatic Image Album (ドラマティックイメージアルバム「彼」first love?), that was released July 23, 2004. The CD includes eight scenes and a bonus track covering the first two volumes of the manga series.[5]

Released September 23, 2004, Kare First Love - Songs And Melodies (彼 first love～ソングス アンド メロディーズ～?) is an instrumental CD produced by Momo & Grapes. It features six tracks from Japanese artists Juli and Laynah.[6]

Neither CDs have been released outside of Japan.


[edit] References

  1. ^ Viz Plans Major New Series. ICv2 (2004-06-03). Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
  2. ^ 小学館：コミック 『「彼」first love［特別版］スペシャルポストカードブック付き 4』 ((Japanese)). Shogakukan. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
  3. ^ 小学館：コミック 『「彼」first love〔特別版〕スペシャルデジタルコミックDVD付き 7』 ((Japanese)). Shogakukan. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
  4. ^ Viz Media (2004-06-04). "Viz Announces New Manga Releases for Q3". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
  5. ^ ドラマティックイメージアルバム「彼」first love ((Japanese)). Neowing. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
  6. ^ 彼 first love～ソングス アンド メロディーズ～ ((Japanese)). Neowing. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.

[edit] External links

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