Why I love Otomen

The thing about big, goofy satire is that it can be accomplishing lots of tiny, subtle, serious things. Thank you, Terry Pratchett and Aya Kanno.

I've loved this series since the first volume; it's true, but I liked the author's other work, too (and am still bitter Soul Rescue never got to go all those intriguing places it hinted at). I think one thing that makes Otomen work so well for me is that the author is an avowed non-girly-girl who feels about all this froufy stuff the way one of the characters' manly, martial-arts-loving single fathers does (check out volume 4 for that revelation and bit of hilarity). Kanno's eye for cutesy detail and her flare for making it are all the more funny for me because I know it makes her cold, and she thinks it's all kinds of ridiculous.

It's so ridiculously over the top sometimes that you just have to say, "Oh, come on; we're not like that." Except we are, just on a smaller scale. It's that aha! moment when you realize what's at the core of the exaggeration that gets you thinking even as you're laughing.  I guess that's what separates parody from social satire? Maybe. I don't know.

I just can't wait to see if our intrepid main character gets outed in the next volume of Otomen, which is not coming out until May to my immense sadness.