Publisher: Dark Horse
Genre: Humor/Romance
Age Rating: n/a
Price: $9.95

Dark Horse Manga has a reputation for presenting high-quality, mature titles that by-and-large appeal to male manga readers, therefore, I was a little surprised when I heard of their jump into shojo with the new title Translucent. As someone who considers himself a reviewer, this adult male has read more shojo manga than most American adult males (which still isn't very many), but after reading the first volume of Translucent, the reason for Dark Horse's licensing of this title was clear.

Translucent is a very funny, touching, and real story...based on a sci-fi premise.

Eighth-grader Shizuka is a shy girl with a rare medical condition. She has "Translucent Syndrome" which means her body, literally, fades and disappears in a rotating cycle. (Once a month...for a couple days...'nuff said.) How her classmates react to this rare, but not unheard-of phenomenon is the basis of this story, and is a metaphor for the "invisibility" some students this age feel. 

But that alone isn't what makes Translucent a title worth checking out.

The six episodic stories in this first volume introduce the tale and set Shizuka in some uncomfortable situations, but it is the constant presence of the psuedo-suitor / fall-guy / comic relief in the character of Mamoru Tadami-kun that sets this manga on a different level.

Tadami-kun is one of the funniest, purest, and most real boys I have ever seen in a comic. The genre itself leans toward extremism, so to have a character this appealing who could possibly exist in reality almost throws the reader in reverse spin. You expect the unexpected, but get the most unexpected: real and believable.

How Shizuka and Tadami-kun's relationship progresses is slow, but in a good way, (they are in 8th grade, after all), and it sets the example of how Shizuka's relationships with other classmates change, despite the episodic nature of the story-telling. Unlike books where the baddies are the baddies and the goodies are the goodies, in Translucent we do see well-deserved progress.

This is a mature tale for all-ages, which is a rare treat. This is a very different title for Dark Horse, but on that note, it is a very different title altogether, and I haven't seen other stories like this. If you like school stories with an honest edge, give Translucent a try.

9.5