Yume Kira Dream Shoppe
By Aqua Mizuto
Viz (Shojo Beat), $8.99, about 185 pages.
"They say that any dream can come true in exchange for something dear to you."
And so starts the four short stories in the manga Yume Kira Dream Shoppe. They are all loosely connected by the two characters who run the dream shop, Rin (who's gender is never revealed) and Alpha, the stuffed rabbit. Throughout the four stories, they supply the clients, a.k.a the girls who want their wishes granted, with various items that will help them achieve their dream.
The first story is about a tree that wants to become human to talk to a boy who plays beautiful music. After an incident about not talking to strangers, tree-girl gets mad and walks off. A day later, she bursts into his hospital room and tells him how his music gives her strength.
I won't spoil the end of the story, but I'll just say it ends on a caring note. Actually, all of the stories in this manga end on a good note instead of a more realistic bad one. But that's a good thing, because this is a very light, soothing manga you could just chill out with. It's not serious, there's no fighting or other violent things in it, and you don't really have to follow a continuous plot. It's just four, short-and-sweet stories.
The second story is about Noa, a girl with no friends. The closest thing she has to a friend is Alpha, the black stuffed rabbit shown on the cover. She's very shy, and has only watched the one boy she likes, Yuki, never saying a word to him. She goes home and wonders what it would be like to have friends to talk to, and Alpha hears. He makes a deal with Rin so that he can be alive for a week and help Noa build up the courage to talk to Yuki.
The third story is abut the amnesic girl Miki, who wanders to the Dream Shoppe without even knowing her own name. Rin strikes up a deal with her, leding her an hourglass so she can relive the past. She ends up dating Renji, who made her a ring. Three months after they begin dating, Miki doubts that they will ever grow closer. She ends up getting mad at him, and walking right out in front of a car.
But we aren't shown that she gets hit by the car, just her walking in front of it. Well, it turns out a few non-existent panels later, Renji had jumped out and pushed her away from it. He's not bloody or anything, just a few scratches and bruises. They both end up in the hospital, but this time they are both alive with their memories back. How is this possible?
Rin had made Miki drop the ring, which made the car veer away from the couple. This way, they are both alive, and can live happily ever after, traveling the world together. Rin gets to keep the ring, though. That shouldn't really matter to Miki, because it saved her life, plus Renji could always make her another one.
We finish off the manga with the final story centering around yet another shy girl who has a crush on a model that comes to the school for three days. She wants to befriend him, but can't even utter "Good morning!" without a crowd of fangirls pushing her out of the way. What is Koyoru to do?
Well, go to the Dream Shoppe, of course! Rin gives her the nightmare candies, which will let her appear in anyone's dreams however she wants them to look. After this, she will inherit one of this traits in real life. Sounds good?
She ends up appearing in his dreams first as a roller girl who works at his favorite café, second as a model to talk with him backstage, and last as a girl with jet-black hair who just talks with him and expresses her affection. In the end, she ends up becoming a braver person and talking to him.
Just a quick note: I don't really see anything that makes this T-rated, I'd be fine giving this to someone 10 and up. The romances aren't bad, just at the most hugs, or a silhouette kiss. But those are in G-rated stuff and Disney movies, so I think we're fine. You don't see anyone getting hit by a car either, and there is no blood, guts, anything. Viz rated this for mild violence, but I think this is still fine for 10 and up.
This is a great manga. The stories don't feel rushed for a one-volume manga, and the characters do get to interact within the plus/minus 37-page stories. It's nice to see nice art like this also. It's quite shojo-style, but if you can get over that, you'll find out some nice, charming stories about girls, their dreams, and first loves.
Art: 5 (Nice, shojo, non-smudgy, and clean. )
Characters: 4 (Because we only have about 37 pages to meet and greet them.)
Quality: 4 (For Viz, this is very good. Nice cover, and it's a bit more sturdy then their other books.)
Story: I'll just give it a 4, because they're short stories, but they're heartwarming.
Overall: 4.25
I'd give it a B+. It's a bit more creative then other stories of this type, which are the be-careful-what-you-wish-for type. Or maybe I'm just a sucker for the shoppe stories, like xxxHOLiC or Nightmare Inspector. It's not very memorable for only one volume, but it is a nice read.
I've seen people bash this story looking for something dark and wicked, but if that's what you're looking for don't pick up something with lots of color on the cover or cute characters in it. This book is cute and heartwarming, and is supposed to make you happy on the inside.
Originally published @ http://xxxprincess-cosmos13.deviantart.com/journal/25958197/
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