Nusrat Jahan
Dengeki Daisy is an ongoing Shoujo manga written and illustrated by Motomi Kyousuke. It revolves around the story of Teru Kurebayashi, a second year high school girl, whose parents and brother have passed away. Teru does not really have any relatives (no appearances in the manga) and the only person who always seems to be there for her is a person going by the codename Daisy. Daisy is constantly giving her guidance and support through email or texts. Teru and Daisy have been connected to each other ever since the death of Teru’s brother Soichiro. Before biting the dust, Soichiro gave his little sister a special phone and advised her to always contact the person called “Daisy” if she ever needs any help or anyone to talk to, and that Daisy “will always protect” her.
Teru’s character is a brilliant student who studies in a prestigious high school. A while after Teru got enrolled in to the school, she was involved in a bullying incident where she ended up breaking a window. The following incident lead her to work for the school’s janitor in order to pay for the damage. However, as the story progresses, Teru starts to have feelings for the janitor who, later on revealed, is leading a double life. The troubling incidents that follow cheerful Teru are all related to her brother’s project and the Jack’O Frost virus encryption program that was developed by Daisy. An unknown organization behind all the attacks on Teru are trying to get their hands on the true copy of the “most-wanted” and lethal virus.
The manga had some of those typical shoujo manga stereotypes that put a negative impression on it for me. The bullying incident at the beginning and the predictable character flaws is something I have read in every single Shoujo manga till date. However, these seemingly minor details may not be an issue to everyone, since the target audience for this manga is probably girls in their early teens. Plus, I am too old to not be critical and scoff at every Shoujo manga. *Laughs*
I was on a Shoujo manga roll for a while and I scoured the internet and various Facebook pages for ones that would interest me. As yours truly is an aspiring programmer, she instantly liked the plot synopsis of what was listed as “hit manga” or “most popular manga” in a lot of the websites. I honestly loved the first few chapters and I thought the unique story was a bit refreshing, but as I kept reading, my opinion kept changing. And I do not mean good change.
This has got to be one of the most annoying mangas ever! The plot is great but it is very messy at times. The main foundation of the characters are great and I liked how they tried to make it seem that even the most evil of characters aren’t heartless, but the characters themselves were poorly written. Some of the characters, like the lovely Riko Onizuka required an elaborate background story which was unfortunately absent. The story itself oscillates between countless side issues that do not really have anything to do with the plot, and so it leaves you hanging. Also the fact that Teru got kidnapped every three chapters (I kid you not!) did not really help my negative views either.
Despite some of clichéd personality traits of the characters, I was particularly attracted to ‘Daisy’ as he was a rough, tormented soul who is stuck between serving a girl who is years younger than him for the rest of his life upon the death wish of the girl’s brother, and his growing feelings for this girl. Yet, despite his sufferings, he still remained a kind-hearted and dependable person. Tasuku Kurosaki a.k.a. Daisy is probably the mangas biggest selling point because he was…well, how do I put it without sounding like a hormonal teen…VERY PRETTY (You know I want to use another adjective). The manga had a few shirtless snaps of Daisy and those were great marketing ploys, I must admit (Yours truly was sold, you see).
If all the aforementioned things are not an issue for you, then go ahead and read it! It is rather enjoyable sometimes, and yours truly is just on her way to becoming a boring old woman who does not enjoy anything.
Year of Release: 2007
Age: 15+
Rating: 5/10