Unearthed this 2007-vintage draft crying out to be finished and reestablish what Here be reviews creds this blog has or ever had. I dedicate it to fellow Platinum Garden fan, natassadea.
That was back in 2006; Fujita Maki-sensei's shoujo manga concluded its Indonesian run with volume 15 in 2007.
You already know the answer.
Platinum Garden: The Lowdown
Enomoto Kazura nearly spits out her supermarket-bought ocha (that is, had she been drinking) after learning that her grandfather "bequeathed" her to a wealthy and mysterious family to pay off his deathbed debts. The settlement terms stipulate that Kazura be given over to the Magahara scion as repayment.
Understandably reluctant but alternative-less, Kazura packs bags and presents herself at Magahara Manor to honor her beloved grandfather's promise.
While a hard-labor Cinderella fate doesn't lie in wait for her, a Red Riding Hood one does: Kazura is promptly pounced on by the family's crown prince Mizuki, who tells her that she wasn't summoned to slave away at house chores. Completely bowled over by his sunny smiles and polite manner, Kazura thinks: He's a nice guy.
Still all radiant beams, Mizuki informs Kazura that she is now his fiancée and that she has to live with him from that day forward. Realizing that “fiancée” equals “a person who promises to marry somebody,” 15-year old Kazura freaks. Announcing her intention, I'M GOING HOME!
she makes a dash for it. Her handsome fiancé, however, tackles her and whispers in sinister sotto voce, And where do you think you're going?
What a disaster!
But the sinister bit doesn't end there. The trope that actually categorizes this manga as supernatural
is the Magahara clan's dark secret: the master of the family is a tamagaeshi, one who can summon back the souls of the dead. What's more, the master presently “cursed” with the resurrection gift is none other than Mizuki himself.
Platinum Garden: Thoughts and Impressions
(Focusing the fangirl discussion on volume 1; otherwise, this review will be hella long(er). Additionally, per usual, don't look for no objectivity here; my review reflex is only triggered by what I like, with the sole exception being this soonjung manhwa.)
On Enomoto Kazura
So we've met feisty commoner Kazura bethrothed against her will to almost royalty Magahara Mizuki. Despite her tumble down the rabbit hole, Kazura remains an engaging (and not just engaged) heroine, one whose honesty could perfectly fillet sushi-grade fish. Not only does she refuse to back down from slinging Pervert!
and Don't you dare run away!
insults at her new fiancé, she's also the type to freely stick her tongue out at matcha while being taught chanouyu. (It's bitter
da tte.)
Of course, Kazura's character delineation draws heavily from shoujo manga conventions, but adherence to norm doesn't detract from her heroine worthiness. Her convictions, nowhere more evident than in her decision to stay and honor her grandpa's debts (Mizuki footed all of his medical bills)—in the face of Magahara family scorn—invite respect. Emotional investment comes early in Take (chapter) 1 when she reveals a kee-YOOT!(er) personal philosophy: she doesn't believe in being picky about food, lest she be stabbed in the back by farmers who grew what's on her plate. (She sez she wouldn't blame them, were she that unreasonably food-fastidious.)
Her key charm point is her upfront warmth, and it is this characteristic that draws people—from cool Magahara major-domo Kaito to fiery kindred commoner spirit Kagami—to her. But Kazura's compassion, stemming from a not altogether oblivious understanding of what Mizuki really detests (himself for having the ability to restore people to life), is the foundation of her appeal. (I wouldn't have lasted through 15 volumes had she not had that pull.)
So as evident from her characterization, Kazura is just like other shoujo romance heroines, but Fujita-sensei succeeds in making us (me) like, if not love, her. If I had any complaint about Kazura, it concerns her character design. (You can tell this is a sticking point.) She looks like those Nakayoshi heroines with their wide faces. Not that there's anything wrong with Nakayoshi manga (I ♡ Ghost Hunt and Kokoni Iruyo); it's just that I prefer Hana to Yume and LaLa elfin.
Something “Wicked” This Way Comes... (Oh. It's only Mizuki.)
On Magahara Mizuki
Woe betide anyone who tries to deprive rich bishounen Mizuki of his prey future bride, even if it is Kazura herself. (He threatens to shoot her down if she doesn't leave her tree sanctuary in 30 seconds in the third chapter. Seriously.) But Mizuki's reasons for choosing Kazura as his fiancée, his insistence on her alone, would only be divulged after volume 1; initially, we just learn that it's some kind of rebellion against the Magahara clan that hires out his tamagaeshi power to exclusively service lucrative contracts.
Angst dogs Mizuki throughout the series and you'd be hard-pressed to see subversion of the angsty hero trope here. To say Mizuki's a complicated character is skosh generous as his complexity owes much to romance novel predecessors (unlike, say, Otomen's Asuka or Butterfly in your thumb's Tsubame). Albeit that's not his fault, mostly machinations and self-loathing at the outset thus delimit Mizuki's character growth to fitful, unlike Kazura's, whose Full speed ahead! acceptance of Mizuki proceeds as a matter of course.
So we have to settle for a Mizuki portrayed initially as a bully who would fashion Kazura into an ideal partner, enrolling her into his elite high school and wanting to My Fair Lady make her over with sadou, ikebana, and deportment lessons — and he follows his prescribed character sheet down to a T an M (Machiavelli). When Kazura tells him in chapter 3 what she thinks of his tamagaeshi gift, how it could actually gladden someone (even if it's only one person) by affording the dead and alive parties the chance to say proper good-byes, Mizuki dismisses her optimism, sneering that in his case, he would want no one resurrected and should there be anyone who would mourn his passing, he would like to meet him/her. (To which Kazura counters that at the very least, she will shed a full night's worth tears for him.)
When Mizuki displays any sort of sensitivity or weakness—such as when he tries to cajole Kazura into returning to the house with him or after collapsing from a tamagaeshi job or in trying to stop Kazura from climbing a tree because as a kid she once fell down from one—there lingers that whiff of reader manipulation. Further evidence of manipulation, or more properly, pandering/“service” comes with Mizuki's displays of jealousy (as when he It inconveniences me
confronts Kazura about her quick closeness to schoolmate Kagami).
That Mizuki is highly derivative cannot be disputed, but that's the key to his allure. He fulfills reader expectation entrenched by countless romances, shoujo or otherwise. I wouldn't brand him a cipher as he does elicit emotional investment; you want to see him redeemed, like all other 16-year-old, angst-ridden romantic leads you know.
Additionally, because he's the first of Fujita-sensei's male protagonists that I've met, Mizuki's comely chara design set the bar for Fujita manga heroes to come. Predisposed liking of Song of Love/Eden no Trill's possessive Eiri and similarly supernaturally gifted Yatou of Another Kingdom derives from Mizuki's primogeniture.
Plot, narrative pacing, art, pay-off
It's hard to believe anyone capable of resurrection; in Christian history, only one personage pulled off restoring life to the dead. That Mizuki is credible as a tamaegashi earns Platinum Garden near full marks in suspension of disbelief. Furthermore, I lurved Fujita-sensei's tweak: making Mizuki collapse—as cold as a corpse—after each tamaegashi performance, the extortionate “repayment” hinting that the power does trespass on divine province.
I would also like to commend Fujita-sensei on her dialogue-driven pacing and backstory handling. Even if we get most of the information we need in the 60-paged first chapter, it doesn't feel like an info dump. Furthermore, the clues the supporting characters leak only build up suspense and propel the narrative merrily along.
Not many (if any) surprises in the art and layout, which is just how I like my manga. Makes for easy reading. The largely subject-to-subject panels adhere to Scott McCloud's holy grail of clarity and drive the supernatural plot forward with connect the dots ease. The amount of text (refers to the Indonesian version) balances nicely with the illustrations and I have no complaints other than my beef with Kazura's chara design. To my untrained eye, the action sequences appeared believable and none struck me as awkward, which says a lot about Fujita-sensei's draftmanship. And did I say no surprises? I was pleasantly caught unawares by the appearances of Dark!Mizuki, heavy on the black backgrounds and dense tones. He gives the series that air of menace, contrasting nicely with Serious!Mizuki (despite the fine line separating the two), and throwing into relief differences with Fake-nice!Mizuki, Infrequently-honest!Mizuki, and Worried-about-Kazura!Mizuki.
A caveat for those who get into this series for the Mizuki x Kazura OTP: The kiss only comes in volume-I'm-not-telling. (You can take that to mean that unlike, say, Kaichou wa Maid-sama!, it's NOT in [SPOILER!]
In summary, not ground-breaking but still effective story-telling.
Platinum Garden: Report Card
TV Tropes points out in Emotional Torque that the overriding goal of all storytelling is to get a reaction from the audience — a laugh, a tear, a desire to change, or maybe a desire to kill the storyteller.
It continues: There is nothing more saddening than a story that gets an apathetic reaction. A story should influence and affect us. The storyteller wants to see their audience pay attention, hang on their words, and applaud with a standing ovation when it is all done.
So in spite of Platinum Garden borrowing heavily from Been There Done That shoujo stock, the cliché wrapped in conformity still works because of Fujita-sensei's understanding of audience reaction and consequent execution. Did I pay attention? Hang on to the words? Yes, for the duration of 15 volumes. Laughter? Check. Tears? Check. And despite not applauding when it wrapped, I can claim emotional investment that persists to this day. I cherish this particular descensus in cuniculi cavum.
Rating
I rate the series 7 of 10 hearts, which translates to enjoyment even on reread
~niki DBA huamulan03 (花木蘭03)
P.S. Platinum Garden is published in English by TOKYOPOP; volume 7 released 2008.08.05 (these are Amazon.com search and/or product (commercial) links.)
invaluable resource
TV Tropes
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review · manga · shoujo · Platinum Garden · Fujita Maki · Akita Shoten · Elex Media
volume 1.)