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High School Girls © 2002 Towa Ohshima / Futabasha Publishers Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.
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September 18, 2007
by: James Jursudakul
Stories of the girls during their junior high years and the formal introductions of Himeji and Ogawa.
Manga Description: Memories! Take a walk back in time to Kouda and Eriko’s different junior high schools. We learn how each set of friends grew close together and a few of the bad-girl hijinks they were up to during their respective junior high years. They turn up the heat back in the present. With nothing to do the gang pesters Ayano and her boyfriend with a torrent of sexual questions to broaden their virgin minds. It’s the blind leading the blind in High School Girls #4.
Manga Review
Content: (This section may contain spoilers.)
The misadventures of the Moron Group continue in this fourth volume of High School Girls. This volume in particular takes the raunchiness up a notch as Eriko and the girls go through their yearly health checks in nothing but their underwear and an apron; plus, in another adventure the group learn more about the male body with Shimotakatani being used as the object of study, though much to Ayano’s dismay. Dirty jokes and situations aside (but definitely not comedy), this volume also introduces Yuma and Momoka’s elder sister Yurika. Yurika appears to be the apotheosis of a wholesome and loving older sister – so much so that Eriko even asks if she would become her sister! But when Yurika’s not in front of her husband and daughter a complete different personality emerges that has her sisters shivering in fear. Other adventures include: "Eriko Beautifying Project," where Kouda and Yuma apply their make-up "expertise" and try to beautify Eriko for her Elementary School Reunion; "Girls Only Christmas," a chapter that opens up with Yuma and Eriko bullying Ayano in front of her boyfriend, as usual, and then moving on to celebrate Christmas – with Tanabata Decorations – by throwing a party and inviting only people in the "We Don't Need Boyfriends Alliance" (aka the usual people); and in perhaps the two most interesting chapters – "Junior High School Girls (Public)" and "Junior High School Girls (Private)," two flashbacks to when the girls were still in junior high and Yuma’s first encounter with Eriko – which was actually as bitter rivals!
High School Girls Volume 4 is just as funny and outrageous as the other volumes but it’s also a particularly notable entry into the series because it formally introduces the “second-string members of the Moron Group,“ Ikue Ogawa and Kyoko Himeji, as well as feature two chapters that take place during the various character’s junior high school years. Ogawa is the cute and short girl who has had some few appearances in the previous volumes. She is the daughter a drug store owner so she usually carries various supplements, boosters, and remedies on her. She’s also quite oblivious to the perverted ways of the world of High School Girls. Himeji has had a few more appearances than Ogawa in the previous volumes; she’s the one that had set the girls up on a gokon (dating party) in Volume 2. She’s the only non-virgin of the group, and more is revealed about her character in the second junior high chapter of the volume. The "new" characters don’t take the spotlight of the volume but they do get a push into the main cast. They're definitely a welcome addition as they’re distinct and likable characters.
High School Girls © 2002 Towa Ohshima / Futabasha Publishers Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.
During the beginning of Junior High, Eriko Takahashi and Yuma Suzuki were bitter rivals.
Art: The art in the High School Girls series is fair and gets the job done. Whereas some other titles usually simplify upon the character depictions in some panels for comedic purposes, Towa Oshima maintains a consistent look in regards to the details of her characters throughout most of the manga. What’s most notable about the art in this volume of High School Girls is the author’s depiction of the members of the Moron Group in their junior high years in the 36th and 37th periods. It’s interesting to see how the girls looked three years or one year ago, depending on whether it’s the outsider or insider groups, respectively. Backgrounds are present a bit more often than not, though they’re also quite generic forgettable.
Translation: (High School Girls Volume 4 is presented in a right-to-left format and contains/retains the use of: Japanese honorifics w/o the inclusion of an honorific explanation page, and the original Japanese sound effects have been left intact with English the English-translation of the effect placed next to it.)
DrMaster Publications Inc. has done a solid effort on the translation job. Compared to the previous volume of High School Girls, there is a noticeable improvement on the copyediting, for there are no spelling/grammatical errors nor any untranslated sound effects; however, there are still three minor errors present: On page71 that last letter for Yuma’s text is off-bubble and hard to read against the dark background in the bottom right panel; on page 82 Ogawa’s off-bubble text is untranslated in the second panel; and on page 154 the labels for panties and string are incorrectly swapped. There are no translation notes present; however, on some occasions the publisher opted to place some small cultural explanations or translations of a word or section of a sentence within the same text-balloons or off panel. With that said there are a fair amount of parts where the publisher should have opted to make mention in a translation note section, or perhaps off panel, to provide for better understanding to readers who aren’t as familiar with the Japanese culture. As a cool extra, the publisher also translated and included the short and hilarious, two-page afterward manga where the girls talk about some small inconsistencies and explain why they are going through their second year of high school once again.
It should be mentioned that publisher DrMaster/DGN Production plans to put out a second-edition of High School Girls Volumes 1-6 with a retouch of the translation to correct the errors and a new cover (possibly with a glossy finish) later on, so some may be interested in picking up the revised edition. However, the price point will likely be $9.95 per volume instead of getting the first-edition Volumes 1-6 Bundle for a little over $30, which the publisher has made available. Therefore, you’ll have to choose between a lower price point or waiting for a better quality second-edition release later on.
There are some parts that could use a translation note to help with the understanding of some cultural aspects and jokes: On page 10 there should be a note that explains the Japanese penchant to abbreviate things, as with how Kouda abbreviates the word “Christmas Party“ to “Chri-Pa“; on pages 12 - 13 it would be helpful if there was a note explaining the Tanabata decorations; on the same page there should be a cultural note that explains why Yuma and the girls wanted KFC for Christmas, as well as the items she brought; on page 30 there should be notes explaining the things Ayano mentioned about the myriad of things Yuma and Momoka‘s sister knows; for chapter 36 it would help if there was an explanation as why Eriko, Yuma, and Ayano were entering Junior High School as seventh graders; on page 136 an explanation on V6 would be helpful; and on page 183 there should be a note on Chibimaruko-chan.
The Bottom Line: High School Girls Volume 4 officially expands the cast of characters, and the hilarity is as unrelenting as always. Things are a bit raunchier in this volume, but it‘s not really explicit and are still few and far between. Pick up the bundle or wait for the second-edition release in the future, but get this series either way if you’re looking for a solid comedy series and don't mind the raunchiness.
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