So I Need To Lose 15 Pounds
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November 17, 2009
by: Eric Frederiksen
Health author Shiho Torii needs to lose 15 pounds in five months. Can she do it?!
Book Description: Who hasn't worried about their weight at one time or another? This book presents an amusing new way to look at dieting. A non-fiction self-help book written in a comic format, it takes the hard issue of dieting techniques and presents them in the humorous style of Japanese “manga.”
Popular diets such as Macrobiotics, based on traditional Japanese cuisine, to way out there diets such as using experimental NASA equipment and hypnosis are tested in a 27 diet challenge. Readers can find motivation to lose weight and helpful information on which diets give the best results while laughing all the way. Written in the manga format from the country that does it best, this is the how-to comic based on one young author's struggles with weight.
Book Review:
Content: (This section may contain spoilers.) Once in a while we get something a bit out of our usual range to look at. When One Peace (you read that right!) Books asked us to take a look at So I Need to Lose 15 Pounds, I had to jump at it to satisfy my curiosity.
One of the first releases from One Peace books, 15 Pounds is also Torii’s US debut. According to the back cover, she’s a well known author in Japan, with a list of best sellers in the health and beauty categories.
More than anything, the tone of the book is what makes it work. Torii writes in a very open, warm way that comes through in the translation. The book doesn’t feel like a science lesson or a cult induction, rather more like a friend relating some of her struggles. The format reminds me a bit of Azumanga Daioh. The comics are short and cute, with simple, but expressive art.
Through the whole book this warm tone keeps the 27 different weight-loss methods the author attempts rooted squarely in reality. She is never promising a miracle, and never makes any of the varied options sound easy. In fact, I think this book will appeal most to people who have struggled with weight-loss and find themselves questioning whether it’s worth pursuing. One of the more subtle messages I found in the book is that without support, just about anyone is going to have difficulty sticking to the plan. Along the way, Torii has support from her sister, as she accompanies her on many of these adventures, and even her editor joins in (after eating sweets in front of her at the first few meetings) and loses a few pounds.
If it isn’t clear already, this book is not aimed at our usual readers. Instead, it's directed squarely at a female young adult audience. It’s clearly written for women, but that’s not a bad thing either. I think anyone could pick the book up and get something out of it, even if it’s just that ginger tea is a good way to warm up your body. If marketed correctly, the book could do fairly well here, I think.
To sort of test the waters, I had a female friend read the book, to see what she thought of it as someone right in the center of the target audience. Her reaction was largely positive and she’s even asked to get her hands on the book again once I’ve finished with it.
Unfortunately, I think that a lot of niggling little technical problems are going to get in the way of success for the book. The book is rife with obvious spelling errors. There’s even one that I’m not entirely sure is an error: The chapter on macrobiotics begins with a picture of a cardboard box labeled “Macrobiotics for Bigginners.” I’m tempted to call it a pun and leave it, but with so many other minor mistakes I can’t help but wonder. An additional editing pass couldn’t hurt. Even the cover of the book isn’t fortunate enough to escape, with the title being listed as So I Need to Lose 15 pounds, instead of Pounds.
Despite those problems, the book itself is sound. It has nice, thick pages, and has been flipped for US audiences. With the group that this applies to, that’s definitely for the best.
The Bottom Line: I have no qualms about recommending the book to anyone interested in learning about some of the possible methods available to get healthy and lose a few pounds. The errors, while irritating and amateurish, don’t take away at all from the warm humor and funny art, or its overall message.
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Content |
Honest, unique information makes this book useful to anyone looking to try dieting. |
8.0 |
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Art |
The cute art is simple and easy on the eyes. |
7.0 |
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Translation |
While most of the language flows fine, the book is filled with mistakes that should've been caught. |
5.5 |
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Verdict
This belongs on any health nut's shelf, not to mention anyone who wants to start losing weight.
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7.0
[not an average]
+ Simple, cute art
+ Great information
+ Funny stories
- Lots of spelling mistakes
- Definitely directed at women
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