おはよう、いばら姫

OHAYOU, IBARAHIME

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
6
RELEASE
May 24, 2017
CHAPTERS
37

DESCRIPTION

Despite being a scaredy-cat and crybaby, high schooler Tetsu Misato finds himself working at the eerie estate on the hill, where Shizu—the only child of the Karasawa family—is secreted away. However, his friendship with Shizu quickly turns to fear when several spirits of the dead appear before him, borrowing her appearance. As he struggles to find the humanity in her supernatural condition, Tetsu must also face a question at once terrifying and heartbreaking: What if the true Shizu never returns?

(Source: Kodansha USA)

Note: Includes 5 extra chapters.

CAST

Shizu Karasawa
Tetsu Misato
Chihiro Ueno
Harumichi Komikado
Akira Misato
Kanato Ishizaki
Shinobu Karasawa
Ryou Misato
Sakura Komikado
Suzu Misato
Sanae Karasawa
Takashi Karasawa
Toru Misato

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

Shakha
79/100
An incredibly interesting concept, but the characters aren't quite fulfilling enough [spoiler-free*]
Before we begin:

This review for the most part does not contain spoilers, but assumes you have read the description -- as well as containing one detail about a character that's revealed on the second chapter

Characters & Emotional Portrayal

I'd say this story is very character-oriented; every aspect relies on the decisions of some character, which is why it's tragic to say the characters are decent for what the story aims to achieve. I specify that last part because they are actually good characters, it's just that I feel in terms of the whole emotional aspect they fall short.

Apart from a few odd exceptions (will be touched on later) I never really felt bad for any of the characters. There were times were I said to myself, "Damn," out of shock from a cold moment, but I feel like they never fully explored these kinds of moments. The thing is, the parts where I felt the most came from the notebook -- that is, Shizu talking with herself. I'll go over that a bit more in the next section, but my point is character-to-character emotional nonsense doesn't really excel -- which is all a bit tragic since a lot of the story centers on how characters feel (and no, not just the romance).

My guess as to why nothing hit me so hard is that it's a fairly fast manga when it comes to... well, a lot of character related nonsense. There isn't much build-up for certain emotional moments leading to them coming off as a bit flat. Additionally, I wish there were more moments of characters thinking or lingering on what someone said -- and no, not like those internal monologues which always finish with, "I'm gonna make 'em so happy."

The Concept

The ghosts and nearly everything related to them is definitely the strongest part of the manga for me (I REALLY like the concept). Now, about the notebook: there's something about it that really gets me. I'll skip over the minute details, but I found it to fulfill my wish of wanting to see how the characters think while also showing more of Shizu's relationship with the ghosts. It shows Shizu's loneliness stunningly -- even though it's a direct device to show she isn't alone. The unfortunate part is that it's hardly shown -- and thus, you hardly get to see how Shizu thinks. Regardless, and to extend, the ghosts were definitely my favorite characters -- I also thought it was pretty nice/cool/interesting how easy it was to discern between them all, they're all pretty distinct.

Comments

There are a few things I want to comment on but don't deserve their own section, thus they'll get compiled here
- The final volume has a very worrisome and conclusive cover, but luckily the actual ending does leave some room for the imagination! I'd say the ending was good enough
- Harumichi was my favorite character, they were fun but interesting and stayed true until the end!!
- Unrelated to the story but I don't really like the name of the manga, it's just a bit too romantic for Tetsu...
- There are so many extra panels and chapters, I wish they had just incorporated them naturally...
- This is a very minor spoiler but I loved the mini-arc where they go shopping, it was a great display of character dynamics
All Together

Altogether I think Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty is good, but only just barely in my eyes. It has an incredibly interesting concept that's done pretty well, but the characters don't relish in their circumstances and a lot of the emotional aspects come off as a little flat -- they have content, but they don't pop as much as I feel they should. This isn't to say the characters are bad, it's just that the story is so absurdly character-oriented that the bar that the characters need to pass is way higher than it would be for most. I would still recommend trying it though, it still makes for a good story and I can admit I'm pretty hard to please when I'm so infatuated with a concept.
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