Title: Hits and Misses #1
Author: Realbuzz Studios
Publisher: Realbuzz Studios
Copyright: January 1, 2007
ISBN: 1597895695
Pages: 128
Price: $4.97
Rating: 5
Synopsis:
Book Description
Marywood provides a good, Christian education for girls but a greedy lawyer threatens the school's existence. To maintain its trust fund income, Marywood must field a softball team but a careless comment by their new coach commits the team to winning the league championship! Can twelve mismatched girls steadfast Bobbi, bubbly Cathy, rebellious Sugar, snobby Vanessa, brainy Lauri, fretful Victoria, and others become champions to save their school? This first installment of the Hits & Misses series follows traditional manga style with black-and-white artwork. It promises great fun for late elementary to tweenage girls and shows how important love, loyalty, and faith are to success in life.
Review:
Pros
The art is very clean, sharp and the sequential are also very easy to follow as well. I know that doesn't sound like high praise at first, but when you have such a large cast (an entire softball team of girls) in the book, cluttered pages are a book's worst enemy. Also the pacing is very steady, which again is a good thing considering the amount of characters involved. The story is fairly upbeat without feeling too "preachy" or condescending to young readers. All the characters are "in character" for the plot and setting, so you never find yourself being pulled out of the story because the suspension of disbelief was ruined.
Cons
The art and the characters are a bit too simple. At time it became hard to keep track of who was how or even worse to even care who was who. Just because the book if for children doesn't mean the art and story can be "less" than what an adult reads. Considering how much they did do in the book, I'm disappointed that they just didn't do the extra work and make this book better. It could easily be a book for kids and adults, but the book is very specifically catering (pandering) to an certain group. Maybe I'm just annoyed that I see potential and the book stops way short that potential.
A complaint of mine of the plot is that the Administrators actively lie about the situation in the school. Considering the "wholesome" setting of the book, it's a tad disappointing to see Adult Characters having to use lies when dealing with the students.
Final Thoughts
This book is clearly for young adult manga fans. A lot of parents would actually appreciate this manga considering it's lack of questionable material.
Related links:
Realbuzz Studios
