Peach Girl Change of Heart Volume 1 by Miwa Ueda

Peach Girl Change of Heart by Miwa Ueda is actually the continuation of the original manga. Tokyopop, which published Peach Girl in the left-to-right format added this title to their new authentic manga line, which is published in its original format (right-to-left format and sound effects left untouched). Although Peach Girl Change of Heart starts with volume one, it's actually volume 9 in the series.

If you haven't already checked out the Peach Girl series, this shoujo series revolves round Momo Adachi, who is actually a nice girl, but has the opposite reputation due to her dark skin and light hair. She is often mistaken for following the "gungro" fashion trend (popular in the late 1990's in Japan), which also comes with the reputation of being slutty or just wanting fooling around. Unfortunately, she only has one "friend" named Sae. On the outside Sae looks sweet and innocent, but on the inside is manipulative, jealous, and wants everything that Momo has. When Momo finds herself in a love triangle between her childhood friend Toji and the school heartthrob Kiley, things become even more complicated when Sae decides she wants Toji for herself. The second series of Peach Girl begins as Momo tries to overcome a relationship ruined by Sae. Momo finds herself still torn between Toji and Kiley. The second series focuses on Kiley's past and shines light on his feelings for Momo.

Even though Peach Girl has a basic "teenage" storyline, the dialogue and artwork make it very interesting and the characters are well likeable (including Sae, the girl you love to hate). In Japan, there are many manga with similar storylines, however very little have yet to make their way to America. The artwork is in typical shoujo fashion, but the characters are detailed and full of expression, which helps the readers feel the emotions of the characters.

The only drawback I find with the new Peach Girl Change of Heart series by Tokyopop is the misconception some may have since it is titled as "Volume One." In order to prevent confusion to new readers, it would have been more beneficial to just start the new right-to-left series even though it would be titled as "Volume Nine." To understand and enjoy the story to its fullest, I recommend readers to be sure to begin with the original Peach Girl volume one in its left-to-right format.

Even though Peach Girl is quite popular in Japan and abroad, it has yet to be transformed into an anime series (unlike other domestic titles such as Kare Kano). However, it was transformed into a short live action TV series in Taiwan. Many of the shoujo series that America have been introduced to are usually in the "magical girl" genre (such as Sailor Moon, Card Captor Sakura, etc.), so it is refreshing to see just a simple, yet not-so-ordinary everyday adventures of teenage romance in Japan. There's more to shoujo than just magical girls stories and Japan's manga industry does have a variety of titles to offer. Hopefully, with the success of Peach Girl more of this genre will find their way into the domestic manga market.

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