Monday, December 3, 2007

Yume Kira Dream Shoppe

Overall Rating: D
Synopsis: This fantasy shōjo, created by Aqua Mizuto, we meet Rin. A mysterious shopkeeper, Rin makes dreams come true, but only for a steep price. The shop in question, Yume Kira Dream Shoppe, is magical and (as is driven home at the beginning and end of almost every chapter) flies through the sky at dusk.

If you happen across the shop, or Rin hears your wish, he may grant it in exchange for something valuable in return. For example, in one story a tree wishes to become human. In exchange for granting the wish, Rin asks for the trees leaves. He travels with a stuffed animal named Alpha, who has been animated by Rin's magic.


I picked this book up on a whim, and regret it. From the description, I was hoping for something along the lines of xxxHolic, which has similar (but darker and more interesting) themes. Unfortunately, Yume Kira Dream Shoppe insists on ending every story with a sugary sweet happy ending and a reminder about how awesome the shop is. That was fine the first chapter or two, but it got old quickly.

On top of that, each chapter is a short story, and the only connection between stories is the shop. As a result, it was hard to care about any of the characters or situations presented. I recommend you steer clear of this one.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

You fail miserably.

If you were looking for something along the lines of xxxHOLiC, then you obviously shouldn't get a book with so much pink on the cover, or one by Shojo Beat, which usually has romance manga.

Or maybe a quick look inside the book would have changed your mind?

Moving on, you're not being fair about this judging, it's just your opinion.

I, for one, thought this was a very cute manga, the drawings were pretty, and the plots were different than others I have seen.

Nick said...

Hi Mizikura,
I'm sorry you don't agree, but you're right, it's only my opinion. I'm glad you like the manga.

That being said, I read the whole volume, so I'm not sure what you mean by "maybe a quick look inside the book would have changed your mind". I also don't think that just because something is by Shojo Beat means it can't be a little dark. Nana is an excellent romance series by Shojo Beat that is edgy and has dark aspects to it. Socrates in Love is amazing, but extremely sad, and there's pink on the covers of both.

Regardless, it's totally cool that you disagree with me, but I think it's a bit harsh to say I fail miserably. We simply disagree on whether it's a good manga or not. It's not for me, and so I can't recommend it to anyone.

Maybe you can help others who might like this one out? What specifically did you like about the plots? Were there any characters you particularly liked?

Thanks,
Nick

Morgan Caron said...

sorry if anyone thinks wrong of this but i thought this was a great manga. mabey if your looking for a long drama then no but if your looking for something cute that just gives u a happy feeling inside then this is perfect. i read alot of intence manga and i would recomend this to everyone.

my friend read it and fell in love with it.

its all based on want your looking for.

Nick said...

@momoko I agree with you, it's definitely about what you're looking for. This one wasn't for me, but others might enjoy it. As I said before, I can't recommend it, but it's good to hear other perspectives. :)