Karakuri Odette Volume 3 by Julietta Suzuki

In the back of my mind when reading the first couple volumes of Karakuri Odette, an unexpectedly delightful manga about an android girl who wants to learn how to become human, I was wondering when Odette would become more preoccupied with romance. So far while there were hints of potential romantic relationships, Odette has been more focused on building friendships and learning what it is like to be a real girl. The third volume starts putting the manga firmly in shoujo romance territory as Odette struggles with the idea of what it means to “like” someone.

An underclassman named Yukimura confessed his feelings to Odette, but he hasn’t gotten a reply beyond “Thank you for liking me.” Odette observes all the silly rituals her girlfriends take part in when they are nursing a crush on a guy. Yukimura keeps lurking on Odette’s perpheriay, observing her relationships with her “cousin” Chris (another secret android) and the class tough guy Asao. It is telling that while Odette doesn’t mind being around Yukimura, Asao is the first person she runs to when she feels like she’s discovered something new about human behavior and wants to share her insight.

One of the things I like very much about this series is the pacing. It would be way to forced if Odette were to actually start dating anyone, and instead her relationships with her friends are given plenty of space to grow. Odette gets Asao to go on a double date with her despite his feeling sick and exhausted and one of the things that shows her character development is the way she gradually gets over her excitement and starts to notice how he’s feeling. While it feels like there’s more of a focus on romance in this volume, there’s still room for a self-contained story at the beginning, as Odette and Chris search for a young girl’s lost cat and learn that animal rescues can have unexpected consequences.

I have a weird hang-up about ranking books or assigning favorites. For some reason I feel like I’d be hurting the other books’ feelings. So I’m not going to say that this is my favorite current Tokyopop series, but it is easily in my top 3. I hope more of Suzuki’s work gets translated! I know Viz is going to publish one of her series, but I hope we get even more manga from her.

Review copy provided by the publisher.