Last upgrade: 08-May'04

Hot Gimmick is Aihara Miki's newest manga series. It started its publication with the December'2000 issue of shoujo manga magazine Betsucomi (Bessatsu Shoujo-Comic) (from Shogakukan) and is still running, it has eight tankoubon (collected volumes) out so far.

Following the tone of most of her manga, Aihara's new story is funny, romantic, moving, has great art... but most important of all, three cool guys and one girl. What more can you ask for? ;)

Please use the following index for accessing the different sections in this page. Also, please, do not use any part of this page other than for personal use without my consent, thanks! :) (Coments, corrections and messages are always welcome.)

NOTE: I'm not currently buying Betsucomi, so there probably won't be a synopsis of new chapters for a while until they come out in tankoubon format.

NEWS: Hot Gimmick 9th volume (Japanese) will go on sale on 24.sep. .

BIG NEWS! Hot Gimmick has been picked up by US company Viz.

	Who should end up with Hatsumi? Ryouki     62% Azusa     11% Shinogu     23% Subaru     03% Nobody     01% Vote! (opens new window)		(25/Feb) Story Introducion (below) Character Descriptions (08/May) Manga synopsis (08/May) Image Gallery (25/Feb) Official manga Release in English (29/Mar) Drama CD (08/May) ISBN info (below) How to Order/Buy

STORY INTRODUCTION:

Hatsumi is an average high school student who gets caught in the act while trying to cover for her little sister pregnancy scare. Unfortunately, the one who catches her is the person she hates most in the world: Ryouki, the son of her father's company president and eternal torturer of Hatsumi while in kindergarten. Knowing that were the secret come out it would make life hell for her family in the appartment building community where they live, Hatsumi agrees to become Ryouki's "slave" in exchange for his silence. Ryouki believes the pregnancy test is Hatsumi's and he is sure he's got the upper hand in this relationship, too bad he starts to fall in love with her! On the other hand there is Azusa, Hatsumi's best childhood friend who has come back after staying in the countryside for many years. Azusa is a model and everything Hatsumi has always wished for... but is he perhaps too good to be true? Included in the mix is also Shinogu, Hatsumi's older brother as well as a couple of family secrets that keep bouncing around and murking the relationships between all the characters. Will Hatsumi find her true feelings for Ryouki? Or will she stay with her dreamboat Azusa? And what about poor Shinogu? AIHARA Miki is a superb storyteller with wonderful art, and Hot gimmick is no exception. Dramatic, romantic, with just enough characters not to make the story and misunderstandings too heavy and focused, and as a healthy dose of hot kisses. A bit too dramatic for those new to the shoujo manga world perhaps, but definitely a must-try for everybody else. (And now you don't have any excuse because it's been released in English in NA by Viz)

ISBN Information:

These numbers come in handy when ordering the collected volumes or tankoubon from your local Japanese bookstore :)

Japanese edition, by Shogakukan:

Vol.1: ISBN4-09-135381-9 (390yen w/o tax) [cover]
Vol.2: ISBN4-09-135382-7 (390yen w/o tax) [cover]
Vol.3: ISBN4-09-135383-5 (390yen w/o tax) [cover]
Vol.4: ISBN4-09-135384-3 (390yen w/o tax) [cover]
Vol.5: ISBN4-09-135385-1 (390yen w/o tax) [cover]
Vol.6: ISBN4-09-135386-X (390yen w/o tax) [cover]
Vol.7: ISBN4-09-135387-8 (390yen w/o tax) [cover]
Vol.8: ISBN4-09-135388-6 (390yen w/o tax) [cover]
Vol.9: (on sale 24.sep.04)
(still ongoing)

North America edition (in English), by Viz:

Vol.1: ISBN1-59116-214-9 ($9.95 USA/$16.50 CAN)
Vol.2: ISBN1-59116-227-0 ($9.95 USA/$16.50 CAN)
Vol.3: ISBN1-59116-228-9 ($9.95 USA/$16.50 CAN)
Vol.4: ISBN1-59116-389-7 ($9.95 USA/$16.50 CAN)
Vol.5: ISBN1-59116-144-4 ($9.95 USA/$16.50 CAN) (on sale jul.04)
Vol.6: ($9.95 USA/$16.50 CAN) (on sale aug.04)

All images © Aihara Miki, Shogakukan