Cactus's Secret

Cactus's Secret

The cover of the first tankōbon volume of Cactus's Secret as published by Shueisha under their Ribon Mascot Comics imprint.
サボテンの秘密
Genre Comedy, School Life, Romance, Drama
Manga
Written by Nana Haruta
Published by Shueisha
English publisher Viz Media
Demographic Shōjo
Magazine Ribon
Original run December 29, 2003 – April 30, 2005
Volumes 4
Anime and Manga Portal

Cactus's Secret (サボテンの秘密 Saboten no Himitsu?) is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Nana Haruta. The series began serialization in Ribon magazine on December 29, 2003 and ended its run on April 30, 2005. The individual chapters were collected into four tankōbon volumes by Shueisha; the first on August 11, 2004 and the final on October 14, 2005.[1][2] The series has been licensed by Viz Media for an English-language North American release as part of their Shojo Beat imprint.

Contents

Plot

Miku Yamada has liked Kyohei Fujioka since middle school, but once she gets the courage to confess, he thinks it's all a joke. To make things worse, when she gets upset, he calls her a "cactus alien" for being so prickly whenever he's around.

Characters

Miku Yamada (山田 未来 Yamada Miku?)
Average high school student. She was quiet in middle school, but tried to change herself in high school to impress Fujioka, whom she has had a crush on since an encounter in middle school. She is very intelligent, being the top 23 students in her school and despite Fujioka's clueless nature and initial rejection of her feelings, she continues to pursue him and eventually becomes his girlfriend.
Kyohei Fujioka (藤岡 京平 Fujioka Kyōhei?)
He is a former delinquent. He dyed his hair back to black for high school. He is incredibly dense. Upon hearing Miku's confession, he rejects her feelings saying he only sees her as a friend. However, he begins to reciprocate her feelings and confesses to her in chapter 12.

Manga

Written and drawn by Nana Haruta, the Cactus's Secret manga began serialization in the shōjo manga magazine Ribon on December 29, 2003 in the January 2004 issue of the magazine. The series ended on April 30, 2005 in the May 2005 issue of the same magazine. At their panel at Anime Expo 2009, Viz Media announced they had licensed the series for North America as part of their Shojo Beat imprint.[3] [4][5] The series is also licensed by Sharp Point Press in Taiwan.

Volume List

No. Japan North America
Release date ISBN Release date ISBN
01 August 11, 2004[1] ISBN 4-08-856557-6 March 2, 2010[6] ISBN 1-4215-3189-5
02 January 14, 2005[7] ISBN 4-08-856582-7 June 1, 2010[8] ISBN 1-4215-3190-9
03 June 15, 2005[9] ISBN 4-08-856616-5 September 2010[10] ISBN 1-4215-3191-7
04 October 14, 2005[2] ISBN 4-08-856644-0 December 2010[11] ISBN 1-4215-3192-5

Reception

Deb Aoki of About.com says of the first volume that while it has a basic premise, she was "charmed" by it. She also seems to enjoy Miku's characterization, saying "Miku is a likeable gal simply because she's determined to get her guy to see things her way, no matter how discouraged she gets. Sure, she cries and gets angry, but she never wallows in self-pity for long. Miku's got too much pride and self-respect for that. That's a good thing, because shojo manga really doesn't need any more whine-y doormat heroines."[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "サボテンの秘密 1" (in Japanese). Shueisha Booknavi. http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/syousai_put.cgi?isbn_cd=4-08-856557-6. Retrieved 2010-03-24. 
  2. ^ a b "サボテンの秘密 4" (in Japanese). Shueisha Booknavi. http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/syousai_put.cgi?isbn_cd=4-08-856644-0. Retrieved 2010-03-24. 
  3. ^ "Viz Media — Anime Expo 2009". Anime News Network. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/convention/2009/anime-expo/viz-media. Retrieved 2010-03-24. 
  4. ^ "Viz to Publish One Piece #24-35 in January–June 2010". Anime News Network. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-07-03/viz-to-publish-one-piece-no.24-53-in-january-june-2010. Retrieved 2010-03-24. 
  5. ^ "VIZ Media Announces Cactus's Secret". Comic Book Bin. http://www.comicbookbin.com/vizmedianews267.html. Retrieved 2010-04-01. 
  6. ^ "Viz Media . Products . Cactus's Secret, Vol. 1". Viz Media. http://www.viz.com/products/products.php?product_id=8715. Retrieved 2010-03-24. 
  7. ^ "サボテンの秘密 2" (in Japanese). Shueisha Booknavi. http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/syousai_put.cgi?isbn_cd=4-08-856582-7. Retrieved 2010-03-24. 
  8. ^ "Viz Media . Products . Cactus's Secret, Vol. 2". Viz Media. http://www.viz.com/products/products.php?product_id=8716. Retrieved 2010-03-24. 
  9. ^ "サボテンの秘密 3" (in Japanese). Shueisha Booknavi. http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/syousai_put.cgi?isbn_cd=4-08-856616-5. Retrieved 2010-03-24. 
  10. ^ "Cactus's Secret, Vol. 3". Simon & Schuster. http://books.simonandschuster.biz/Cactus%27s-Secret-Vol-3/Nana-Haruta/9781421531915. Retrieved 2010-03-24. 
  11. ^ "Cactus's Secret, Vol. 4". Simon & Schuster. http://books.simonandschuster.biz/Cactus%27s-Secret-Vol-4/Nana-Haruta/Cactus%27s-Secret/9781421531922. Retrieved 2010-04-14. 
  12. ^ "Cactus's Secret Volume 1 Manga Review". About.com. http://manga.about.com/od/vizmedia/gr/CactusSecret1.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-24. 

External links