The Gentlemen's Alliance †, Vol. 8

紳士同盟 クロス [Shinshi Doumei Cross] #8

by Arina Tanemura

From the creator of Full Moon o Sagashite Please note: Reads Right to Left (Japanese Style)

 

In return for a business loan of 50 million yen, the prestigious Kamiya family gave their daughter Haine away to the Otomiya family. Haine, now an Otomiya, is appointed to the student council of the exclusive Imperial Academy, a private school for the aristocracy. Even though Haine is of proper lineage to be on the council, she finds herself struggling to find her place among the many secrets of its elite members, especially those of the president who holds her heart--Shizumasa Togu, aka "the Emperor."

Haine returns the ribbon given to her by Takanari to be with her friend, Ushio. But rather than being happy about it, Ushio starts to feel more alone than ever--and turns to an unexpected source for comfort.

Genres: Manga, Romance, Shojo, Graphic Novels, Drama, Young Adult, Comics Manga

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 14, 2007

About the author

Arina Tanemura (種村有菜) was born on March 12, 1978. She's the author of Full Moon O Sagashite, Time Stranger Kyoko, Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne, The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross, Sakura Hime Kaden, and more.

Her favorite hobby is Karaoke. One song that she sings is Smile, originally by Myco. She has two cats, named Riku and Kai. She has one elder and one younger sister and one brother. She's the type who hates to lose in anything. She also likes Ribon.

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

You need to forgive yourself for not being loved.

Aw... Ushio. I liked the conclusion of her arc, and the short story featuring her, a lot. They made Haine's decision in the latter part of volume 7 make a lot more sense, for one thing. Although, as usual, a high school student-teacher romance is an all-out "nope" in the real world, I am much more on board with Senri-sensei and Ushio being together in this piece of fiction. It's apparent now that what is between them isn't just about sex, and he genuinely cares for her. The level of abuse that's alluded to in ch. 33 isn't the kind that one gets over easily--if ever--but she could have a better time living day to day with Haine's and her friends' support.

Ch. 34 and 35 were more about Haine's parents and step-parents than Haine herself. As a result of what Haine learns about her background, and why she was given up for adoption to people she'd thought of as strangers, but actually are her blood relations, she makes another reckless, snap decision that could have serious long-term effects. That's our Haine!

Bonus features are a couple of shorts featuring Maora's pets, a few examples of storyboards and rough drafts, sketches that eventually became finished work on stickers and such, and a short story about a cute girl in a love triangle. I'm not sure I'm excited about Eve falling for the guy who was crushing on her, rather than the guy she was crushing on, but both of them were decent people in their own way, so it's fine.

I have three of Tanemura's series on my home bookshelves--this one, Sakura Hime and Full Moon--and am reading through them to see which one or two I may want to keep in the long term. (Phantom Thief Jeanne didn't make the cut.) It seems like one has to put up with erratic storytelling with Tanemura's work (her leads' making poor, ill-considered, and/or self-destructive decisions is also a minor drawback) so my decision will have to depend on other things such as attachment to the characters.

[Megan (Tonightsbooked) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume was super plot twisty 😱

[Sabrina "Look At My Books" · Rating 5 out of 5]

And again a plot twist I didn't see coming....

I'm not sure if I still dislike Kazuhito or if I start liking him... Altough it was not right what he did but it's just how he is.

But I didn't liked Haines development...

[Bibliothecat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Students attending the Imperial Academy are placed in a hierarchical order based on their parents' income and social standing. Haine is in the bronze class and is not even allowed to interact with the highest gold class - yet the gold class is reserved for the head of the school council, also known as the Emperor, who happens to be the one Haine has set her heart on. When chance allows for her to join the school council, she finds that now that she can finally speak to the Emperor, he does not seem very willing to do so.

I wish I could cover The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross with praise - yet if I try to describe it in a few words I'd come up with chaotic, illogical and terrible humour. From the time of its release, it has been my least favourite series (one-shots not included) by Arina Tanemura and has yet held that position. It's a bit of a modern take on Cinderella with a school for a backdrop that could have taken many routes - but it seems to have gone all over the place.

Let's start with my biggest peeve - where does this all take place? Judging by the names and clothing, it can only be Japan - or a pseudo-Japan? Because although it reflects our contemporary time in many ways, many of the social norms make no sense. Haine is given up for adoption in exchange for 50 million yen, the school's hierarchy seems absolute - you can't talk with people in higher classes and you can rise up in class if your parents pay enough money. Teachers barely seem present, it's like the students run the school in which gang fights are a thing. There's a lot of family abuse going on and people can be proclaimed dead without any investigation, there are forced marriages and just so many extremes. If this were a fantasy setting I wouldn't have minded - fictional worlds can have any rules. But in the setting in which it's presented, it just caused too much disbelief in me.

With that off my chest, let's go back to the beginning. Although the school's concept could have proven an interesting story, it's barely relevant. The plot consists of the characters' dilemmas - and boy are there many. There is not a single character with a normal life that isn't frightfully melodramatic. Let's look at Haine; she's cute but also an ex-yankee/gangster who can easily beat someone silly (why are there knife and snake fights at school again?). She became a yankee because she wanted to prove that she's not worth anything - because, you know, her dad sold her and all. In her mind, her new adoptive family doesn't really want or need her, she's just a burden - so what better solution than to roam the streets at night looking for trouble.

Of course, her whole adoption thing proves to have much more to it, her father's just another tortured soul trying to do the right thing. Her mum goes half insane over it which, once again, didn't make any sense! She's had her teeth knocked out during her yankee-time and whenever her now fake-teeth come out, she goes all strangely berserk - hello humour, you almost made me smile.

Anyway, Haine goes into depression-phase multiple times throughout the story. There are many would-be-climaxes that are either resolved too fast or just interrupted so it could be resolved in a later volume. And because Haine's problems aren't enough, the author made sure that every.single.character. has at least as many to whine over.

If this story would have been much shorter, less wanna-be-depressing and either in a fictional setting or one that makes sense in our world, this could have been a decent story. The council was quite a nice set of characters. I like how they were all pretty different and became great friends.

Shizumasa, the Emperor, starts off as your standard stand-offish main guy but he turns out to be pretty interesting. I feel as though he actually had a legitimate reason to be a jerk to everyone and you know, he's the first to get over himself. His backstory is by far the most interesting and it led to interesting conflicts - it was pretty easy to root for him and hope for a happy ending.

So, while I could try to look past the many, many flaws and read on for the good aspects and hope for a happy end - I can say the ending was a happy one for the characters, if not for me. It was utterly unsatisfactory and pretty much cheats its way past the main obstacle that stands between Haine and Shizumasa. Why resolve the story's main conflict if you can simply ignore it and they all lived happily ever after!

Despite all, I still find myself reading this from time to time. Although most of it is spent shaking my head, there must be enough good in it to make me reread it.

[Kaya Hayes · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was another stinker for me, and I don't have high hopes for finishing out the series

Things I liked
-I like that Ushio was able to stop her obsessive behavior and grow as a person
-The reveal of Haine's real father and her reaction to it was really good
-I love Maguri and Maora still

Things I loathed
-Senri literally needs to go to jail, and I hate that his and Ushio's "relationship" is portrayed as cute
-Also Senri telling Ushio that her romantic feelings towards Haine were completely invalid? Disgusting
-Kazuhito is literally disgusting and nothing he could ever do would make me forgive him. In this volume, he is rightfully shamed, but I don't have high hopes for the coming volumes since him and Maika are on the cover for volume nine
-That bonus story about Eve was just icky in so many ways

The two stars is basically just for Haine going back to the yankis because that is interesting and messy IN A GOOD WAY

[EyrisReadsTheWorld · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un tome plein d’émotions, mais un peu court. Par contre, j’ai adoré les histoires annexes. Vraiment très choupi. Si on revient à l’histoire principale maintenant, la section sur Ushio se finit très bien à mon avis et on commence à en savoir plus sur la famille et le passé d’Hainé. Je trouve que même si on est sur un shojo assez classique, l’autrice arrive quand même à nous surprendre.

[Nightshade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the second half of this volume is actually a different story: Shojo Eve, Eve's Applework 24 hours. It is a fun little story.
There are also a few shorts focusing on Maora's pet sheep called Together with Okorimakuri-kun! These are really cute.

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s no wonder Ushio is codependent on Haine! Her backstory was just so sad.
And Haine’s parents’ backstory in the same volume?! Sad as well… Another twist too!!!! Lots of drama in Arina Tanemura’s works but at least, the story keeps moving along…

[Em Mirra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pending.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS TOTALLY REDEEMS THE PREVIOUS VOLUME! It shows the problems with forcing someone to be yours! I am so glad.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I KNEW IT!


It was so obvious that Haine's adoptive father had something to do with her mother! I loved it! And he turns out to be her real father <3

[Ancelle Tache · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some resolution from the previous volume but some new information came to light building to what I hope will be a great climax

[sokka1111 · Rating 1 out of 5]

the treatment of the queer characters is alarming

[Betz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, spannende Story in diesem Band, da kam vieles unerwartet

[Kelley Angelica (bookswithbuns) · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Actual: 3.75⭐, rounded up) // Full review to come.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars solely for the plot twist.

[nidah05 (SleepDreamWrite) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good volume.

[Amanda Setasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one had a lot of twists I wasn't expecting. It was really good and I like where they're going with the character development.

[Yoyomaus Die Büchereule · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zum Inhalt:
Obwohl sich Haine für ihre Freundin entschieden hat, stellt sich bei Ushio das ersehnte Glücksgefühl nicht ein. Und während sich Ushio traurig und hilflos fragen muss, was sie eigentlich wirklich will, wird Haine mit ihrer Vergangenheit konfrontiert: Sie erfährt ein gut gehütetes Geheimnis, das ihre Welt auf den Kopf stellt!

Haine hat sich für ihre Freundin Ushio entschieden und den Kaiser und ihr Leben als Platina hinter sich gelassen. Doch anstatt sich zu freuen erkennt Ushio, dass Haine sich nur für sie aufopfert, damit sie glücklich ist und das ist genau das, was sie eigentlich nicht will. Die Ernüchterung kommt und sie stellt fest, dass sie nur Freunde bleiben sollten und alles so gut war, wie es eben war. Takanari indessen klärt seinen Zwillingsbruder darüber auf, dass er in Haine verliebt ist und alles dafür tun wird, um sie für sich zu gewinnen. Als Haine darüber in Kenntnis gesetzt wird, dass sie als Platina die Pflicht hat an der kaiserlichen Versammlung teilzunehmen, tauchen ihre alten Yankee-Mädels auf und fordern sie heraus. Im Anschluss muss Haine beim Rektor vorsprechen und bekommt von ihm ein Foto überreicht, das ihre Bahnen völlig aus dem Gleichgewicht bringt. Auf dem Bild ist ihre Mutter mit ihrem Adoptivvater zu sehen und Haine muss bitter erkennen, dass sie die Tochter des 38. Kaisers und somit ein Bastard ihrer eigentlichen Familie ist - kein Wunder, dass ihr Vater sie nicht leiden konnte und sie schnellst möglich an ihren leiblichen Vater verkauft hat. Haine lässt die kaiserliche Schule und ihre Familie hinter sich und wagt einen Schritt, den sie nie wieder gehen wollte.

Endlich kam ein bisschen Spannung in die ganze Sache und vor allem sind ein paar Dinge endlich aufgeklärt worden. Der unlogische Hass ihres Vaters und der Gedächtnisschwund ihrer Mutter machen nun Sinn. Auch, warum Itsuki sie damals adoptiert hat. Die Erkenntnis über ihr wahres Ich ist aber bitter und so bricht Haine schließlich mit allem, was ihr bekannt ist und flüchtet sich wieder zu ihren Yankee-Mädels. Ein cooler Auftritt, keine Frage. Auch schön zu lesen, dass Takanari endlich gegen Shizumasa arbeitet und ihm erklärt, dass er Haine für sich haben möchte. Vielleicht ist das Versteckspiel der beiden Brüder dann endlich vorbei, wer weiß. Was ich jedoch nicht so ganz verstanden habe - scheinbar wussten viele, wie es um Haine und ihre Herkunft steht, warum erfährt sie also jetzt erst alles?
Was mir in dem Band auch gut gefallen hat ist, dass man endlich Ushio und Haine wirklich auseinander halten kann, da Haine ja nun kürzere Haare hat. Endlich kommt mehr Sinn in die ganze Sache, jetzt muss das nur noch so weiter gehen und ich bin doch noch relativ zufrieden mit der ganzen Reihe.

Broschiert: 196 Seiten
Verlag: TOKYOPOP; Auflage: 1 (23. Mai 2008)
Sprache: Deutsch
ISBN-10: 3865806783
ISBN-13: 978-3865806789
Vom Hersteller empfohlenes Alter: 13 - 16 Jahre
Größe und/oder Gewicht: 12,6 x 1,8 x 19 cm

[Rach · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume was a little strange. Ushio has family issues, and feels like no one will love her if Haine doesn't. But haine does love her, but Ushio doesn't love herself. Or something. I'm still kinda of confused about it all, but in the end, things are back to normal, and Ushio can smile. And doesn't hate men anymore, or herself.

In Haine news, she's always been messed up because she felt like her father hated her, as he gave her up for adoption as a kid. She's always felt she could never be truly happy until her father accepted her and loved her. Well, turns out he's not her real father at all, her adoptive father is. Her father will never love her, because she's the love child of his wife (who doesn't love him and was driven crazy) and his high school rival.

Needless to say, Haine freaks when she learns this, and runs away from home to rejoin her old gang. Uh oh! Trouble is coming!

[R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well now. Just when things are falling into a rhythm and improving all around, another wrench in the system. Haine's family is apparently more of a mess than anyone thought until now. We also get a bit of backstory on her parents, which is interesting as it mirrors what Haine is going through a lot. Takanari also finally stands up to Shizumasa for the first time, which is interesting. Haine appears to bring out a lot of unexpected emotions and reactions from the people around her. Hopefully for the better.

[Alessandra Ceravolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

💖 Sono sempre più affascinata dalla forza dell’amicizia e dell’amore che attraversa tutta questa serie, anche nei suoi momenti più malinconici.
✨ Questo volume è profondo e intenso, e lo sguardo sul passato di Haine mi ha colpita tantissimo, lasciandomi allo stesso tempo stupita e con il cuore pieno di tenerezza.
👀 Sono davvero curiosa di capire fino in fondo cosa provi Haine, perché dentro di lei si percepiscono emozioni contrastanti, forti e dolorose, che sembrano consumarla sempre di più.

[Amethyst · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't really like this one as much, it was kinda shorter than most of the other ones and again not the best ending, but it wasn't as bad as the other one so I guess I'm okay...Still I need more and I think that Haine is being put through a lot I just want to see how this is going to finally end...She deserved better, she should get a very happy ending after all of this...So excited! :)

[Pinky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kazuhito becomes the new emperor by force and makes the new platinum Maika. Even though Maika is in love with Itsuki but she is engaged to Kazuhito. Maika gave birth to Haine who was not Kazuhito's real daughter but Itsuki's daughter.

[Miss Ryoko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haine is actually super annoying in this volume. Probably because she's reminding me of a D&D character I once had that I hated with every ounce of my being. Ugh. I just want to smack Haine across the face and say "Get over it and move on! Stop being so dramatic!"

[Gwendolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

a happy ending!

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books that makes you say, "OHHHHHHHHHHHHH. . . ." as everything clicks into place. It was fun, but it did twist strangely at the end, but I still liked it. ^^

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally have all the characters memorized so I can understand the plotline fully. Love the artwork and all the twists and turns.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! so Haine's actually related to Itsuki. That makes me happy but sad. Poor Maika.

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor Haine!