PART 25 of 52 ONESHOTS in 52 WEEKS
岡田ハルキの『恋想モード』 “Rensou Modo” by OKADA Haruki
Rensou Mode is a oneshot by author Haruki Okada, who began her career with the single-volume body-swapping manga Danshi-ing Girl! in 2009. This was followed in 2010 by First Love ♥ Succubus, another single-volume manga, with the author then working on several oneshots in the following years. Haruki Okada worked exclusively in the romance genre, with all of her manga published in shoujo magazine Hana to Yume. Rensou Mode, which released in 2013, was her penultimate work and remains one of her highest rated. The title is a phrase which translates to ‘love mode,’ describing a romantic state of mind, but the oneshot is also known under the synonym Delusional Mode.
High school student Aizome Maiko is nicknamed “The Prude” by her schoolmates due to her conservative demeanour and forceful approach in moving along loving couples, citing public indecency. In reality, Aizome is simply jealous and harbours her own fantasies of a dreamy first kiss. After bumping into and accidentally locking lips with school delinquent Yajima Keisuke, Aizome exclaims he take responsibility and help match her with the class heartthrob Kamiiyu.
Spanning almost 50 pages, Rensou Mode is a light-hearted and lovable short work which excels in its art. Author Okada illustrates with a lot of personality, bringing her work to life with varied panelling and creative layering. Her lines are fine but assured, with some excellent spreads nearer the end. Yet what lingers most is the ‘in universe’ manga which character Aizome draws. Okada adopts a rough style to illustrate Aizome’s manga in a comically crude and over-simplified shoujo fashion, like a child’s rendition of their favourite comic.
Aizome’s manga, which she titles “I Want to Experience a Shoujo Manga Love” depicts her romantic fantasies with the dashing Kamiiyu and acts as a schematic outlining a three act plan to get Kamiiyu to fall in love with her: first is ‘The Meeting,’ followed by ‘The Reunion,’ and then ‘The Sudden Event That Will Set His Heart Racing!’ Much of the pleasure in Rensou Mode is in watching Aizome’s schemes go absurdly wrong, with some well implemented and well expressed comedy.
However, the manga fails to truly differentiate itself from a myriad of other shoujo romance stories, so much so it’s easy to predict the entire plot in only the first six or seven pages. The characters, too, are largely archetypal. Aizome is a highly amusing character and her personality as a misunderstood romantic is interesting, but there’s some eye-rolling characterisation in the latter-half, where the ‘nerdy-looking’ Aizome suddenly becomes beautiful once she removes her glasses and lets down her hair. Equally on the male side, the nonchalant and mean-looking Yajima, it turns out, is a rather caring and thoughtful individual once you get to know him. The oneshot seemingly makes a point that appearances can be deceiving, but at the same time plays into slightly archaic representations.
Rensou Mode is unfortunately host to some age-old and outworn clichés, yet perhaps it’s testament to the author’s skilful presentation that, despite the predictability, the oneshot is nonetheless an enjoyable and even engaging read, owing largely to the adept artwork and comedy. Sadly, with the clichés in tow, it’s just not very memorable.
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Morning, Roo 