Cactus's Secret
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese shōjo manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 series written and illustrated by Nana Haruta
Nana Haruta
, born on June 30, 1985, is a female Japanese manga artist. Haruta made her professional manga debut while still in high school in the December 2000 issue of Ribon; at the age of 15, this makes her one of the youngest manga artists to enter the industry...

. The series began serialization in Ribon
Ribon
is a monthly Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Shueisha. First issued in August 1955, its rivals are Nakayoshi and Ciao. Its target audience is young girls roughly 9–13 years old. In 2009, the magazine's circulation was 274,167, down from the previous year's circulation numbers of 330,000...

magazine on December 29, 2003 and ended its run on April 30, 2005. The individual chapters were collected into four tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...

volumes by Shueisha
Shueisha
is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...

; the first on August 11, 2004 and the final on October 14, 2005. The series has been licensed by Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...

 for an English-language North American release as part of their Shojo Beat
Shojo Beat
Shojo Beat is a shōjo manga magazine formerly published in North America by Viz Media. Released in June 2005 as a sister magazine to Shonen Jump, it featured serialized chapters from six manga series, as well as articles on Japanese culture, manga, anime, fashion and beauty...

 imprint.

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

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.


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
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 began serialization in the shōjo manga magazine Ribon
Ribon
is a monthly Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Shueisha. First issued in August 1955, its rivals are Nakayoshi and Ciao. Its target audience is young girls roughly 9–13 years old. In 2009, the magazine's circulation was 274,167, down from the previous year's circulation numbers of 330,000...

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
Anime Expo
Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation . With rare exceptions, the convention is traditionally held on the July 4th weekend and lasts for four days...

 2009, Viz Media announced they had licensed the series for North America as part of their Shojo Beat imprint.
The series is also licensed by Sharp Point Press
Sharp Point Press
Sharp Point Press is a Taiwanese publisher of manga and music. It was founded in June 1982.-History:*1982 - Company established. Mainly publishes military and models related books.*1985 - Started publishing annual Zodiac fortune telling handbook....

in Taiwan.

Volume List

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."

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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