is a shōjo

Shojo

The term refers to manga marketed to a female audience roughly between the ages of 10-18. The name romanizes the Japanese 少女 , literally: "little female". Shōjo manga covers many subjects in a variety of narrative and graphic styles, from historical drama to science fiction — often with a strong...

 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 by Miki Aihara

Miki Aihara

in Shizuoka, Japan and is a Japanese female manga artist noted for creating the manga series Hot Gimmick and the series Tokyo Boys & Girls She debuted with Lip Conscious in betsucomi.-Works:* Atashi ni Tsuiterasshai...

, originally published in Japan by Shogakukan

Shogakukan

is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...

. The series began serialization in the manga magazine Cheese!

Cheese!

Cheese! is a monthly Japanese shōjo manga magazine under the publication of Shogakukan. In their official website they also refer to themselves as Monthly Cheese!...

in December 2006, with the first tankoban released June 26, 2007, and the latest (volume 6) on December 24, 2009.

Honey Hunt is licensed for English language release in North America 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...

. It premiered in Viz's monthly manga anthology 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...

in the September 2008 issue. The first volume was released on April 7, 2009. As of November 24, 2009, Honey Hunt has gone on a hiatus.

Plot

Quiet and unassuming Yura Onozuka lives in the shadow of her famous celebrity parents: Yukari Shiraki, a beautiful and talented actress, and Takayuki Onozuka, the first Japanese composer to win an Academy Award. When her mother coldly announces that she and Yura's father are getting divorced, and Yura learns that her mother has been sleeping with her best friend and crush, Yura feels abandoned and left alone by everyone around her.

Yura decides to become an actress with the goal of becoming a better actress than her mother so that she can show everyone that she is worth something as an individual, and not be judged a disappointment because she is continuously compared to her celebrity parents. Keiichi Mizorogi, a professional manager formerly employed by her father, scouts her to be an actress and aids her in her quest. Yura gradually develops the confidence to land the lead role in an upcoming television drama series. Along the way, Yura also gains the interest of two rising male idols - composer Q-Ta Minamitani, who first meets Yura when she is running away from her hotel during her parents divorce, and his twin brother Haruka Minamitani, a member of popular band Knights and the male lead of the drama Yura will star in.

Characters

The protagonist of series, Yura Onozuka is a quiet and unassuming person, who is a high schooler in her third year. She lives in the shadow of her famous celebrity parents: Yukari Shiraki, a beautiful and talented actress, and Takayuki Onozuka, the first Japanese composer to win an Academy Award. She is used to people trying to get close to her because of her famous parents. She is betrayed by her neighbor, best friend, and first love, Shinsuke, who she thought was the only one on her side, when she learns he is sleeping with her mother. With some help from others she decides to embark into the entertainment industry to get back at her mother. As Yura follows through with her journey as an actress, it is then when her before-unknown potential becomes evident.

Yukari is Yura's mother, a beautiful and talented actress. But her beauty is only skin deep as shown throughout the series. She is never at home and is very selfish. On all of her interviews she lies and says that she and Yura are close and spend much time together, when in reality she is a cold and distant parent. While her husband was having an affair she was having one of her own with Yura's neighbor, Shinsuke (who Yura had a crush on). She and her husband were only together for the sake of their careers and their images,they didn't love each other. The two of them even agreed on a rule with each other that they would stay married as long as they hide their own adulterous affairs. After she decided to divorce Takayuki, however, it is shown that she has no intentions of taking care of Yura. It is eventually revealed that she is really in love with her husband and has been deeply jealous of her daughter. Always believing that she is the most beautiful woman till Yura was born, Takayuki gave all attention to her daughter and praising Yura that she is the most beautiful girl in the world, which have caused Yukari's inferiority towards Yura. Yukari began to emotionally invest in remaining beautiful so that her daughter would never upstage her. She is greatly hurt when Takayuki wanted to bring only Yura with him to New York instead of her and prevented Yura from going. Yukari also lied to Yura that the reason why her father didn't come home is because he hates Yura (which Yura always believed so).

Keiichi Mizorogi is Yura's manager, who used to manage her father. He is young, but he knows what he's doing as a manager. He knows show business like the back of his hand, and has the big production company,"Baisho Entertainment", behind him. While at the same time he's the president of the "Meteorite Productions". He has managed many award-winning celebrities, such as Yura's father. Because of his vast knowledge of the show-biz world, he knows exactly what he needs to do to have his talents go to the top. Yura likes to call him "Shachou", meaning "Boss".

It is later revealed that Keiichi's feelings for Yura might be more than just a manager/employee relationship. This becomes evident when he starts to forbid the relationship between Q-Ta and Yura, claiming that it will hurt her future career, though he also secretly wants Yura to himself. He denies being jealous of Q-Ta, or having feelings for Yura, but his actions prove otherwise.

Q-Ta is a famous singer and composer for the band, Assha. His is a big fan of Takayuki Onozuka, Yura's father, and idolizes him. His real name is ; his nickname came from a meeting with Takayuki Onozuka, who mistakenly wrote "Q-ta" on an autograph when Q-Ta introduced himself. One of his songs, "Crystal", is the theme song for Yukari Shiraki's popular show The Moon's Waltz. He is nineteen years old and attends Tokyo University.

Yura first meets Q-Ta in an elevator when she runs out of the hotel at which she was staying during her parents' divorce problems. When he finds out who Yura is, he tells her he wants to marry her so he can become her famous father's son-in-law, despite not actually liking Yura. Because of his supportive nature and kindness, Yura trusts him a lot. However, Q-Ta's feelings towards Yura are less certain, since Yura suspects he is using her as a way to get to her father. Yura steadily grows fond of him and wants to know more about him; however, Q-Ta becomes increasingly possessive of her and shows little genuine interest in learning what Yura truly wants.

Haruka is the leading man in the drama Yura is to star in. But his first job and passion is music, as he is a member of the popular music group "KNIGHTS". He is Q-Ta's twin brother, but does not get along with his brother or being compared to Q-Ta. He lives in his own apartment alone while Q-Ta lives with their parents. Like Q-Ta, he takes an interest in Yura and frequently tries to help her succeed with her goals, though he does not do so directly.

Yura initially encounters Haruka when Mizorogi takes her to several parties to avoid the media after Yura's outburst regarding her parents' divorce. Since she also met Q-Ta earlier that day, Yura feels that Haruka looks familiar, but does not learn why until she meets him again at her audition for the drama they are to star in. Despite his rudeness towards her, Haruka supports Yura indirectly and is constantly amazed by her ability when she finds her confidence. However, he becomes jealous when he notices how his brother is growing closer to Yura and tells her that Q-Ta's strong point is that he can manipulate things the way he wants to by emotional-blackmailing. To encourage Yura's interest in him rather than Q-Ta, Haruka invites her one of his concerts with a promise to give her more information on Q-Ta. However, despite earning Yura's admiration and respect, she is still more interested in Q-Ta.

Haruka's respect for Yura gradually grows into a one-sided crush on her, despite knowing Q-Ta has the advantage of winning over her. He supports Yura's dream of becoming an actress, so he was not only surprised but also angry when discovering that Q-Ta didn't care about what scandals could hurt Yura's career if it meant they could spend more time with each other.

Nanase is a friend and roommate of Yura's from her manager's place. He addresses Yura by "Yura-pon". He takes care of everything around Mizorogi's house, including housekeeping and cooking meals. At the same time he is studying to be a make-up artist and hair stylist at a technical school; he is the one who gives Yura her new look. He is an old friend of Haruka and was a member of "KNIGHTS" before their debut.

One of Mizurogi's office assistants, Nishiwaki supports Yura's efforts to become an actress and offers encouragement when Yura feels she is not doing well. She initially accompanies Yura to auditions when Mizurogi is unable to.

The director of the drama Yura will star in. While his first impression of her was unfavourable, she captures his interest with her honesty and sudden confidence during her auditions. As a result, he chooses her to be Natsuki, the protagonist of his drama revolving around an udon noodle shop and its tie-in commercial, despite the fact she is the least experienced. Nakazono has a great deal of faith in Yura's abilities and finds her ingenuity remarkable, but is aware that her career is still delicate and that she can be overshadowed by her parents' fame.

Yura's father, the first Japanese composer to win an Academy Award. He currently lives in New York with his mistress and their family. Yura's mother suggests that he is has little interest in his daughter and is unlikely to care for her after their divorce. Despite being apparently distant from her father, Yura recalls how he would play the piano as she woke up in the morning. After Yura chooses to become an actress, she receives an ultimatum from her father through Mizorogi stating that if she does not achieve success within a year, Yura will move to New York to join her father. It was later revealed that he loves Yura a lot and wanted to bring Yura with him at the first place when he going to New York but was prevented by his wife. He's even willing to give any amount of alimony but he wants Yura's guardianship in return.

Reception

Eva Volin of ICv2 said of volume 1, "There isn't anything here that you wouldn't find in any average to above average shojo manga." She also said, though, that volume one is too early to give an accurate review of the series, saying, "While I can't call volume one a powerhouse introduction, it is an effective set-up for the series and I'll be looking for volume two to see where the story goes." Anime News Network

Anime News Network

Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...

 described the plot as "a transparent rip off" from Skip Beat!

Skip Beat!

is a Japanese shōjo manga by Yoshiki Nakamura. It is the story of a 16-year-old girl who discovers that her childhood friend and romantic goal, Sho Fuwa, only keeps her around to act as a maid and earn his living expenses, as he works his way to become the top pop idol in Japan. Furious and heart...

, but favorably compared Yura to Hatsumi of Hot Gimmick

Hot Gimmick

is a 12-volume shōjo manga by Miki Aihara that was serialized in the Japanese manga anthology Betsucomi from December 2000 to July 2005. The English release is currently published by Viz Media...

, a previous work by Aihara. Anime News Network applauds Aihara's restraint in the second volume, regarding her characterization to be improving. They especially enjoyed the addition to the cast of a rival to Yura's mother, saying it's rare to see an older woman in manga.