is a shōjo manga by Kyoko Ariyoshi

Kyoko Ariyoshi

is a Japanese shōjo manga artist. She was born in Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture. She debuted by publishing her work Kitty and a Girl in Shukan Margaret in 1971....

. The shōjo magazine Margaret

Margaret (magazine)

is a biweekly Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Shueisha, primarily for girls from 11 to 15 years old, although some stories are read by adult women. It was first released as a weekly magazine in 1963. In 2009, the circulation was 154,584...

serialized the story in Japan during the seventies. 21 volumes were released. In North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 the story is published by CMX

CMX

CMX may refer to:* CMX , a Finnish rock band* CMX , a manga brand by DC Comics* CMX , a format being developed by record labels with data such as audio, lyrics, album art and the like being contained in a single file...

. The plot mostly follows a young girl, Masumi, as she struggles to become a ballerina

Ballerina

A ballerina is a title used to describe a principal female professional ballet dancer in a large company; the male equivalent to this title is danseur or ballerino...

.

Plot

The first volume begins with Masumi sneaking backstage after a Tokyo ballet performance in order to express her admiration for the lead dancers, Alexei Sergeiev and Maria Prisetskaya . However, when she meets the stars, Masumi becomes tongue-tied and clumsily begins to dance the Odile Variation from Swan Lake. Sergeiev and Prisetskaya graciously excuse her, saying that nothing could give them more happiness than her physical expression of appreciation, and Masumi returns home slightly embarrassed. Later, Masumi receives an invitation to enter a nation-wide ballet competition. The competition is being held to discover the best ballet students in Japan, in order to invite them to an exclusive ballet school designed to improve the quality of Japanese ballet. Her impromptu dance for Sergeiev and Prisetskaya captured the attention of Sergeiev, and so Masumi goes to Tokyo in order to compete.

Once there, Masumi meets Sayoko Kyogoku and Hisho Kusakabe, who both witnessed her clumsy Black Swan at the theater. They are now competing against each other. However, the three become friends, along with Aoi Yanagisawa, Kusakabe's friendly rival. Out of the eight finalists, Masumi, Sayako, Kusakabe, and Aoi are all accepted. However, Masumi is obviously the weakest of the eight. She must un-learn the bad habits she picked up at her former ballet school.

Future volumes continue Masumi's entrance into the competitive world of ballet.

Characters

The heroine of the manga, Masumi is a 16-year old Japanese girl whose life changes after entering a ballet competition and winning a place at an exclusive national ballet school. She grew up in rural Japan (Hokkaido

Hokkaido

, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...

) with her widowed father. She is filled with self-doubt, but passionately loves ballet. She has a weakness that is a self-defense mechanism which kicks in when she feels threatened or less than up to par. She will suddenly become deaf and is unable to hear anything. This is something that she seems to start to overcome as the series moves forward.

An accomplished young ballerina, who fears her chance at stardom will be lost to the younger Masumi. Sayoko has been interested in ballet since she was a very small girl. Although she resents Masumi for being younger and having more opportunity to grow as a dancer, Sayoko still feels sympathy for the naive Masumi. Sayako was a Prima Ballerina for one night during the production of Sleeping Beauty in which she played Aurora. But the second night of the production ended in disaster when she completely severed her Achilles tendon during a grand jete. This tests her strength and determination and makes her grow as a person. She must learn to dance again. Where once it was easy, it's now difficult. But she loves ballet and is determined to regain what she lost.

A talented young male dancer who has known Sayoko for a long time. They are normally partnered together. His rival and friend is Aoi, who jokes about wanting a chance to dance with Sayoko. He is in love with Sayoko, but also finds himself attracted to Masumi and the passion she has for ballet. He finally has to make a decision and tells Masumi that the only one for him his Sayako. He even asks Sayoko to be his partner in ballet for as long as they both dance.

The best friend and rival of Hisho. Aoi is a genius of ballet. He acts wildly, creatively, lively. He secretly loves Masumi but she sees no interest because she loves Hisho. He is bold and dynamic. He receives the role of Perelsnik in "Song of the Forest" and uses his love and passion for Masumi to interpret the role. He eventually leaves for Monaco. No one can tell what this aspiring danseur noble will do in the future.

A junior of Masumi in the ballet school and her rival. Her mother long ago was Masumi's mother's rival, but she couldn ever never win against Masumi's mother, so she is strict to her daughters.

Masumi's teacher. He's a very accomplished danseur noble and feels that Masumi holds great promise. He encourages her to work hard and to remember the basics. It's hard to say what goes on in his mind, but he cares for Masumi deeply.

An aspiring danseur noble from West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

. He's very charismatic, but confuses Masumi to no end. He has a tendency to irritate her, but then can be very caring and kind. When he first meets Masumi, he says he didn't realize she was dancing ballet and thought it was Japanese folk dancing. As the series progresses, he tells Masumi that they will be partners. He says they are very much alike and he knows they will be partners in their careers.

Self-proclaimed lifetime rival of Masumi. Lost to Masumi during a contest with the Odile

Odile

St Odile of Alsace is a saint venerated in the Roman Catholic Church, although according to the current liturgical calendar her feastday is not officially commemorated. She is a patroness of good eyesight.She was the daughter of Etichon , Duke of Alsace. She was born blind...

 variation because of reckless mistakes. She hasn't forgotten and has told Masumi that they will be rivals for life. Can be very irritating, but is a kind person at heart.

Larissa's cousin. She is beautiful, sylph-like, and the prodigy of Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. Her innate ability to emulate fairy creatures is uncanny. The first time Masumi's weakness comes out is after she watched Lilliana perform The White Swan from Swan Lake

Swan Lake

Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...

. She was supposed to perform after Lilliana and it terrified her. She felt inadequate and became deaf to the music. Masumi finds her wonderful and adorable outside competition, but has a tendency to lose herself when competing against Lilliana.

A mysterious ex-dancer who comes into Masumi's life out of the blue. In time, she comes to realize that this man and her now-deceased mother had been in love and had danced together. Serge helps Masumi when she has problems trying to find her Shirin for a competition. He shows her how to express herself through the movement and to become the character. He tells her that only through great suffering can true dancing be achieved. Much is hinted about this man, but no questions have been answered.

A British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 ballerina who is Masumi's roommate when she is studying at Royal Academy of United Kingdom.

A Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

n ballet dancer who is Sayoko's fan. He is Masumi's senior when she is studying at Royal Academy.

An American master of modern ballet. Masumi comes with Leonhardt to United States to learn from him.

One of Balanchine's students. A member of the solo dancers performing at New York. Being watched by .

An American ballet student, one of Leon's friends. Later Masumi and he have a romantic relationship, but their end is a tragedy.

Another friend of Leon and American ballet student.

A friend of Leon's and an American ballerina. She has advice for Masumi when she is in New York.

Publication

The series was published up to volume 15 in English by CMX comics before it closed its doors.

Volume list

Reception

Julie Rosato described Swan as "a rich narrative which describes classic shoujo". Erin Finnegan regards it as "a classic title that belongs on everyone’s “Must Read” list", feeling that it will certainly appeal to young girls, but also to male readers due to Swan being "so girly it goes all the way around the circle from feminine to masculine again". Shaenon Garrity notes the "punishing training" focus is reminiscent of Shonen Jump

Weekly Shonen Jump

is a weekly shōnen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968, and it is still circulating. One of the longest-running manga magazines in Japan, it has a circulation of 2.8 million copies...

series, and recommends its art sequences for aspiring comic artists to study.