Papillon 1-2 by Miwa UEDA
Am I mean for snickering when companies use popular titles of their competitors to market their products? I”m not sure if this was the first Del Rey title that refers to a popular Tokyopop title in their cover, but I’m sure that it won’t be the last.
If you’re in any way familiar with Peach Girl, Papillon covers familiar ground: two girls competing for the affections of a boy. This time, the two girls are twin sisters Ageha and Hana. Ageha is the plain jane country mouse, whereas Hana is the popular charismatic city girl. The object of their shared affections is Ryuusei, Ageha’s childhood friend from the country.
I guess I wasn’t the first one to think of the Sweet Valley books when I finished reading these books. I mean, using twins is one of the most common shoujo (heck, manga!) tropes. This manga isn’t breaking any original ground, for sure, but I think that fans of Ueda pretty much acknowledge that as fact. Fans of this mangaka come back for the drama, for the soap opera mess, and for the predictable outcomes.
If you do compare the storyline of Papillon to her previous works, her characterizations have improved. Hana isn’t as hateful or as contrived as Sae. Sure, she fits the mold of the Mean Girl, but her reasoning and motivation actually makes (Machiavellian) sense. Ageha, the meek one, dreams and pines for the boy but doesn’t really do anything even when opportunity presents itself. That actually makes the story more interesting for me; even though I know I’m supposed to cheer for Ageha, I actually also like Hana a lot.