Full Moon O Sagashite

Publisher
Viz
Writer
Arina Tanemura
Artist
Arina Tanemura
Country of origin
Japan
Year
2002

Full Moon O Sagashite V. 1

By David Rasmussen
18th Jun 06

Thank, or blame, the State of Hawaii if you must.
Last time I budget my state tax return for work related expenses, let alone a vital expense like picking up a vital DVD Box Set for review… because that is why we’re a tad behind on starting of a summer themed event. By now we should be starting off The Revolutionary Summer of Utena (2006)… but since I have yet to order that first box set, mostly because it was tied up in the return of my state tax returns, you can promptly blame the State of Hawaii for any delays in those reviews… no, really, blame away.

But while I wait, and wait, and wait… (sigh)… while WE wait let’s take a look at ANOTHER theme event (though shorter than the three month Utena event), Full Moon O Sagashite Month.
Last time I reviewed a preview of Episode 1, which was a freebie that came with Shojo Beat V. 2, Issue #6. Now I’m going to go into the manga itself, and the first volume of the series.

Volume 1
If you discovered that you only have a year to live, what dream would you chase without hesitation? What would motivate you to run after that dream? And what would you do when you caught your dream?
Now what if you were dead and began to find out that you wanted to remember what you were? Forgetting yourself you begin to want to know what you liked, what you were as a person, the full monty.
These questions have uncomfortably been laid into the laps of one 12 year old Mitsuki Koyama, and the harbinger of death Takuto (in that order) as we open the doors on the beginnings of the pop star known as FullMoon (o Sagashite).

Mitsuki Koyama is a 12 year old whose faced some painful turns of the screw in her life, but none more painful than being diagnosed with throat cancer (a malignant growth called a “sarcoma” is growing in her throat). There is a chance for a cure if she undertakes an operation, but she has been highly resistant to this because she would lose her voice if she takes the operation. This would be bad, worst for her than fears of death itself, because it means her dreams to sing professionally will die.
This is important, because it is a wish she made to someone she cares for, whose name is Eichi. He left her years ago to go to America, no doubt because he was also sick and possibly dying. But before he left they made promises to each other to reach out for their dreams, and achieve them before they meet again.
He dreams of becoming an astronomer (probably working for NASA), while she dreams of being a pop star.
It is the fulfillment of her dream which drives her, even if that drive risks her very life.

But her dream is not an easy one, and not just because of her sarcoma (which prevents her from singing as it causes her pain to sing for a sustained time in a loud enough tone for people to hear), there is also her grandmother who has steadfast refused to allow Mitsuki to sing, but for all the wrong reasons.
If you thought the grandmother’s reluctance was because of Mitsuki’s cancer you can forget about it! It seems she is bitter bitter bitter because Mitsuki’s father (a musician) made her daughter (Mitsuki’s mother) pregnant only for her to die in childbirth, she has been unreasonably bitter against Mitsuki despite the fact it was never Mitsuki’s fault for her mother’s death even if she held a lot of bitter emotions about her father (and probably towards her as well).

And, yes, as if the show the futileness of Mitsuki’s decision she is making an error about not taking the operation, she is visited by the two awkwardly unscary harbingers of pediatric death… pediatric death? Meet Takuto (the guy in the cat hat who transforms into a super deformed cat) and Meroko (the high maintenance low clothing count female slash rabbit who is dreadfully in love with Takuto), aka the dreaded “Negi Ramen”… ooh, sounds like a new menu item down at L&L Drive Inn! Yum!
The two not so scary fractioned of pediatric death spiriting, who visit young children as they are dying, turn out to not be the brightest torches in the Necropolis because once they realize that their subject (Mitsuki) can see them (and promptly panic), they accidentally let it slide that Mitsuki is going to die in one year. Not a good thing to do, because instead of scaring Mitsuki into silence it steels her determination to go to a audition for a new talent (and chase her dream now that she knows she only has a year to live).
Too bad, because she seemingly misses the part where Takuto says they came to stop a person who was “destined” to attempt to arrive that day to save her… only they seem to find nobody, except maybe the fact that they had unintentionally fulfilled that destiny without knowing it… just watch.

But back to Mitsuki, once the duo catches up to her they are moved by her plight (Takuto thinks he’s got a clever way to make her accept her future death) to the point of Takuto helping her achieve her dream by going to the audition, which she (thanks to more interference from Takuto) aces.
Meroko thinks something is up, but Takuto is not moved by that… until he begins to realize that he’s beginning to remember what he was before he was dead, which scares the heck out of Meroko (which she has damn good reason to be freaked once you read why she’s so bothered).

But as Mitsuki begins her career (as FullMoon, her new stage name) and begins to have doubt in herself (because of a chance encounter at the end of the audition), she is ultimately forced to leave home when it seems that her grandmother will never accept her desire to become a singer.
But that is just one of the many roller coasters of emotions that run throughout the first volume, which births the career of FullMoon, who is on the fast track to stardom even as forces slowly gather to conspire against her dreams (and her reality).

As the book ends we begin to realize the beauty of the read, without realizing the pains that have yet to rise before the path of Mitsuki Koyama and her alter ego FullMoon.
That’s it. Breakdown time.

Full Moon O Breakdown the 1st
What’s Hot?
I said it with the preview of the Anime, I’m going to say it again here. Full Moon O Sagashite is a promise, a promise of a beautiful, interesting, funny, sad, gripping, emotional little roller coaster of a read.
Once you start turning the pages you’ll find yourself held tight by the read, and by the end of this first volume you should be a solid reader of the title no questions asked.

There is just something good about Full Moon O Sagashite, and I hope you find it out as I did when I got my hands on it.

What’s Not?
I really can’t think of anything I would call bad about Full Moon O Sagashite. It might not be your cup of coke zero, sure, but that’s for you to find out on your own.

Moments to Remember?
Quite abit about the title is memorable, actually, trust me.

What to Ignore?
On a personal note I guess I should ignore for now the fact I’ll need to check in for the first time with CMXManga (which, if memory served, is DC Comics’ manga line) just to review other manga title from Arina Tanemura, Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne. Otherwise there’s nothing for you to ignore… maybe.

One thing to note, though this isn’t a bad thing by a long shot, is the apparent rush of readers to buy out copies of Full Moon O Sagashite V. 4. I am still waiting for a copy that I ordered, and yet it seems to be on backorder. I don’t know, but it seems to me that SOMETHING big happens in Volume 4 for it to be sold out as it is. Maybe it’s just me but when the review comes up I guess we’ll find out then… right?

Overall?
With a solid start out of the starting gate I’m looking forward to the coming weeks of review.
Solid writing, solid artwork, strong cast of characters, good plotting with lots of emotion and feeling slathered all over it. You should find yourself quite receptive to the read once you get to know it well.
So go out, and get to know Full Moon O Sagashite. You won’t regret it.

-- David Rasmussen 18th Jun 06