Tue, 12/01/2009 – 07:56 — julie
Chiaki Togu is a normal high school student who has a deep and abiding interest in the art of massage! She is the star of the Massage Research Club, which offers regular students the opportunity to be massaged on their lunch break, and is in great demand for her talents! One day she spots the most gorgeous back she has ever seen and is dying to find out whom it belongs to. Unfortunately, as she discovers, it is the back of the hottest guy at the school, Yosuke Moriizumi, who happens to be a player par excellence! Upon an accidential meeting in the hallway, she impulsive blurts out her desire to massage his stiff back and he is not amenable to the idea at first, but then changes his mind, saying he he will allow it – if she can get him to fall for her! The challenge is on! How can the shy girl, who only comes out of herself when she is practicing her beloved massage, win the heart of the most popular high guy in the school? Especially once she realizes she is actually falling for him? This is the premise behind Izumi Tsubaki's Magic Touch!
Highlights
Chiaki has a twin sister Sayaka who is an extremely avaricious and evil witch, to put it mildly. She masquerades under Chiaki's name, beguiling boys in order to entice them to give her many things, and then dumps them, and they take their revenge upon the younger sister, not realizing that they are not one and the same. Chiaki merely takes it, though, because she never puts up a fight on her own behalf. The only good thing she has in her life is massage, because she feels that she can help people by doing it, and it makes her feel good. She is devastated when she learns that Yosuke has been leading her on in order to exact revenge on her for what she allegedly did to his brother (of course it was Sayaka). But the truth comes out, and only serves to bring the couple closer together! She also has an older brother Takeshi, known as the Prince of Massage, who is currently living with his mentor, until his father can accept him for who he is, and his choice of massage as a career.
As Volume 5 begins, Chiaki and Takeshi and Yosuke have been invited to spend a day at the massage school of Takeshi's mentor, Ohnuki. The three decide that they cannot pass up this opportunity, so they ditch class, but have to go shopping for dress clothes, which is an interesting experience in and of itself! The school is larger than they had imagined, consisting of five departments: massage; acupuncture and herbalism; chiropractic; bone-setting; and comprehensive. It turns out that Ohnuki is actually conducting a surprise inspection of the school and has come incognito, as they don't know what he really looks like! The three visitors get separated immediately as they begin to wander the school. Chiaki becomes an unwitting witness to a young man's rejection by his girlfriend, and when he ends up flat on his back on the floor, she offers him her sympathy and assistance. The young man, Kaji Shiraiwa, realizing he is late to class, grabs Chiaki and takes her with him. There he confides to her that he is not a very good student, and watching his study habits, she can see why. Meanwhile Yosuke and his stiff back have become the center of attention of the female students, who have showered him with their cards offering their services to him! After class, Chiaki and Shiraiwa find Yosuke, and Shiraiwa is drawn to his stiff back as well! There is a difference between how Chiaki and Shiraiwa view massage. Whereas Chiaki visualizes the tsubos (pressure points used in massage to relieve pain) as ghostly little creatures that communicate with her, Shiraiwa sees them as dots, which makes sense when we find out what his specialty actually is! Meanwhile, Takeshi wanders into a different classroom where he ends up as a massage guinea pig, and encounters a young man named Fujishi who is shocked to learn that Takeshi is Ohnuki's apprentice, having coveted that role himself! The day at the school ends with Fujishi and Chiaki in a massage challenge, set up by none other than Ohnuki! On the way home, Chiaki struggles with her jealousy and her insecurities, trying to come to grips with how she feels about Yosuke She becomes alarmed the next day when his stiffness seems to reach epic proportions. It seems that when Yosuke is in a half-waking state that he becomes rather hormone-driven, and is prome to sleep-walking escapades! Which is exactly what happens, with surprising results!
Overall
The first year students arrange to take a mountain hiking trip the following week, so Chiaki is off to do some shopping for the trip, running into a rather exuberant Mihime along the way (the guy who made Chiaki fall to her knees in a previous volume, only using his voice, and who has come to the realization that he is in love with her), and she spends a little time with the strange young man. His sunglasses, which he is never without, fall into the river and he fears that they will be swept away, but Chiaki saves the day, jumping into the water and rescuing them. We never get a glimpse of his eyes, though, which makes one ponder the reason why. Hopefully that will be revealed at some point. During this volume we learn that there is something in Yosuke's past that he cannot remember, a blank spot that is a result of something traumatic, and he reacts to the suggestion that his stiff back is actually caused by mental stress! Which would also explain his sleepwalking. But he isn't interested in delving into it – at least not for now. And he hasn't said anything to Chiaki, being rather close-mouthed about personal things. Chiaki, for her part, is filled with insecurities at being with such a handsome guy when she feels that she is nothing but plain, unaware that those who come to know her view her as exceedingly cute. The series has an interesting premise, although I do find it confusing at times, and sometimes have difficulty in following it. But I really like Chiaki and Yosuke (who really is a very handsome guy, very easy on the eyes), and I would like to see them end up together on a permanent basis.
Comicsonline gives Magic Touch, Volume 5, 4 out of 5 shuffling tsubos!
