Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: SP Baby
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 8-Dec
WEBSITE:
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY: Japanese
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: no2015105764
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/no2015105764
HEADING: Enjoji, Maki
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035 __ |a (OCoLC)oca10240502
040 __ |a TnLvILS |b eng |e rda |c TnLvILS
100 1_ |a Enjoji, Maki
370 __ |a Tokyo (Japan) |2 naf
372 __ |a Comic books, strips, etc. |2 lcsh
374 __ |a Authors |a Artists |2 lcsh
375 __ |a female
377 __ |a jpn
670 __ |a Enjoji, Maki. Happy marriage, 2013: |b t.p. (Maki Enjoji)
670 __ |a Manga Updates website, July 31, 2015 |b (Maki Enjouji ; associated name: Enjoji Maki ; birthplace: Tokyo ; gender: female)
PERSONAL
Born December 8, in Tokyo, Japan.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Manga artist.
AVOCATIONS:Traveling, cats.
WRITINGS
Also author of Dear Brother!, Hapi Mari 〜Happy Marriage!?〜, Yoru Café – My Sweet Knights, Sekai wa Bokura no Tameni!, Private Prince, Koisuru Heart de Taihoshite, Tsuiteru Kanojo, Atashi wa Sore o Gaman Dekinai, and Fu Junai. Author’s works have been translated into English, French, Spanish, and German. Contributor to Petit Comic.
SIDELIGHTS
Maji Enjoji is most well known for her work as a manga artist. In terms of genre, her works mainly classify as josei, which is meant to appeal to young women who are interested in more mature comic stories than what is typically found in shoujo manga. Enjoji’s works can be found serialized within the josei magazine, Petit Comics, and also comes in book form. Some of her works include Dear Brother!, Fu Junai, Private Prince, and Hapi Mari 〜Happy Marriage!?〜. Her works are also available for English-, French-, Spanish-, and German-speaking audiences.
SP Baby, Vol. 1 tells the tale of a young woman named Tamaki Hasegawa. Tamaki has spent several years devoting herself to her family. Since her teenage years, she has floated from job to job, doing everything she can to keep her brother and herself afloat. Since the two are parentless, their ability to survive falls on her. However, Tamaki’s responsibilities leave her at a disadvantage; without a college degree, her job options are severely limited. However, a chance meeting may change her luck and her prospects dramatically. When she witnesses Sugou Kagetora being pursued, she subdues his would-be attacker, who is actually one of his bodyguards. Kagetora is impressed by Tamaki’s physical prowess, and soon grants her a position as his new bodyguard. While Tamaki is initially reluctant, she accepts the job upon realizing how few other options she has for work. Through her new job, Tamaki learns just how privileged Kagetora is; he is the nephew of the Prime Minister, which puts him in a place of high esteem but also makes him highly vulnerable to malicious intent. Protecting Kagetora leads Tamaki down the road of several misadventures. Along the way, she has to deal with spontaneous advances from Kagetora, who may be interested in her in ways that go beyond a work relationship. Tamaki must figure out the ins and outs of her new line of work while also blocking Kagetora’s attempts at flirting. A contributor to Publishers Weekly expressed that “the character art is superb.” On the Comic Bastards website, Thea Srinivasan remarked: “I’m looking forward to what scenarios the author has to offer for this pair and I hope she is able to balance it out with a few romantic tropes.” She added: “This manga is for the person who wants a light comedy that will get them through the night and feel refreshed for the next day.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, November 13, 2017, review of SP Baby, Vol. 1, p. 46.
ONLINE
Comic Bastards, https://comicbastards.com/ (February 23, 2018), Thea Srinivasan, review of SP Baby, Vol. 1.
FangirlNation Magazine, http://fangirlnation.com/ (December 11, 2017), Toni Adams, review of SP Baby, Vol. 1.
Maki Enjōji (円城寺マキ Enjōji Maki, born 8 December) is a Japanese manga artist. Some of her works, such as Happy Marriage!? and Private Prince, have been published in French and German by Kazé and Tokyopop. Editorial Ivrea has released the Spanish version of Private Prince in 2011, which is still ongoing. Happy Marriage!? will be published in English under VIZ Media’s Shojo Beat imprint on 6 August 2013.[1]
Career
Her debut as a manga artist was a one-shot called Fu Junai that was published in 2004 in the special issue of April of the Japanese josei manga magazine Petit Comic published by Shogakukan. Since then, she published all her works to date in this magazine. Fu Junai was also the first manga of the author published in Germany, where the title was translated as “Private Love Stories”, in April 2009.[2] Enjōji is currently working on the story Dear Brother!, released in October 2011.[3] Her hobbies include cats and traveling.
Her works stand out for their thematic feature of the josei genre, which is love and sexual relations between adult men and women in a humorous and dramatic tone.
Major works
2004 Fu Junai（不・純愛）(One-shot)
2004 Atashi wa Sore o Gaman Dekinai (あたしはそれを我慢できない) (One-shot)
2004 Tsuiteru Kanojo (ツいてる彼女) (One-shot)
2005 Koisuru Heart de Taihoshite (恋するハートでタイホして) (One-shot)
2005–2009 Private Prince (プライベート・プリンス) (5 volumes)
2005 Sekai wa Bokura no Tameni! (世界はボクらのために!) (2 volumes)
2008 Yoru Café – My Sweet Knights（ヨルカフェ。）(3 volumes)
2009–2012 Hapi Mari 〜Happy Marriage!?〜 (犬夜叉) (10 volumes)
2012– Dear Brother! (ディア ブラザー!) (5 volumes)
Print Marked Items
SP Baby, Vol. 1
Publishers Weekly.
264.46 (Nov. 13, 2017): p46.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
SP Baby, Vol. 1
Maki Enjoji, trans, from the Japanese by JN Productions. Viz, $9.99 trade paper (192p) ISBN 978-1-42159-
540-5
A stiff translation that feels unedited and a poor mix of story elements undermine this effort from the creator
of Happy Marriage, though preteens may not mind the slim literary aspects. Tamaki Hasegawa is a young
woman trying to get full-time work but keeps striking out--until Suguo, a well-to-do young gentleman,
suggests she become his bodyguard. An action-tinged rom-com ensues, with a late-to-the-party mystery
back-story. But, where Enjoji's previous bestseller was fresh and enjoyable because the main characters
were both strong, self-assured people with open eyes, here the opposite is true: immature, insecure
characters create drama where there is none. The most interesting elements of the story--Tamaki's training--
are left unexplored while the boring ones--Suguo's constant undermining of her abilities--are given all the
screen time; the story almost finds its footing by the end, but not entirely. The character art is superb, but the
layout is oddly hard to follow, as is the flow of ideas in the dialogue. This is one to skip. (Nov.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"SP Baby, Vol. 1." Publishers Weekly, 13 Nov. 2017, p. 46. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A515326015/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=190331af.
Accessed 5 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A515326015
Bodyguards are usually meant for a special set of people who constantly need to be protected. But what if someone asked you to be their bodyguard? Would you take the job if the money and training were great? As someone who isn’t athletic, I would probably get the person I’m protecting in trouble within the first five minutes of being with them. Plus, it doesn’t help that I’m not long and lean like many other bodyguards who tower over the person their protecting. In reality, though, I often see many stories about male bodyguards protecting females specifically. It isn’t often I see a story where a female is protecting a male.
SP Baby is about a woman named Hasegawa Tamaki, a woman in her early 20s who has to work several different part-time jobs to help support herself and her younger brother since her parents died when she was younger. She’s been unsuccessful at finding at a full-time position until she one day stops someone from chasing a man down. It ended up a bodyguard chasing his master, Sugou Kagetora. A few days later, Kagetora goes back to Tamaki and gives her a job offer to be a full-time bodyguard which Tamaki ends up accepting.
Generally, the feminist in me would be appalled at the amount of sexism placed Tamaki while she’s working. Kagetora is a pervert in some aspects when it comes to romantically pursuing Tamaki. But he doesn’t do it in a manner that goes overboard toward obsession. He still maintains the stereotypical flair when it comes to the innocence he has toward pursuing a romantic partner, something that is commonly found in several romantic mangas. It helps that Tamaki is willing to step in and make sure that Kagetora is kept in line, but I’m on the fence about positions Tamaki ends up in due to the writing choices of the author.
There are a lot of comedic moments in this manga that makes me laugh. Most of it comes from Tamaki trying to understand specific scenarios as she’s thrown into a new world of rich politicians. It’s these moments that get me laughing. But it’s also some of the moments with Kagtora’s other main bodyguard, Mikeyama, that make me randomly bust out laughing. He is meant to be a serious character, but this seriousness is used to make comedic moments that will surely make the readers laugh. The pairing the author created with this character was a really smart move and was able to get my attention in an instant.
The plot itself is nothing too fancy. Since most of the story revolves around Tamaki, I got an insight into her “innocent” nature when it comes to the world around her. While she isn’t ditzy, she is trying to figure out how to navigate her new job and the people she meets because of it. It also helps that several of the romantic archetypes are still intact with this manga, but it doesn’t go entirely overboard with all the tropes to make me bang my head on the wall.
The art style is pretty average in my opinion. It tends to have more focus on the characters’ expressions with some emphasis on the background. The only “unique” aspect of the artwork is the mentions of the actions that occur throughout the manga. But even then, the drawings are really beautiful and detailed. It’s just an average drawing style overall unfortunately and I was hoping a little bit for this manga considering the plot that was used. At least this didn’t go overboard on using too many still moments compared to other romantic mangas.
Hopefully, the later volumes are just as comedic as this one yet try not to be as focused on sexual incidences to emphasis a budding romance between the couple. I’m looking forward to what scenarios the author has to offer for this pair and I hope she is able to balance it out with a few romantic tropes. But for now, all I can really think about is how average this is. This manga is for the person who wants a light comedy that will get them through the night and feel refreshed for the next day.
Being a bodyguard means protecting your client at your own cost. Who then will protect your heart from the client?
With VIZ Media launching a new manga series, SP Baby Volume 1, in November, (we sort of, but not really) answer this question.
A manga is a style of Japanese comic. There are two general types of manga categories which are divided by gender targets: Shonen Manga for boys and Shoja 1 for girls. After learning a bit about SP 0] Volume 1, I learned that there were two additional gender targeted manga categories by age: Seinan Manga for the male demographic between 15 and 40 years of age, and Josei Manga for the female demographic between 15 and 40 years of age. A Seinan and a Josei manga focus on more mature themes explored in a slightly more realistic setting than Shonan manga and Josie manga. A great visual example can be seen from “The Manga Demographics Explained.”
After learning what Josei manga applied to a reader such as myself, then SP Baby Volume 1 peaked my interest. As much as I love and adore shoja manga (Cardcaptor Sakura will always be near and dear to my hear), one can only handle so much sugar coated atmospheres and unrealistic situations. Well, SP Baby Volume 1 still delivered an unrealistic situation, but at least the protagonist was an older character. Points given for having a non-student character, but major demerits on everything else.
From Maki EnjojiIn, the creator of Happy Marriage?! , comes SP Baby Volume 1 ( assuming that “SP” stands for “Special Protection”). Tamaki Hasegawa is a young woman who is struggling to find a job. Due to family troubles, Tamaki only has a high school diploma and in this highly competitive world, almost every door is closed to her. While waking dejectedly down the sidewalk, she happens to stop an assault on a man running for his life. This man is Kagetora Sugo, the Prime Minister’s nephew. Apparently influence by Tamaki’s quick reflex and legs, Kagetora offers Tamaki a job as his bodyguard. She refuses at first but her limited opportunities eventually changes that answer to yes. So Tamaki begins her training as Kagetora’s bodyguard. Although Tamaki tries to keep it as professional as possible, Kagetora lavishes attention on her as its hinted that they have met before.
Strange and unrealistic situations are deeply rooted in the manga universe but this was so flimsy and hurried. The whole volume is hurried as we are supposed to believe a romance is brewing between Tamaki and Kagetora. It is established in the manga that Kagetora does not feel pain (why? just why?) and has been the target for several attacks. So why, why, whu would he pluck Tamaki off the street? A complete stranger with zero background check done, no training, and someone who said no multiple times? For a high ranking person whom security is key, this is just dumb. Which makes one wonder that the so-called attackers must be even dumber if this is Kagetora’s security detail. The mysterious attacks tend to light fires in the dumpsters so that already speaks volume on their own level of talent.
Even more frustrating is that consent does not exist in this manga in any shape or form. Kagetora is constantly invading Tamaki’s space and is basically not respecting her pleas for professionalism and such. Without knowing whatever their past connection is, at this point in their lives, Tamaki has no idea who Kagetora is. Knowing that, he should have kept his space and allowed her to get to know him. It would have been more romantic and sweet if Tamaki was allowed to see him at her own rate. The romantic situations that these land themselves in are completely devoid of any warmth, romance, or common sense.
Although both of these characters are so ditzy that maybe they do deserve one another. Tamaki does have fighting as she works hard in her physical training. She does have a big heart and is willing to place herself in danger for the sake of another. A trait that she herself acknowledges as also being a flaw as she would be placing hardship upon those around her. Just having a high school diploma should not excuse a character for her lack of common sense. One would think that such a character would be hardened and more inclined to trust her instincts.
There is just not enough in the first volume to connect to characters or root for a romance. This fell through as a manga which is sad as I would love to see a live-action adaptation of this story. I would definitely love to a lead female actress show off her martial arts skill all while love is in the air.
It appears that josei comics are not very common in Western distribution. SP Baby Volume 1 is an unfortunately disappointing flagship for this promoting this manga to Western audiences.