Manga Review: Voice Over!: Seiyu Academy, vols 1-12

Voice Over! Seiyu Academy, vols 1-12 by Maki Minami, October 1, 2013 through August 4, 2015. Published by Viz Media, LLC. Source: borrowed from library.

Hime Kino’s dream is to one day do voice acting like her hero Sakura Aoyama from the Lovely?Blazer anime, and getting accepted to the prestigious Holly Academy’s voice actor department is the first step in the right direction! But Hime’s gruff voice has earned her the scorn of teachers and students alike. Hime will not let that stand unchallenged. She’ll show everyone that she is too a voice acting princess, whether they like it or not!!

To make matters worse, Sakura’s grouchy son, Senri, is in Hime’s class, and he seems determined to stomp on her dreams. He even has the nerve to call Lovely?Blazer stupid! But Hime won’t be deterred by naysayers, her new nickname (“Gorilla Princess”), or even getting demoted to the Stragglers group. She’s ready to shine, and nothing is going to stand in her way!

Because it's been a really long time since I first began reading Voice Over, I'm just going to do an overall series review instead of volume by volume.

I first picked up Voice Over because I really enjoyed the anime, and one volume, that I read of S.A. by Maki Minami. There were definitely things I loved about this one that set it apart, and things that were just okay and typical of the genre.

The Good

One of the things I liked best about Voice Over was Hime's goal of becoming the best voice actress. I enjoyed this aspect because it was different and unexpected. Yet, what really made it interesting was that Hime's voice was not all that suited to the job...Her tenacity is refusal to give up on here dream though is what made her such a good character. 

Hers was a strength that was not like what you read in young adult fantasy novels. Hers was one that gave her the ability to keeping fighting and reaching for her dream even though everyone said she couldn't do it. There were times when I just wanted to give her a hug simply because you knew she was hurting from the things said about her.

The Lesser Good

There were definitely some of your typical Shojo manga tropes here. Like the misunderstood love interest. That and the unlikely girl getting the romantic attentions of two of the most popular boys at school. I know, been there, read that. Though it still made for interesting reading.

Artwork

Yeah, I liked it. Though what I admittedly liked best about Maki Minami's art was the characters. Of course!! It was both pretty and well done. Unfortunately, I'm too tired and bleary eyed right now to elaborate on my thoughts on the art of voice over. I just found it to be really enjoyable and felt that it perfectly captured the characters and overall story.

Final Verdict: Voice Over! Seiyu Academy!- This manga is both fun and packed with feeling! Hime is truly the best thing about this series and I hope you'll give her and her story a chance!!!

Voice Over! Seiyu Academy! series earns (overall)

This series was borrowed from my local library. All thoughts are my own.