4 out of 4 stars
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Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to a young adult series entitled Original Music Makes. The author is Veronica Purcell, a web-fiction writer who has numerous other works under her belt - a series entitled Seriphyn Knight Chronicles is among them. In I'm Kita Duran (Original Music Makes Volume 1), I had the pleasure of meeting Kita Duran, a goal orientated teenager set on starting a music club in a school that doesn't teach its students music and art. In his quest to start the club, he must face many obstacles. Will he quit while he's ahead or will he do the seemingly impossible and bring music to the hearts of his fellow students?
Duran's first day at Hotaka High turns out to be quite eventful. His science teacher Watanabe-sensei tricks him into making a love potion that causes everyone in that class to fall madly in love with each other, whether they're of a different sex or not. Special ingredients are needed to make an elixir that will negate the effects of this mad concoction. Watanabe-sensei can get in serious trouble for what he's done. Duran is a smart young man though. He wants to help save his fellow students, but he also wants to start a music club. One of the things he needs to do before he can start one is to have a teacher sign his application form and become the Music Club's adviser. Will Watanabe-sensei give in to Duran's demands?
The book has typos. I found them on almost every page, but I simply didn't mind them. The book is so fun to read that overlooking these frequent typos is like ignoring the buzz of flies when one's busy devouring one's favorite type of food. The author has done a fair amount of research on Japanese culture and it is apparent throughout every page of this book. Through reading this book, one gets to discover the difference between the family and given names of the Japanese people as well as Japanese words for brother, sister, friend, and many more.
I loved all the characters. They are all unique and as a collective they make this book very interesting to read. I can safely say that all of them are my favorite characters. There's Duran, a good looking guru when it comes to the piano that girls can't help but blush when first talking to him. There's Chiasa, a hot girl who isn't shy when it comes to showing her affection for Duran, even though Duran is secretly falling madly in love with another boy named Saski. There's Fumio, a guy who is always starving and constantly dreaming of devouring ham flavored pancakes. I've described only three characters here, but there are a lot more that I enjoyed reading about.
In total, this book has six chapters. Wait, did I say six measly chapters? Okay, bear with me. Original Music Makes is also a web-fiction series that can be read on the author's blog and one that is structured like a serial. The chapters, which contain many scene breaks, are very long and each can be described as a standalone story, although they each propel the overall plot of Duran's music-club-in-progress to the conclusion of the first volume of the series entitled I'm Kita Duran.
Purcell has executed the homosexual scenes beautifully. I must admit, I was a little hesitant about reading this book because, well, I don't play for that team. The scenes aren't too erotic though - it's just kisses, kisses, and more kisses. I think anyone who loves young adult novels, serial style fiction, books about music, Japanese literature, and novels that contain content of homosexuality will enjoy this book. Readers who enjoy watching the occasional manga cartoon series or reading a manga comic book will like this novel as well. My rating is 4 out of 4 stars.
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Original Music Makes
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