Peach Girl Manga Review – For Lovers of Melodrama and Early 2000s Shoujo

Ueda. Volume 16 Cover, Peach Girl, Kodansha Comics.

This Peach Girl review was requested by a loyal Romance Manga Recs reader. (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡ I’ve actually read this manga before, but it was quite a number of years ago.

This story was first released back in 1998 and into the 2000s in Japan, so it is a slightly dated read that holds more of a nostalgic shoujo vibe to it. This makes it a bit fun to see the older fashion and cultural references in Peach Girl—but let’s talk story!

This manga is marked as a “romantic comedy drama,” although I would consider it a melodrama, as it is full of exaggerated plots and characters. If you look up other reviews online, you will see very split opinions about this manga. I think you will either really enjoy the drama, absolutely hate the drama, or fall somewhere in-between.

While I do think the story overall is entertaining, I will admit that it contains some tropes that are overused and uncomfortable. This drama can even be incredibly frustrating, so if you’re easy to anger, maybe skip this one, haha! If you’re still interested and excited for drama, check out the plot summary below!

Peach Girl – Plot Summary

Peach Girl stars Momo Adachi: a tall, tanned, blonde, and beautiful girl just entering her high school era. Unfortunately for her, her unique looks often make people think she’s an “easy” girl who plays around and spends her time partying. In reality, she’s a rather innocent and naive girl who tans easily—and was on the swim team in junior high.

Momo’s first “friend” in school, Sae, is her opposite. Short, cute, and pale. Sae copies everything Momo does, even going out of her way to try and copy Momo’s fashion and more. Sae often uses cheap tricks and manipulation to get what she wants. Luckily, Momo isn’t completely oblivious, and knows this about Sae; therefore, Momo tries to keep her crush on their classmate, Toji, a secret. 

In order to do this, when Sae asks Momo who she likes, she points to Kairi Okayasu—a popular boy in school who just happened to be nearby. Of course, as expected, Sae immediately targets Kairi. 

However, Kairi is smart and sees through Sae’s schemes; even rejecting her immediately. Upset, Sae begins spreading a rumor about Momo and Kairi. This causes all sorts of problems for Momo, especially since her true crush (Toji) is a rather gullible guy.

These problematic rumors and misunderstandings are just the start of this manga’s complex drama! It may seem like a simple high school feud, but it turns into much more. Misunderstandings, trickery, manipulation, set-ups, mistakes…it all happens in the Peach Girl manga!

Ueda. New Japanese Edition Volume 4 Cover, Peach Girl, Kodansha.

Why I Enjoyed Peach Girl

As I mentioned earlier in this Peach Girl manga review, this story feels like a melodrama. It is a great reading option for readers who love the theatric and extreme plots of 90’s and 2000’s shoujo manga—that are often full of twists and ridiculous conflict just for fun.

Not just a simple drama where a second lead comes in and slightly stirs the pot… I’m talking ultra dramatic soap-opera level pot-stirring. Now that you know what to expect, let’s talk about why this manga is enjoyable and engaging!

Plot:

As I mentioned before, this manga is mostly made up of a crazy, ridiculous story that’s designed to shock the reader—so there isn’t that much character development or depth to the characters in general. Peach Girl mostly focuses on romantic drama caused by misunderstandings and unique (or stupid) choices made by the characters.

It’s a wild storyline that may get you frustrated, but you can’t help but want to read more and see how things play out. Some or all of the characters may earn your hate—but again, it’s an engaging read that’s hard to put down regardless. 

As for the romance, outside of all the craziness it’s very sweet and well suited to shoujo. Although these high schoolers often discuss rather mature topics or make mature jokes, the romance frequently focuses on compatibility—what it is Momo loves about her suitor and how they make her feel. 

Does she feel cherished and safe? Can she trust the other person? Is she trusting her own heart? Is she happy? Peach Girl has a pretty good representation of a girl’s early relationship experiences; in terms of emotion, at least.

Sometimes the romance is very fluffy, and other times it is much more dramatic, throwing obstacles in the way of Momo and her potential suitors. This shoujo really dives into deeper challenges of trust, pining, and complex emotions of relationships that some shoujos leave out.

It is very melodramatic, frequently creating exaggerated physical or emotional barriers to a relationship that most high schoolers likely won’t face in real life, haha. 

Peach Girl also has an iconic love triangle, where Momo forms very suspenseful romantic developments amongst more than one suitor—both of which who are great candidates. Neither felt like unnecessary additions to an already established couple, which is the way I often feel about love triangle shoujos. 

Instead, both candidates had their own positives and negatives, and they each played a part in the story that really pulls at your heartstrings. Understandably, Momo struggles between the two. You really can’t dislike either candidate, and the author makes you agonize between who to root for. Even amongst all the confusion and drama, I really enjoyed the portrayal of this dramatic, youthful romance.

There is a sequel series of this manga called Peach Girl Next which feels like a continuation of the original series, but for when they are all older. It contains pretty much all of the original characters, too. I did think that Toji and Sae’s stories did need a more satisfying completion than what the original story provided, so it was nice to see a sequel including them.

However, the drama is almost exactly the same as in the first, and I was really hoping for more. The sequel does dive more into Sae and Toji as I mentioned, but the drama that occurs between Momo and Kairi felt like a reiteration of the original manga series.

I was a bit disappointed, as I thought it could go into a different direction. I will say that the sequel does make the overall story for all the characters feel much more complete, by tying up loose ends and wrapping up each character’s individual story a bit more than in the original series.

Characters:

Like I said before, the characters in Peach Girl don’t really have a ton of depth, but they do all have their own unique personalities at least, so let’s talk about it!

Starting with Momo Adachi, while I mentioned earlier that she was innocent and naive—she’s not pathetic, either. She knows how to stand up for herself, and has self respect. She is a refreshing character in terms of the melodrama manga genre, because she doesn’t let people walk all over her.

However, she is still a very kind and friendly person, too. Momo can be pretty mature at times, but still wishes for a normal high school experience of making friends and getting a boyfriend.

She’s also pretty smart, but unfortunately falls for Sae’s mean games sometimes. As does Toji, who is a bit denser than she is. Although Momo seems like the type who wouldn’t fall for Sae’s tricks, she is still young, new to the dating scene, and puts hope in others (one of her best qualities). Additionally, Sae is rather crazy and will do anything to see Momo suffer, so her schemes can be pretty twisted.

Sae Kashiwagi is the kind of character who is around just to stir things up. Her character is designed to be annoying and hated, so that the plot can sprinkle in all the drama.

You’d expect more character development from this girl, but unfortunately some people just don’t change. I don’t have much to say about this character other than the fact that she never seems to learn, and she will also continuously infuriate you.

There is a side story spin-off for Sae, but honestly I didn’t enjoy it. Spoilers: Yet again, the SA tropes are used immediately and Sae is saved by some pervert guy who follows her around constantly—and his presence really didn’t make a difference to the short story, in my opinion.

Even in her own side story Sae is shallow and manipulative as usual, chasing after guys who are taken or uninterested. It’s nothing new, and was a bit irritating to read. I was hoping she would have some actual character development in this short story, but that didn’t really happen and it ended sort of randomly.

I also expected improvement in the sequel story (Peach Girl Next) where they are older, but Sae is still a meddler. Her character changes a smidge from the original series, becoming just slightly more likable. If you’d like to see some very mild improvement to her character, you can check out that sequel story.

Next is Momo’s crush, Kazuya Tojikamori (Toji for short). Toji is a kind-hearted and very innocent character. He has some pretty funny reactions to things, but is actually very earnest and tries his best. Toji is also dense and very gullible, which is endearing but also a bit frustrating.

Overall, I really liked his character and his personality when it comes to romance, but his gullibility had me frustrated at times. He doesn’t always make the best of choices, but he also isn’t the worst character—he does what he thinks is right, is very devoted, and has a kind heart.

Lastly, we have Kairi Okayasu (known as Kiley in some translations). He has a bit of a goofy personality at the start, which almost seemed a bit like a front to hide his true feelings. Kairi seems to be a womanizer and a pervert (never been a fan of this personality trope), and is a little annoying; but seeing his good side show throughout the manga series made him an interesting lead character. 

He was always there for Momo when she needed support, and therefore becomes a great friend to her. I liked his character since he always had good intentions, was sincere, and seemed to understand Momo well.

I also preferred his design over Toji’s—although I do think Toji’s character design stands out from the typical modern day male lead. Nice and simple, with short hair… Anyway, Kairi is one of the only characters who actually seemed to have any sort of depth in terms of personality and background, so I did enjoy his arc a lot throughout Peach Girl.

Art:

I absolutely love the art style of this series. It’s a great representation of manga styles of the late 90’s and early 2000’s, which is a style I have always loved.

All of the characters in Peach Girl are drawn so nicely—I love the expressions, as well as the eye and hair detail in this artist’s work. It’s stylish and attractive, with fun fashion featured from time to time (particularly when they are out of school or on the featured title pages).

The original manga covers in Japanese and in English are so nostalgic, but for this review I really wanted to include the new edition covers (only available in Japanese as far as I can tell) because they look so iconic.

There’s also some sillier aspects of the plot and the way the artist portrays them. Goofy chibis, old-school jokes, and other similar comedic aspects—they give me so much nostalgia for old-school manga styles. These occasional comedic styles were very necessary to help balance some of the crazy, shocking developments that happen in the plot, too.

Ueda. New Japanese Edition Volume 15 Cover, Peach Girl, Kodansha.

Any Cons?

Peach Girl has a lot of problematic scenes, particularly frequent SA scenes. I know old shoujo was often overdramatic, but these types of tropes are overused and not portrayed in productive ways (such as helping others learn to cope or relate to their own experiences).

Instead, they are random and often unnecessary. They happen, and then that’s it. Poor Momo experiences quite a lot of trauma, and it is often quickly forgiven or brushed aside. I think it’s insensitive and a poor choice of drama to use, at least when used so many times in one story.

It just felt like the author was trying to throw in as many shock-factor twists to the plot as they could, which can get uncomfortable or irritating after some time; so if you aren’t looking for a manga with an extreme plot, maybe beware.

Another con is that this story suggests a number of problematic age gaps—as older shoujos often did. Spoilers: These age gaps are seen between Sae (15-17) and two people: a model (19), as well as Kairi’s brother Ryo (25). Additionally, we notice another age gap between Kairi, (15-17) and his supposed ex girlfriend (21). Lastly, Kairi has a crush on a 25 year old woman named Misao.

These age gaps are suggested at different times of the manga, where their ages may differ depending on when the related characters appear in the story. I tried to be as accurate as possible, but it was a bit difficult to keep up with all of the different characters and their ages. However, they do mention the age gaps occasionally in the manga itself.

I’d like to add that although maturity can vary from person to person as they age, this manga makes a ton of jokes and includes many scenes about physical intimacy—that are often overused for a manga about high schoolers. Similarly to the first con, it just feels uncomfortable to read. So before you read this high-school romance, just know it contains many mature scenes and topics.

Lastly, the author was a little too good at creating a hatable character. Sae was the most infuriating character, and she does some really nasty, hateful things in this story that are a bit disturbing to read. Please remember to check the trigger warnings I’ve provided at the top of this page before reading Peach Girl.

Final Thoughts

There’s both a lot to love and a lot to hate about Peach Girl. The story is dramatic, suspenseful, and full of emotion and romantic tension. There’s plenty of sweet moments that lead to friendships and romance, but also a lot of really messed up scenes to cause drama and interest—some of which are pretty disturbing.

For readers who enjoy extreme plots and melodrama, Peach Girl can be a good choice of entertainment. Overall, even amongst the craziness and dramatics, I enjoyed reading it once again. 

As for the sequel story, while it wasn’t wildly different from the original manga’s drama, it was still enjoyable to read and leaves the characters with a more complete ending. Check it out as well if you enjoy the first half of the series!

Disclaimer: Any images used for this blog are for illustrative purposes only, are not owned by me, and are under ownership of the artist or publisher.

Images Credit: Ueda, Miwa. Peach Girl, Kodansha, 2018. Bessatsu Friend, Kodansha Comics, 1997.

More Recommendations!

A Star Brighter Than the Sun Manga Review – A…

Asexual GL Manga Recommendation – Short, Easygoing Romance

Romantic Killer Manga Review – Choose Your Own Ending!

Comments