Morino. Volume 6 Cover Art Cropped, Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty, Kodansha.
Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty – Information
Author of Story: Megumi Morino
Chapter Count: 6 volumes, 25 chapters + epilogue
Status: Completed
Content Warnings
These content warnings do not reflect the contents of the review below, only the literary work itself.
- Abuse (parental)
- Injury, car accidents, and hospitalization
- Abandonment
- Topics of death and dying
Spoiler Disclaimer
This recommendation post may contain small plot spoilers for review purposes. Any major spoilers are hidden by default and are able to be revealed via click or tap.
Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty – Plot Summary
Tetsu Misato is a high school boy who has agreed to take on a housekeeping job due to an argument with his father. His dad wants him to go to college when he graduates, but Tetsu wants to start work immediately. If he can last working in his dad’s housekeeping company until he graduates, perhaps his father will yield!
With this job, he helps maintain a large mansion that sits at the top of a hill in town. While working alongside others, he hears about a rumored ghost in the outbuilding behind the giant mansion.
His coworkers love telling ghost stories about the building, but the truth is that the daughter of the family who owns the mansion is supposedly living there.
Nobody has seen this young girl though… until Tetsu falls asleep in the garden of the mansion, and awakens to see the daughter of the family standing before him! When Tetsu lays eyes on her, he falls for her at first sight—but soon learns that she might not be who he thought she was.
This girl, Shizu Karasawa, later tells Tetsu that she has been hidden away due to her unique illness. Their future interactions bring more and more surprises that Tetsu may not be very prepared for!
Why You Should Read Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty
Plot:
I’ll be honest… I gave Wake Up Sleeping Beauty a try once before, and I think I dropped it in the first few chapters. I think that at first impression, I thought the story wasn’t going to be something I enjoyed.
But I had heard so many times that this series was great, and I really liked the art style, so I promised myself I’d give it another try sometime. I’m very glad I did!
The premise of this series is pretty unique, and a bit weird, but after it grows on you the story quickly becomes very sweet and full of emotion. It’s very wholesome, and simply grabs you by the heartstrings before you know it.
The romance takes some time to truly get started, but the journey leading up to that point is important, and once things get closer to the climax of the story, the romance gets cuter and cuter.
The kind of love found in this manga is incredibly wholesome and sweet. It feels pure, innocent, and wholehearted. It’s the exact kind of romance I live for—and here I was missing out all this time!
Morino. Volume 3 Cover Art, Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty, Kodansha.
Wake Up Sleeping Beauty feels very balanced in all aspects. The mangaka has weaved in light comedy into a lovely, wholesome romance that also has its more impactful, serious moments. At no point in time do you ever feel that these elements are misplaced or timed incorrectly—everything flows so nicely.
The plot is written very well, and I’m still kicking myself for dropping this story at first read, haha. I should have known better considering this author also created the masterpiece that is A Condition Called Love.
I have to mention though, this story hits hard on some really sad and serious topics. I definitely cried reading this series, as it just very realistically shows a variety of hardships and difficult choices that people do actually experience. But it gave the story a lot more oomph and meaning to it, so overall I really like these more serious tones, too.
I truly think Wake Up Sleeping Beauty is a fantastic manga for those who want a meaningful read with great character growth and very down-to-earth characters. It has not just an adorable slow burn romance, but also lovely themes of friendship, family, and life.
Although the story often focuses on the younger characters learning about life, even the adults have some growing to do, which I found to be a very realistic and relatable take. I hope you will look forward to reading this lovely story (and won’t miss out on it for too long like me, haha).
Characters:
The characters in this series are incredibly cute, lovable, and kind. They are so sincere and often very honest—just the good-natured sort of characters that really warm your heart. Many characters in this series are young, so you can say a lot of this story contains some life lessons and new experiences for these soon-to-be adults.
Let’s start with the male lead! Tetsu is an incredibly determined and earnest young man who works hard, has good intentions, and simply does whatever he can for those he loves. His character is totally cute and sincere, so as we get to learn more about him and his personal struggles, you may find yourself rooting for him more and more.
While he always has good intentions at heart, he can be a bit self-sacrificial—something someone his age shouldn’t have to be. He’s a strong character, but also sort of a crybaby (which I like to see in a male lead… give us emotion!!). Overall I really loved his character and his determination to take on any challenge.
I think the author did a really great job at making him a likable character from the very beginning, and then bringing about an impactful shift to the story with his unique struggles and character arc. It helps you, as a reader, root for him and then feel tons of emotion for his growth!
Wake Up Sleeping Beauty is also told from Tetsu’s perspective most of the time, which is a nice change for a shoujo.
Next we have the mysterious daughter of the mansion house who lives alone in the outbuilding: Shizu Karasawa.
Shizu is a unique character who has been ostracized by both others and, well, herself in some ways. Due to this isolation she’s experienced for years, she’s a bit ignorant about the world, and unfortunately seems like a shell of a person.
She’s unexpressive, quiet, and uninterested in practically everything. Her character is incredibly sad to begin with, but this makes her growth and development even more meaningful and exciting.
Shizu is very much a classic fairytale princess type of character, with her soft presence, slight childishness due to her ignorance, and a severe need to rely on others. The title of the manga is very fitting. I typically don’t like these types of characters, but found Shizu’s version of this character trope more tolerable and very cute.
I want to say more about Shizu as she is such a major character in this series but I can’t really do so without spoiling some aspects of the plot! Just know to expect lots of character growth for this lovely lady, alongside Tetsu and many others!
Art:
I love the art style of Wake Up Sleeping Beauty. It has such a lovely level of detail, nice shading, and just a great design overall. Most of the time it feels very clean and simple, but it often focuses in on the characters and portrays a softer, more detailed style.
The mangaka sometimes gives us large page spreads for important moments and expressions, and I really think it helped support the wholesome impression that the manga gives off.
As for the characters, Tetsu has a very cute design, and absolutely amazing expressions. He’s pretty much the backbone of the entire story, leading us readers through emotions of suspense, humor, confusion, excitement, and happiness. His emotions are contagious!
Shizu on the other hand is beautiful from the start, but we get to see more and more of her beauty as her character grows. I love the person she becomes in the later volumes, and think that her character becomes even more beautiful than before.
This sentence contains major spoilers, so be warned if you choose to click:
I have to say that the mangaka did an amazing job at making Shizu look and act different depending on who was controlling her body at the time. Each spirit not only has a distinct personality, but also a distinct appearance, which made it very easy to understand who was speaking quickly (even though these factors are further supported by Tetsu’s dialogue).
Overall I really liked the art in this adorable series. If I’m being honest, I think I enjoyed the style and character designs a bit more in this series than A Condition Called Love, although both stories are absolutely beautiful and amazing.
Morino. Volume 5 Cover Art, Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty, Kodansha.
Any Cons?
I will say Wake Up Sleeping Beauty takes a bit of time to sort of set up the overall story, but now that I’ve read the full story I find this to be a good thing, as I don’t tend to prefer fast-paced stories and definitely don’t want to read a plot that was rushed. However, I know others may want to drop the series because of that (like I did) so pull through! It’s so worth it!
Other than that, I have no real cons. This story feels very complete, as it focuses on each character appropriately, ties all loose ends, and leaves us with a very good ending.
Final Thoughts
Wake Up Sleeping Beauty is a manga that takes you through a whirlwind of emotions—and you need to experience it for yourself! It’s beautiful, it’s impactful, and it’s all told within just 6 volumes. I feel like this manga series is such an easy read to pick up and fall in love with. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!
Disclaimer: Many 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: Morino, Megumi. Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty, Kodansha, 2017.
