Swan

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There are 15 out of 21 volumes physically released in English. As of right now I have completed the 7th volume and will likely update it when I'm either on the 15th one or finished with the series entirely.

A brief thought of my feelings on it: It's absolutely mesmerizing, I think anyone who has the opportunity to read it should read this beautiful piece at least once. The captivating artwork is the closest thing to angelic as you could possibly get. Watching Masumi climb to the top when she is lacking even down to fundamental points is so enthralling, every volume has me wanting ... more.

Now onto my fuller feelings.
I wasn't necessarily sure what to expect when I first saw Swan. I randomly searched up the name on the database out of curiosity and clicked on it. Seeing as the physical copies can be a bit harder to get and that the online scans only went up to a bit of volume four; I decided to get the first volume just to try it out. To my surprise, even the first volume had me in awe, desperately wanting to know what would happen next. Hijiri Masumi a 16-year-old ballet student is shown a whole new world of ballet than known before. Previously Japan in comparison to the other countries during this time period has a great disadvantage to ballet (according to the manga) since it is generations newer to Japan.
Some of the characters like Kyogoku aspire to create a whole new world of ballet for Japan internationally. Whereas Masumi tends to just be dancing as it is her passion to.
Masumi has a great number of self-doubts but still attempts to push forward despite even her own body pulling her back at times. With the characters Kyogoku, Masumi, and Masumi's instructor Sergieve there is visibly an achieving amount of character depth and it builds an interesting dynamic between each relationship.

All in all, I would not like to give too much away but would like to vocalize how incredible I believe this manga is. I'm just as surprised that I'd be this drawn into a manga about classical ballet as I feel the next person could be once they start this title. Ariyoshi Kyouko is truly brilliant for this piece and I hold high respect to her, not only for how majestic the performing scenes are but for the brilliant dialogue that goes into it as well. It's very clear that Kyouko fully comprehends or at least has done an extensive amount of research on ballet performances as well as the dances and techniques in order to write about them in this manner.

Because the publisher went defunct and there is no copyright for this manga I will be physically scanning my copies and putting them online. If you are interested in where they will be privately contact me, as I would rather not publically spread it.

I'm currently on volume 12 of the 15 translated in english but hopefully translations for the rest of the volumes come out and I can update my review.

As someone that wasn't very involved in the shoujo world before, this has become one of my favorites as I expanded my list. While the main character Hijiri can be stuck in her head when against impressive opponents one can appreciate how she pulls through to the end of the performance even if she doesn't make it to the top. Even though Hijiri has talent and is the main character it doesn't mean that everything goes her ... way and that she is immediately better than everyone without hard work.

Characters:
Sometimes you can see the cliches of the time in a few characters the way they interact with each other is great because they have their own issues and can feel jealous of their own friend like normal people. Seeing the passion all of them have for dance and the things they do to hopefully reach the top make you want more and luckily do not make readers tired of competitions for roles, parts, etc.

Art:
Sometimes I just have to stop and stare because of how beautiful the art is. The author Ariyoshi Kyoko utilizes an entire page spread during some scenes that really bring it to life to the point I'm regretful that I can't watch them in person.

Story:
I'm always ready to read more after finishing a volume because it is really easy to get caught up in the story. It may not be anything over the top revolutionary but seeing the characters interact with each other, change environments, deal with problems, and overcome trials makes me want to continue. It's something that after coming so far you'd want to find out the ending because of the emotional attachment you get from your favorite characters.

All in all one of my favorite shoujo manga now because it has become close to my heart after getting through half of the story. If you like shoujo and sports manga with amazing art then this is probably for you.