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Never Give Up! (ネバギバ!, Neba Giba!
?) is a shōjo manga by
Hiromu Mutou. The story is about a girl named Kiri, who poses as a
male model in order to protect her childhood love, a boy named
Tohya. Kiri has always looked masculine, inheriting the looks of
her fashion-model father. Tohya, on the other hand, has always been
revered for his beautiful looks and delicate features. Never
feeling worthy enough for Tohya because of her looks, Kiri vowed
she would reveal her true feelings to Tohya once she becomes as
beautiful as a "princess".
After a photographer sees a photo of him, Tohya is offered a job
to be a male model. Tohya accepts, but Kiri becomes worried that
Tohya wouldn't be an able to defend himself in such an environment.
She begs her mother, who owns the modeling agency, to give her a
job as a model to be by Tohya's side. Her mother agrees, but
because the opening's only for a male model, Kiri would have to
pose as a boy. Kiri reluctantly agreed, forgoing her goal of
becoming a princess in order to protect Tohya. Soon enough, Kiri
and Tohya are surprised by their sudden fame when they start seeing
their photos in magazines, posters, and billboards. And not before
long, boys and girls start falling for both Kiri and her male model
identity.
Characters
Kiri Minase (水無瀬 樹梨, Minase Kiri
?)
- The protagonist of the story, Kiri is a 14 year old girl known
as a "prince" due to her masculine looks she inherited from her
fashion-model father. With high eyes, broad shoulders, an inability
to grow out her hair, and her 5'9" height, Kiri makes a declaration
at the age of four to become a prettier princess than Tohya, so
that one day she can marry him. She has never confessed her
feelings about Tohya to him, because of her insecurities about her
looks that are keeping her from doing so. Kiri enters the world of
fashion modeling secretly as a boy under the pseudonym,
Tatsuki (タツキ
?), to watch over and protect Tohya from
people who would want to take advantage or hurt him. Most of Kiri's
admirers are girls, which just complicate matters more.
Tohya Enishi (縁 十夜, Enishi Tōya
?)
- A boy who has lived next door to Kiri since childhood, he is
the object of Kiri's affection. Known as a "princess" due to his
petite frame and feminine looks, he wants to become a "prince" just
as much as Kiri wanting to become a princess. He enters the world
of fashion modeling when a client of the Minase Modeling Agency
becomes infatuated with a photo of him. Tohya has a rather stoic
personality, and is unaffected by all the attention he receives
from the girls at his school. He has feelings for Kiri and tries to
hide it from his manager so he wont harass her. From time to time,
he likes to remind Kiri of her goal to become "a princess".
Natsu (奈津
?)
- Kiri's best friend and confidante. She affectionately likes to
jump and tackle Kiri with a big hug upon seeing her. Natsu is the
only person other than Tohya and Kiri's mother that knows of Kiri's
secret male model identity. With her honest advice and opinions,
Natsu is always there for Kiri and keeps her grounded. Natsu is
also very protective of Kiri, once threatening Tohya that she won't
"forgive him" if he ever hurts Kiri. It is confirmed that she likes
Kiri and would date her if she were a man.
Akira (アキラ
?)
- An accomplished male model, Akira is the son of the
photographer that hires Tohya and "Tatsuki". He works with Tohya
and Tatsuki in their first photo shoot, and instantly takes a
dislike to Tohya because of his looks and lack of emotion in his
poses. Although he doesn't know Tatsuki is actually Kiri posing as
a boy when they first meet, Akira becomes attracted to Tatsuki and
kisses "him" when Tatsuki apologizes for punching Akira after he
insulted Tohya. Akira claimed that Tatsuki was kind of "girly" and
"cute". Akira then becomes attracted to Kiri (without her disguise
on) after running into her on the street. Kiri manages to convince
Akira that she and Tatsuki are two separate people, but Akira still
likes her despite that fact. He tells Kiri he already liked the boy
that looked like her, but a girl version is an "extra bonus". Akira
persistently makes advances at Kiri, but Kiri always rejects his
offers.
Kiri's mother (樹梨の母, Kiri-no-haha
?)
- Kiri's mother is the owner of her own modeling agency, the
Minase Modeling Agency. Short on a male model, she
gave Kiri a job as a model only if she posed as a boy. Kiri
reluctantly agreed so she could spend time with Tohya and protect
him at the same time. The only conditions her mother gave Kiri were
that the public can not find out that "Tatsuki" is a girl, and that
no one discovers that she is her mother. She stresses that if these
secrets were to get out, not only would Kiri be fired, but it would
put the reputation of her agency at risk. She likes to tease Kiri
about her appearance from time to time.
Kiri's Father (樹梨の父, Kiri-no-chichi
?)
- Kiri's father is a famous model as well, but divorced with her
mother because he flirted with a lot of women. He would hug Kiri
often.
Kanou and Riku
- Kanou and Riku work at the same company as Akira and
participated in the Fashion show. These two competed for the
'exclusive' contract with the other three. During the time they
spent with Kiri and the others, they began helping one other,
mainly Kanou and Kiri, but Riku helped mentally. Kanou also really
cherishes Riku because of what he had done in the past. Kanou is
half Chinese, and Riku and Kiri tell him that his "blood" is full
of history.
See also
External
links
Hakusensha
Tokyopop (former)
Wikis
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