From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Suki: A Like Story (すき。だからすき, Suki:
Dakara Suki
?), is a three volume manga by Clamp. The title literally means
"I like you, that's why I like you." It was published in English by TOKYOPOP
(although their license has since expired).
Plot
Suki follows the story of Hinata Asahi, also known as Hina, a
child-like teenager who loves teddy bears. She lives alone in her house
and early in the story, her new homeroom teacher moves into the
empty house next door. Shirou Asou, her new teacher, becomes her
first crush and he seems to take an interest in her as well.
However, this simple love story grows complicated as Shirou's
interest in Hina is put into question as more sinister elements are
placed in the story, all while forcing Hinata to grow up at the
same time.
Characters
- Hinata Asahi (旭ひなた, Asahi
Hinata
?)
- Although her full name is Hinata, she likes people to call her
Hina. Sixteen-year-old Hina gets excellent grades, but is still
very naïve and sees the world with child-like wonder and innocence.
Hina chooses to live on her own, with two teddy bears named Waka
and Tono and her new found friend, a cat. She wants to live on her
own to accommodate her father's hectic schedule.
- Her father is the chairman of the school and he also owns many
businesses. He hires Shirou Asou, a bodyguard, to protect her from another
kidnapping attempt (she had been kidnapped nine times before).
Because her father always pays the ransom, no matter how large, Hina has been
kidnapped many times. She later develops deeper feelings towards
Shirou.
- Shirou Asou (麻生史郎, Asō
Shirō
?)
- Seemingly cold and unfeeling, thirty-two year-old Shirou moves
into the unoccupied house next door to Hina's, and is also her new
substitute teacher. He is actually hired by Hina's father to
protect her from another kidnapping. Oblivious to Hina's feelings
of love, he (at first) seems to think of Hina as merely another
job. He later recognizes her feelings, but he rejects them. He had
fallen in love with a client before, but he always feels a pang of
guilt whenever he thinks about her. The woman he had fallen in love
with before, threw herself into the path of a bullet, sparing his
life. Although she survived the blast, she was a diplomatic guest, and later
returned to her home country and married.
- Touko Shinohara (篠原燈子, Shinohara
Tōko
?)
- Hina's best and life long friend, Touko is always looking out
for the girl. Touko also is very suspicious about Asou. Many boys
like her.
- Emi Kishitani (岸谷笑, Kishitani
Emi
?)
- Emi is another friend of Hina's. Opinionated and loud-mouthed,
she never gives up the chance to explain how childish and naïve
Hina is. Emi's father borrowed a lot of money from Yakuza loansharks and he doesn't
have any to repay them. Emi concocts a scheme to help her father
kidnap Hina for the ransom that Hina's father is guaranteed to pay.
After she is rescued by Shirou, Hina, in her loyalty and naïvete,
forgives her and asks her father to loan Emi's family the money
that they need. Emi is ashamed of what she's done and is grateful
for Hina's forgiveness.
- Tomoaki Namiya (奈宮智秋, Namiya
Tomoaki
?)
- A famous twenty-one year-old writer, Hina refers to Tomoaki as
Tomo-kun, a name that he hasn't been called in
at least ten years. Curiously enough, the genres he writes in are
erotica
and children's books. Tomo is the writer of Hina's favorite series
of children's books, all featuring bears. Like Hina, Tomo is very
carefree and sometimes hard to handle. He has also hired a
bodyguard to protect him. Later in the story, Tomo writes a series
of books that mirror the lives of Hina and Shirou, much like in
Chobits, another
work by Clamp. The title of this work is Suki.
- Masaya Kizu (祈津昌也, Kizu
Masaya
?)
- Kizu is a colleague of Shirou, both having worked with the
Secret Police. Now employed as Tomo's bodyguard, for reasons
unexplained in the book, though it was implied that the
circumstances are similar to Hina's.
Important
locations
- Hina's house
Hina's house is a large, two story home in a safe neighborhood.
Shiro moves into the house next door to hers, to keep a watchful
eye over her. Her house is (unbeknownst to her) tapped with
multiple cameras and microphones, placed secretly by Shiro, to
monitor Hina.
- Outo High School
The high school that Hina attends and Shiro's place of
employment. Outo High has also appeared in Legal Drug (along
with Shiro and a graduating Hina).
- Chūō Doori Shopping District
-
- Bookstore
- Hina's favorite place to buy books, mostly by her favorite
author, Tomo.
-
- Cafe Piffle Princess
- A cafe, a favorite place of Tomo's, he can often be seen
writing his latest book (children's or otherwise) at his favorite
booth near the door. The cafe is themed around the Piffle Princess,
a cute mascot character that
appears frequently in Suki and other works by Clamp.
Media
Manga
Tokyopop licensed Suki: A Like Story for an
English-language release in North America and published the three
volume from February 10, 2004 to June 8, 2004.[1]
However, all three are now out of print.[2]
Volume
list
| No. |
Japanese |
North American |
| Release date |
ISBN |
Release date |
ISBN |
| 01 |
June 17, 1999[3] |
— |
February 10, 2004[1] |
ISBN 978-1-59182-760-3 |
| 02 |
December 14, 1999[3] |
— |
April 13, 2004[1] |
ISBN 978-1-59182-761-0 |
| 03 |
July 17, 2000[3] |
— |
June 8, 2004[1] |
ISBN 978-1-59182-762-7 |
CLAMP in
Wonderland
Suki, along with most of CLAMP's other titles, appeared
in CLAMP's second music video, CLAMP in Wonderland
2, which was the first time the manga was animated.
References
External
links
| Clamp |
|
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| Manga (1989-1999) |
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| Manga (2000-2009) |
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| Light novels |
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| Others |
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| Collaborations |
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| See also |
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