Anonymous Noise Vol 1 by Ryōko Fukuyama

This story is about a Nino, aka Alice, who sings to regain the two guys in her life she’s lost. As a young child, she sang out the window with her neighbor, Momo, to drown out the sound of her parent’s fighting. One day, Momo moves away without saying goodbye. Distraught, she goes to the beach where she meets Yuzu, who writes songs in the sand, and Yuzu tells her to keep singing to bring Momo back. Then, Yuzu moves away. And, in true manga fashion, they all wind up at the same high school. Nino wears a mask to prevent herself from screaming until she disappears, a symptom of her abandonment issues. Yuzu is part of a super popular band, but they all wear disguised (hence “anonymous” in the title). Momo doesn’t come back until late in this volume, so it’s hard to say yet how he will fit into this narrative, but I imagine Yuzu and Momo will both be going after Nino, and she will have to choose.

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While I really enjoyed this story, the thoughts of the main characters, especially Nino, is extremely repetitive and distracting from the overall story.  I won't go through and count how many times Nino repeats Momo's name, but it is extensive.  Other than that, I really enjoyed Nino's struggle with keeping herself together, and the tension built up between her an Yuzu.  I’m willing to read more volumes to see if the repetition lessens as Nino works through her issues.  I also throughouly enjoyed the art style of this manga as it was detailed and fluid throughout.  Drawing characters making music on a page is difficult, but I think it was done really well.

VIZ rate's this for Teen, and that, to me, is fitting.  So far, there is nothing inappropriate that wouldn’t make this fine for junior high or high school. I wouldn't put this in elementary only because of the love story being with high school students, so I don’t think they would understand where the protagonists are in their lives.

At the time of this review, this series has 18 volumes, so there is a little bit of a purchase investment, but not as big as some other popular series.

Sara's Rating: 7/10
Suitability Level: Grades 7-12

Tags: Rating: 7/10, Suitability: Middle School, Suitability: High School, Manga, Music