The Magic Touch
Story and Art by Izumi Tsubaki
Published by Shoujo Beat, imprint of Viz Media.
ISBN10: 1421516713
ISBN13: 9781421516714
Review by Linda Yau
The purpose of a massage is to often relax and de-stress a person. So what would it be like to have a massage society in your high school? The purpose of this club is to unite students who are interested in practicing to massage others, and what would happen if there is sparks there? The Magic Touch with a tag line of “Romance is at your fingertips!” is such a shoujo series.
Chiaki Togu is a shy high school student who is the star of her high school massage society. She never expected or asked for much, as her self-esteem or confidence was often crushed by Sayaka her scheming twin sister. Life was pretty bleak for her, until one day as she was heading to school. She happens to see and fall in love with a back that cried out to be massaged. This back belonged to the back of Yousuke Moriizumi, the hottest and most popular guy in school. Undaunted, Chiaki tries to ask him for a chance to massage his back, and Yousuke issues an ultimatum, to let his back get massage. Chiaki must make him fall in love with her. Thus begins their pure and proper relationship.
In this book there is also another couple in this book, the Prince of the massage society Takeshi Togu, and Yuna Aizawa, a fellow first year of Chiaki. What guarantees Takeshi a fan club in the massage club, doesn’t mean that he is lucky in real life. He really wants a girlfriend, but always gets rejected from other girls who think of him as a jerk. It wasn’t until Takeshi asks for Yuna’s help to teach him how to court a girl, that Yuna realizes her attraction for him.
Since The Magic Touch is a series, and a shoujo one, it has its angst cut out for it – so expect it to be a long drawn out romance. What makes this a good read for any shoujo fan is the cast of supporting characters. There is also the animation of certain elements that makes it a comedic cute read. It is just a refreshing read to read massage as a tool for romance.
If this was a series to be animated, then I wouldn’t mind throwing my support for it. Yet possible animation of this manga series is quite unlikely, as in Japan, The Magic Touch is finished, and at only nine volume, this makes for a fun and quick read. If you want to learn more information about its Japanese counterpart, the title of The Magic Touch is Oyayubi kara Romance.