Kasane

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Rui

Japanese: 累－かさね－

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 14

Chapters: 126

Status: Finished

Published: Apr 23, 2013 to Aug 10, 2018

Genres: Supernatural

Themes: Psychological

Demographic: Seinen

Serialization: Evening

Authors: Matsuura, Daruma (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 7.83¹ (scored by 8,542 s)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #1263²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #550

: 34,926

Favorites: 785

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7.83

Ranked #1263Popularity #550 34,926

Matsuura, Daruma (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /14

Chapters: /126

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Kasane

Volume 1
$15.99

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Synopsis

Beauty is revered and idolized throughout the world. This is how it has always been, and it is no different for Kasane Fuchi's late mother, Sukeyo—a famous stage actress whose charming image and acting prowess have captivated the world.

Kasane aspires to be an actress like Sukeyo once was. Yet, although she possesses incredible acting abilities, Kasane looks nothing like her mother. In fact, her visage leads many people to wonder if the two are even related. Due to her appearance, Kasane is bullied and ostracized by her peers at school. This makes her dream seemingly impossible to achieve, where good looks are assets in the acting industry.

However, Kasane's life takes a turn for the better when she re her mother's words—to wear her lipstick and kiss whoever she desires. Much to Kasane's astonishment, the first person she kisses while wearing the lipstick causes her to temporarily switch faces with them. Now given a chance to pursue her ambitions, to what lengths will Kasane use this newfound power?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Kasane was nominated for Best General Manga at the 39th Kodansha Manga Awards. It also placed ninth on the Zenkoku Shotenin ga Eranda Osusume Comic 2015 poll.

The series was published digitally in English by Kodansha Comics USA from May 30, 2017, to January 8, 2019. It was in French by Ki-oon from January 28, 2016, to May 23, 2019; in German by Tokyopop from December 15, 2016, to March 2, 2020; in Italian by J-Pop from June 24, 2020, to August 10, 2022; in Polish by Waneko from December 21, 2021, to February 21, 2024; and in Spanish by Milky Way Ediciones since September 27, 2016, to December 27, 2018.

The manga received a live-action film adaptation that was released on September 7, 2018, in Japan.

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Reviews

Jul 7, 2024

yorokobisenpai

Recommended

Like the story itself, Kasane strikes at the unsettling aspects of our own character as human beings. The psychological warfare influenced by the power of identity and what we attach to said identity is almost palpable. What better way to emphasize this point than through a world where eyes scrutinize every part of you—theatre. We see two different sides of Kasane: when she is herself with her own face, she is timid, reserved, unsettling, and visibly uncomfortable and inferior. But when she takes on the face of another, she exudes confidence, not only in how she walks and carries herself but also in how she ...

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Feb 3, 2023

duylinhsss

Mixed Feelings

I like Kasane, I couldn't love it.

I don't have much to discuss with Kasane because it is good. It's strange because while I really enjoy Kasane and have re-read it, it's very apparent to me that I like it, conventionally. That's to, I like it, but I wouldn't be gushing about it. The issue with it, might have lied in the overall story.

What's Kasane is about then. Well, Kasane is about a talented actress that couldn't quite go where she wants because she's ugly. The central conflict and the drama never quite blend well, in my opinion. On the surface, the emotions are very understandable: ... desire, ambition, envy, jealously, lust, love and so on. They all blend together in a soup, and while each component are delicious by itself, together they all belong yet don't shine as great as they should. It really reminds me of stews. Meats, vegetables, bouquet garni are all very good by themselves, but put together in a stew and cook too long, they all sort of blend together into something nice, familiar, warm but ultimately, well, ordinary.

That's not to say the characters are bad, I think individually they are all quite well done, if not, a little forgettable because of precisely how ordinary they are. They have desire, ambition, pattern of behaviour. However, none of them stand out that much, even the titular character. If anything, I feel like they are serving the story rather than the story being about them. There's the usual formula of "having extra-ordinary people in an ordinary setting or ordinary people in extra-ordinary setting". This falls to the latter, but the setting itself is not that out-of-the-box, which led to the entire package not being quite amazing as it should have been.

However, if there's one thing that it got right and stand out, is the art. It's not one of those "ordinarily pretty art". There's this tendency in the comic community to set the art standard around ease on the eye. Things that are out of ordinary are laughed at, such as that time Aku no Hana did the rotoscope thing. Yes, it looked weird, but that's not why it didn't work. It didn't work because it missed the note on everything that makes animation, animation, and the story of course. Aku no Hana central conflict was about the "conventional" vs the "rebellious". Two distinct characters on opposite spectrum are presented as "love interest". The "rebellious one" is depicted essentially as the "femme fatale" archetype. Mysteriously beautiful with an irresistible charm that's broken inside. The rotoscope completely failed to communicate that. It essentially turns the show into a beautifully directed teen drama. Some of the shots were nice, but that's about it because rotoscoping. But I digressed.

The point I was trying to make is that Kasane’s art is beautiful not in the way that it’s technically well done, although it can be argued so. It is beautiful in that it tries its best to communicate the emotions, feelings in the thoughts of the characters. That’s not something that’s easily done, and not with such frequencies. The drama of Kasane that makes me not dropping it and able to re-read it, is not in the plot, but in the emotion. We don’t often events directly but rather the emotion and the functional outcome associated with them. Kasane’s emotions like torments, anguish, grief, longing, fear, despair and so on are featured very prominently and the art tried its best to impart them. The use of shadow, long frames, the distinct facial expression, and body gesture, all combined to create a memorable experience. I also like how they are quite theatrical, connecting directly to the setting.

Unfortunately, this is also one of the parts that makes Kasane not quite standout. Kasane is fun and interesting for a modern work. However, if you had read girls and ladies comics since the 80s, like me, then this is essentially Shoujo comic 101. No, Shoujo comics are not “ordinary girls dating hot boys”. That’s the result of the genre being distilled to sell. Really, Shoujo is all about people giving soliloquy about how they feel. Feelings are not just kneejerk emotions, but also the emotions about thoughts. You think about someone’s wellbeing, that’s a thought. The emotion towards that thoughts can be longing, worry, frustration etc… Shoujo is all about communicating that. It’s a womanly pursuit to understand one’s own emotion, and there’s nothing wrong, strange nor weak about it. Now, the trouble is Kasane is just another great Shoujo, added to the pile. It doesn’t do anything quite out of the ordinary. Everything is well done, well packaged, but that’s about it.

I didn’t write this review to shit on Kasane. As I have iterated, I like to read Kasane, to experience the emotions again. In reality, I was sent an email about recommending comics to some sort of awards for MAL, and it occurred to me that I have not written anything for Kasane. Of course, if I am to review something, I need to be honest, even if it’s about something that I like. Kasane is just not within the rank of the great, the extra-ordinary, the innovators, but it is another good work, added to the pile.

Incidentally, the TV adaption is horrible as always. Not only did they not bother to make Kasane looks hideous, completely subverted the main conflict in the story, they didn’t hire people who can act in a show about acting! I was merely jesting of course. As usual, the directing is sloppy and conservative, but more importantly, they are often completely missing the point of the original work. Comics are not mere storyboard, directors better inserting their own creative mark on them if they want to produce something watchable.

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May 18, 2021

Noir_Alchemist

Not Recommended

Funny

Story: this has no pay off, as simple as that, not building, no mystery no nothing ... is void, is a souless attemp as to portray greek tragedies in manga but without impact

Why this has so many good reviews ???? I keep reading cuz i thouth that i would get a huge plot twist at the end that would make this soup opera worth

Characters: oh men here is the biggest issue, they are so 1D that hurts, not even the main character is worth wasting the time i spend reading

Art: mediocre, same face for all the "beautiful woman" and over the top ugly ...

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