Hot Gimmick Volume 12

Ryoki Tachibana, Shinogu Narita, Hatsumi Narita, and Azusa Odagiri. Book twelve finally answers the question of “which boy does Hatsumi pick?”

Hot Gimmick Volume 11

Character Cover: Akane Narita 14 Hatsumi's younger sister; somewhat of a floozy. She dates many boys, but eventually develops a crush on Ryoki's best friend, Subaru. At the beginning of the series, she is a second-year student at a local public junior high school. She easily gets jealous and in the beginning causes her sister problems. At the end she is nice and even gives her sister advice on Ryouki. Subaru Yagi 16 Ryoki's dorky best friend, who is also a friend of Hatsumi. His hobbies are video games and anime (especially Gundam) and also, collecting models and action figures. He develops feelings for Akane, even though she often scares him, coming on too strong with her forward ways. He is finally able to show that he loves her by finding "Rare Bears" for her. At the beginning of the series he is a second-year student at Takazono High School (Class A). At the beginning of the series it is implied that Subaru has a crush on Hatsumi, but later on he comes to reciprocate her sister Akane's feelings. - answers.com

Hot Gimmick Volume 07

New Year’s Eve brings complications in book seven. Little sister Akane has a new boyfriend, although she’s also flirting with Shinogu’s housemate. Hatsumi comes to a new realization about her feelings, while Ryoki is as self-centered as ever, scheming to get Hatsumi to sleep with him. For her, their relationship is hampered by emotional distance and lack of communication; for him, it’s all about the sex. When he tells his mother they’re dating, it’s soon all over the complex. Most of the drama results from characters acting on mistaken impressions of half-overheard conversations or partially glimpsed action. In that way, it captures realistic human emotion and gender differences. If only the characters would talk to each other honestly! But that would require putting aside their pride and risking rejection. - http://comicsworthreading.com/2006/01/08/hot-gimmick-recommended-series/

Hot Gimmick Volume 08

The aftermath of Ryoki slapping Hatsumi in public is on view in book eight. He takes out his fear that he’s the only one who cares on her violently and then blames her for his outburst. Hopefully, he’ll learn more mature behavior before he becomes a full-fledged abuser, and she’ll learn that it’s not right for her to apologize for his mistakes. She doesn’t respect herself enough to stand up in the face of his dictatorial demands, even when he tries to control her thoughts as well as her behavior. - http://comicsworthreading.com/2006/01/08/hot-gimmick-recommended-series/

Hot Gimmick Volume 09

Book nine begins with a chapter focusing on Akane and Subaru and Valentine’s Day. She’s used to guys moving much faster than he does, so she’s hoping the holiday gives her some clarity on where they stand with each other. Like any couple, they have to find their own unique way that works for them… and they’re so cute while getting there, with their uncertainties, since the reader knows they’re great together. - http://comicsworthreading.com/2006/01/08/hot-gimmick-recommended-series/

Hot Gimmick Volume 10

By book ten, pretenses begin collapsing as secrets are revealed. - http://comicsworthreading.com/2006/01/08/hot-gimmick-recommended-series/

Hot Gimmick Volume 03

Character Cover: Azusa Odagiri 16 An old friend of Hatsumi (who has somewhat of a crush on him). They were very good friends when they were younger, he always protected her from Ryoki. He is a popular model doing magazine work and TV commercials. He dates Hatsumi for a short period, which ends when he reveals that it's for revenge on Hatsumi's father for supposedly having an affair with his now-deceased mother. He also reveals that the only reason he is modeling is to earn money to hire a private investigator to find out who his mother's lover is, so he can exact his revenge, who turns out to be Hatsumi's dad. He later engages in another investigation with Shinogu because Shinogu doubts it was Hatsumi's father. They eventually find out he was just being payed to be a scapegoat so Ryoki's dad, the real lover, could come out clean. Azusa pretended to love Hatsumi to get revenge on her Dad. In the end, Azusa told Kazama that he was going to find a way to hurt Hatsumi and Ryoki's relationship to get back at Ryoki's Dad. we are left to believe that Azusa has never loved Hatsumi, and is not guilty for his crimes, and is willing to continue them. - answers.com

Hot Gimmick Volume 04

Character Cover: Shinogu Narita 19 Hatsumi's older (adopted) brother, who is in love with her romantically . He is incredibly kind and helpful. At the beginning of the series, he is a freshman law student at Hitotsubashi University. He isn't home much due to club activities and various part-time jobs. Shinogu was taken in by the Naritas when he was a little kid. But his parents had left big debts behind when they died. Shihoko and Toru Narita are constantly fighting about where they are to get the money to repay their debts from. Thus comes the plot Mr. Tachibana comes up with, that he will pay Toru if he pretends like he is the one having the affair, so if anyone looks into the matter, his name comes up. Thus Miho and Mr. Tachibana have their affair, she dies, and Azusa forms his plan. Hatsumi falls for it, Ryoki saves her, their relationship evolves, putting her family in social jeopardy. The debt they paid off, Shinogu tried to pay them back by moving out and taking multiple part-time jobs instead of following his heart in both the matter of school and Hatsumi. - answers.com

Hot Gimmick Volume 05

Character Cover: Hatsumi Narita 16 The main character of the series; she is really close to her older brother, Shinogu. At the beginning of the series she is a second-year student at Takazono High School, a private school. While Akane's fear of being pregnant leads Hatsumi into purchasing a pregnancy test for her, Ryoki accidentally sees her with it, and in exchange for that information's secrecy, Hatsumi becomes Ryoki's personal slave. She'll believe anything you'll say to her. She has a hard time getting over Azusa moving on afater he dumps her in the beginning but later she falls in love with Ryoki (who reciprocates her feelings.) The pair end up getting engaged in the end, after MANY hardships! - answers.com

Hot Gimmick Volume 06

Book six starts with a flashback to how Azusa grew up, showing that his actions have deep-seated emotional roots. This series rarely settles for two-dimensional characterization, and shocking acts have complicated histories that make them understandable, if not agreeable. Living in the past isn’t very satisfactory, but trying to completely ignore it doesn’t work either. Hatsumi finds herself burdened with guilt over long-ago secrets that aren’t hers, while Ryoki struggles to think about anyone but himself. - http://comicsworthreading.com/2006/01/08/hot-gimmick-recommended-series/