Monkey High! (Japanese: サルヤマっ!, Hepburn: Saruyama!) is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Shouko Akira. It was first serialized in Shogakukan's Deracomi magazine, starting in 2004.[2] It transferred to Betsucomi magazine in the October 2005 issue (released in September) and ran until its conclusion in the March 2008 issue (released in February).[3][4] Shogakukan later collected the individual chapters into eight bound volumes under the Flower Comics imprint.[5][6] Viz Media licensed the series for an English-language release in North America.[7]
Monkey High! | |
サルヤマっ! (Saruyama!) | |
---|---|
Genre | Comedy, romance[1] |
Manga | |
Written by | Shouko Akira |
Published by | Shogakukan |
English publisher | |
Magazine | Deracomi Betsucomi |
Demographic | Shōjo |
Original run | 2004 – February 2008 |
Volumes | 8 |
After her politician father is disgraced by a scandal, Haruna Aizawa transfers to a new high school. Haruna thinks that school life is just like a monkey mountain—all the monkeys form cliques, get into fights, and get back together again. The school she just transferred to is no exception. There's even a boy called Macharu who reminds her of a baby monkey.
It's hard enough fitting in at a new school while dealing with family problems. Will Haruna remain jaded and distance herself from everyone around her? Or will Macharu win her over with his monkey magic?
Theron Martin at Anime News Network comments on the author's depiction of both the male and female lead having the same height.[8] Manga Life's Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane commends the author for "contrasting the emotional moments and the hectic school scenes".[9] Comics Worth Reading's Johanna Draper Carlson comments on the manga's uniqueness in the shōjo genre.[10]