Haruma Kiki is part of ballroom dance club, with dreams of being a champion and leading her school’s famous Quadrille. Tall and stately, she’s always assigned the part of lead…but Kiki dreams of being the following partner.

As Utatane Yuu’s Odoriba ni Skirt ga Naru, Volume 1 (踊り場にスカートが鳴る) begins, Kiki’s partner has split with her. Kiki is devastated,, but knows she’ll never find a partner to be her lead. Along on the landing of a stairway, she imagines herself with a partner to lead her in the dance. There, as she dances alone, she is seen by Toribami Michiru, who has decided to become her lead. Only, Toribami is shorter than average and with Kiki’s height, will anyone take them seriously?

This story sounds really light-hearted, but it’s actually ever so slightly melancholy. Kiki’s got a lot of dislike for her body and its betrayal of her dreams, so Toribami has to work extremely hard to get past that to convince Kiki that she’s sincere. But, for those moments when the two of them are dancing together, it’s a worthy journey.

The manga is ongoing in Comic Yuri Hime magazine, and Volume 2 will get them past a lot of the baggage Kiki is carrying, in both a physical and emotional sense. There is no Yuri in a romantic sense, as of yet except by osmosis. We will get Michiru in suit and tie, Kiki in dress. Here in Volume 1, emotions are intense, but romance is not among them at the moment.

I love the art in this story – it’s just wonderful. And despite the slight darkness in the corners, the spotlight is always carried by Michiru, so there ends up a constant strain of hopefulness, that grows a little bit with every chapter.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – 1 on principle
Service – Nah

Overall – 9

Who knew that a “Girl Meets Girl Story of Ballroom Dance” would be one of my favorite manga, but it absolutely is. I can’t wait to see Kiki and Michiru lead the Quadrille. ^_^