Red String (webcomic)

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Red String
Red String volume 1.
Author(s)	Gina Biggs
Website	http://redstring.strawberrycomics.com/
Current status	Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Launch date	2002
Genre(s)	Romance, Manga

Red String is a webcomic by Gina Biggs, influenced by shōjo manga both in art and story style, it is a drama comic set in Japan and it focuses on the daily life of Miharu Ogawa, a sixteen year old girl who finds out one day that she is betrothed.

1 Comic History
2 Characters
3 Chapters
4 Collected editions
5 References
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Comic History

Gina Biggs originally conceived Red String as a one off story to enter into Tokyopop's Rising Stars of Manga contest. While Gina's entry was unsuccessful she decided she liked the story so much that she wanted to continue writing it and published it online as a webcomic. The first two chapters of the original comic went under revisions and are now the first chapter of the current storyline, the comic was originally updated with three pages every Saturday but now is updated three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) with a page each day.

On May 1, 2006 the author announced that Dark Horse Comics had picked up Red String. Prior to this a self-published version of Red String had been available through online ordering but this is no longer available due to the comic being licensed. The comic will continue to be distributed for free online however.

There is also a radio play being made based on the comic. Crystal Miller of the Voice Acting Alliance originally initiated this project. Gina Biggs helped pick the actors who will play her characters, she has stated that she has specific ideas for the way her characters should sound. However, after a while the project seemed to be discontinued (the reason is not quite clear), so Gina took over and on Nov 7, 2006 the recording of the first chapter was released.

In May of 2006, an interview with Gina Biggs was posted on the Alpha Rant page of Alpha Shade. In it, she said that unlike many webcomic authors, she plans her story many chapters in advance. According the FAQ on her website, she currently has 42 chapters planned, not counting supplements.

Gina lives in Florida and is married, her maiden name was Maglio.^[1]

[edit] Characters

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] The Teenagers

Most of the comic focuses on the life of Miharu and her teenage friends.

Miharu Ogawa (小川美晴, Ogawa Miharu^?) is the main character of Red String. She is a sixteen year old Japanese High School student with bleached-blonde hair, is rather out-spoken and trendy, and is close friends with Reika and Fuuko. She is also betrothed to a stranger against her will, however she soon discovers that she and her fiancé have actually already met.

Kazuo Fujiwara (藤原和男, Fujiwara Kazuo^?) is the male lead of Red String, he is Miharu's 19 year old fiancé. His family has firm plans for his future which he feels trapped by. He does, however, have genuine affection for Miharu, as she does for him.

Reika Matsuo (松暢鈴華, Matsuo Reika^?) is one of Miharu's two best friends, and Miharu and Reika have known each other since childhood. Miharu helped Reika through some tough times in junior high school that left a mark on Reika's reputation (despite Reika's innocence in the matter). She has a crush on Hiroshi Aizaku.

Fuuko Akimoto (淳元風子, Akimoto Fūko^?) is Miharu's other best friend. She is also 16 years old, and though she only met Miharu and Reika when she began attending high school she was quickly accepted as part of the group. Her family moves often, usually due to her father's company reassigning him. She is a big fan of her school's volleyball team and admires Maya Chiaki, the team captain. She moves to Tokyo in Chapter 15.

Sayuri Morita (森田小百合, Morita Sayuri^?) is a girl in the same year as Miharu, Reika, and Fuuko. She is "the envy of all the girls in school and the desire of all the guys", and a top student to boot. However, she has a superiority complex and especially likes to pick on Miharu and her friends. Her popularity has waned somewhat lately as Maya Chiaki's has increased.

Hiroshi Aizaku (藍作豊, Aizaku Hiroshi^?) is an attractive student in the same year as the girls. Reika has a crush on him, and he seems to be oblivious to this. He seems to be a generally nice guy, but seems to have a bit of a womanizing streak. He is a member of the Astronomy Club, which Reika also joined to get closer to him. If he's not hanging out with one or more girls, he may be found chatting with Eiji Hayashihara. In the more recent chapters it is revealed that he has a girlfriend, Nene Onaya. Later on it is revealed that he ditched Onaya and got Mai Itsuki to be his girlfriend.

Eiji Hayashihara (林原栄二, Hayashihara Eiji^?) is a friend of Hiroshi's who is known as a "lone wolf" to most students. Initially, he doesn't seem to like Reika or Miharu very much, and demonstrates this with snide and piercing remarks and a rough attitude. However, he has been known to offer Miharu advice and he is a very responsible older brother. More recently a growing affection for Reika has undoubtedly been unfolding in Eiji, though he was even crueler earlier on to Reika than he was to Miharu.

Makoto Yosue (代居命, Yosue Makoto^?) is a year older than Miharu and her friends. Makoto claims that he is Miharu's fiancé, however his appearance was actually due to a mix-up between Miharu's parents and his own. However he was still determined to court Miharu and take over her father's restaurant - Ogawa-ya - one day, even transferring schools to get closer to Miharu (to her dismay). However, after meeting Miharu on the roof after school one day to apologize for his actions during the summer, he tells her that he will start giving 'Miss Karen' his fullest attention.

Karen Ogawa (小川可憐, Ogawa Karen^?) is Miharu's older cousin. She works in Ogawa-ya as a waitress and she seems rather cold. She has been manipulative where Miharu and Kazuo were concerned, and nearly caused lasting damage to their relationship. She had been affected by painful memories.

Maya Chiaki (千穐魔夜, Chiaki Maya^?) is the 17-year-old captain of the school volleyball team and the team's ace. She is friends with Fuuko and Karen, and also enjoys karaoke. She's also confused about her sexuality.

Seiko Hoshikawa (星河星子, Hoshikawa Seiko^?) is the president of the Astronomy Club, of which Reika and Hiroshi are also members. 16 year old Seiko loves the night sky, and aspires to be an astronomer. She (correctly) guesses that Reika is a member only because Hiroshi is and offers her some pearls of wisdom, telling her that her pictures of stars are actually quite good.

Jun Mataichi (又一巡, Mataichi Jun^?) is a classmate of Karen. He and Karen love each other, but Karen's engagement with Makoto Yosue prevents them from being together.

Yuuki Kiyoe (清衛雄貴, Kiyoe Yūki^?) is the captain of the school's baseball team. He likes Maya, and tried to support her when almost everyone else gave her the cold shoulder because of some rumors about a relation between her and Fuuko.

[edit] The Parents

The teenagers' parents are seen and mentioned in Red String on occasion, but they are most often relegated to background characters and comic relief.

Miharu's Parents Miharu's parents run the family business Ogawa-ya, a restaurant and sushi bar. Her aunt, uncle, and cousin Karen work there too. Her father Ryou (小川遼, Ogawa Ryō^?) runs the business and cooks and her mother Kazuko (小川和子, Ogawa Kazuko^?) is the head hostess.
Karen's Parents Karen's parents are Miharu's Uncle Jiro (小川二郎, Ogawa Jirō^?), and Aunt Akina (小川明菜, Ogawa Akina^?). They work at Ogawa-ya as a chef and waitress, Jiro is the younger brother of Miharu's father and even though they aren't twins they look incredibly alike. You can tell them apart because Jiro has an ear-piercing and Miharu's father doesn't. Also, Miharu's dad wears glasses and Jiro does not.
Kazuo's Parents Kazuo's parents are Emi and Kenta. Kenta seems to run his own business, though it's nature has not yet been revealed. Emi is a school friend of Miharu's mother Kazuko. Recent events suggest that her marriage to Kenta may have been arranged too.

[edit] The Children

Some of the characters have younger siblings who also make an appearance.

Kazuo's Sisters Kazuo has two younger sisters, the elder of two is called Mika (藤原美香, Fujiwara Mika^?), and the younger is called Yumi (藤原友美, Fujiwara Yumi^?). When they first meet Miharu they get confused and mistake Karen for her. They are slightly disappointed when they see Miharu, but they do warm up to her.
Eiji's Brother Eiji has a younger brother called Saburou, he and Eiji are rather alike.