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Title: Papillon Vol 4

Author: Miwa Ueda

Publisher:  Del Rey

ISBN: 9780345512345

May Contain Spoilers

Ageha’s days of living in the shadow of her beautiful twin have come to an end.  After a makeover that transforms her not only on the outside, but also on the inside, she’s gained the confidence in herself that she lacked.  Now that she’s dating the handsome Ichijiku, things finally seem to be going right for a change.  When Hana starts seeing Kyu for advice with her boy troubles, Ageha starts to get uneasy.  Is Hana only trying to steal him away from her?

Argh! What is wrong with me?  This is essentially a retread of Peach Girl with twins and an older love interest, but I can’t stop reading it!  Much of the melodrama is created by Ageha’s inability to communicate with Ichijiku, though Hana does poke her nose into their relationship to stir up trouble.  I don’t understand why in Honey Hunt a girl with a meek personality irritates, yet in Papillon it entertains.  Or is the difference that when Ageha is pushed beyond her limits, she finally finds a backbone and stands up for herself?

This volume has Hana up to her old tricks.  She impersonates Ageha, throwing herself at Ryusei to see if he will cheat on her.  This scenario just proves how stupid Ryusei really is – he should know Ageha better than to believe that she would suddenly turn into a sex kitten and try to steal him from her sister.  The very fact that he falls for Hana’s  tricks shows that he was not the right guy for Ageha, and he so deserves to be stuck with Hana.  Also as proof of Hana’s insecurities, this is a pretty self-destructive pursuit.  What teenaged guy is going to reject a beautiful girl when she’s crawling all over him?  Hana needs to think of a new strategy, or she is going to keep driving the people she claims to like away from her.

Ageha is having problems in that area as well.  When a friend of hers claims she can smell that smell, an odor that is given off by people who have recently had sex, she begins to doubt that Ichijiku is being faithful to her.  Her friend says that both he and Hana reek, so it’s only natural for Ageha to be suspicious.  Wasn’t Hana out late the night before?  And hasn’t Ageha seen them together a discomforting number of times?

Whether or not anyone has an issue with body odors, the fact that Hana is acting sneaky, Ichijiku is suddenly always busy, and Ageha keeps finding them together would make anybody a little uneasy.  When you are already a bit insecure, of course you are going to jump to the wrong conclusion.  Miwa Ueda is setting Ageha up for a very unpleasant misunderstanding with Ichijiku, and Hana is going to be right there to take advantage of it.  Maybe that’s what I enjoy about the story – I can see that Ageha is in for an unpleasant fall, I sympathize with her, but I can’t help but follow along on her collision course to heartbreak.  More than anything, I want to see how much she has grown and matured, and see what she does to fix the mess.  Will she be able break out of her cocoon, and find the strength to fight for what she wants?

Grade: B

Review copy provided by Del Rey