Komomo Confiserie Review

Now that I have finally got over to the library to get me a new card, I have the opportunity to get back into all the manga that I know and love. So, for today, I am going to be talking about Komomo Confiserie, a Shojo Beat manga. I am not sure if I have mentioned this before, but when I was younger, I would go to the mall with my mom. We would always stop in the bookstore, and I would always pick up the new issue of Shojo Beat. I never read Komomo Confiserie through that magazine though. I just happen to look for the Shojo Beat tag when I head off for the graphic novel section of my library. I had never heard the title before and wanted to try something completely new so I went ahead and picked it up. I figured worst case scenario, it wouldn’t be as good as I thought, but it was short enough that it wouldn’t really matter, and I could push through it no matter the circumstance.

All that is beside the point. Komomo Confiserie is a manga about a girl named Komomo, who is essential a princess. She has never had to take care of herself a day in her life. She always had people taking care of her every need. When she was a small child, she had a confectioner at her estate, and his son, Natsu, was Komomo’s personal baker. She was always bulling him and telling him what to do. She always had Natsu baking for her and soon she only wanted things baked by him. His sweets were the only things that seemed to make her feel better.

One day, Natsu and his father leave the estate in order to further their dreams of being amazing confectioners. Upon his departure, Natsu leaves Komomo with what would be his final gift, a box of confections made just for her.

Years later, Komomo’s family falls from grace and are left with absolutely nothing. She is then kicked out of her house and has to go live with an older lady and learn to do things for herself. It is at this crossroads that Komomo truly begins her struggles. She has a hard time keeping a job and has no sense of how to live like a normal person. Eventually, Natsu finds his way back to Japan and begins to teach Komomo how to live like a normal person. She is brought to his Confiserie to earn her keep.

In essence, Komomo Confiserie is about a girl’s world getting turned upside down and having to learn how to live in a completely different world from those found on the inside of an estate’s walls. Meanwhile, Komomo is faced with learning difficult life lessons such as deception, love, and friendship.

Overall, I must say I rather enjoyed Komomo Confiserie. It was a quick read, not only because it was only 6 volumes, but also because the story kept me wanting more. The thing I enjoyed the most was the transition from Princess Komomo to Komomo. She went from spoiled rotten and arrogant to a more compassionate human being. Her journey of finding herself and her own passions were what kept me interested. Obviously this is 90% of the story, but all the hardships that she was forced to endure are all things that occur everyday. This made the story more relatable and in turn more enjoyable.

However, on the other end of the spectrum, I feel that the story was rushed a little. Because it was only 6 volumes, everything was pushed rather quickly and the problems seemed to be solved rather quickly. All the side characters seem to serve little if any purpose and the ending left me wanting more details. I guess that is not necessarily a bad thing, as there could be more to the story later down the road.

I know that this is a brief review, but it is hard to write much more without giving away a lot of the story. I don’t want to have any spoilers so with this I wanted to keep my review to the bare bones. With all that being said, I do recommend reading Komomo Confiserie if you are interested in a cute little story about growth and maturity with a little love thrown into the mix. It was lighthearted and I found it to be exactly what I was looking for without even knowing I needed it.