Genre: gender bender, romance, school life, shoujo
Volumes/Chapters: 2 volume (9 chapters) + extra chapter
Mizuki Sara has a secret that she's keeping from all of her classmates, her friends, and even her rival in the music industry Shidou Hayase. She is actually the currently top and going music artist Sala whom everyone is raging about because nobody knows exactly what gender Sala really is.
The idea came about when Sara was young and wanted to go into the music industry. In order for her to attract attention, her mother created a ploy wherein Sala was introduced to the public without any background information. Because of the way she dressed and the way she spoke, there was no telling whether Sala was a guy or a girl. This brought a lot of attention and now Sala is one of the rising music idols among her peers.
Sara is more than capable of securing her status with just her singing and her onstage charisma, but her mother insists that she continue to act out the persona of Sala because she lacks charisma. Without a choice in the matter, Sala remains and Sara must now juggle her worklife with her school life.
But things become complicated for her when she is unceremoniously dumped by her boyfriend who had dated her because she looked like Sala in the first place. Because of this little comment, Hayase, another rising star in the music industry, takes pity on Sara and makes a fool of her boyfriend by telling the public in an interview that he plays around with girls and then dumps them.
After this incident, Hayase and Sara become friends within school and Sara realizes that she's become interested in Hayase. Even before they began talking to each other, however, Sara had already been a fan of Hayase who is the main vocalist for a band called The Rise. She even shows him her fan member card, "entry number 07777."
The two get along very well as Hayase and Sara, and Hayase comments that he likes Sala's music and thinks that Sala's voice is great. Sara comments that she thinks Hayase's music is way cooler and they end up striking a really close friendship.
But as the rising star Sala, Hayase is in every way, shape and form her rival. When Hayase meets Sala for the first time, his immediate impression is that Sala is very much like a girl. And later on, he even realizes that Sala really is a girl.
The story progresses from there with Sara trying to juggle her even more complicated lifestyle as Sala and Sara, who are both friends with Hayase, without telling him the truth. The series is short and sweet, and of course, the truths are revealed in the end and the main couple end up together. There is no drama, and there is no astounding complexities to this story. Basically, this is a teenage romance filled with trivial complications easily resolved.
Charisma Doll makes a good read because it is cute and sweet.
Kurahashi Erika draws simple, but she draws pretty as well. The transitions between scenes are sometimes a little jumbled.
But Charisma Doll was one of the first shoujo manga I'd read and so I treasure it as one that I will always like. This is a very enjoyable story for those who want a short and sweet piece of work, but something longer and with a little more depth than a simple oneshot.
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