Hot Gimmick

Hot Gimmick is published by Viz Comics. Hot Gimmick deals with the trials and tribulations of Hatsumi as she deals with her family, boys, and life in a company-owned apartment complex

Main Characters
Hatsumi Narita - High school girl with a timid personality.

Ryoki Tachibana - The son of a wealthy and powerful family. Ryoki's father is president of the company where Hatsumi's father works.

Azuza - Hatsumi's childhood friend has moved back into the apartment complex. He's now a male model.

Shinogu - Hatsumi's protective older brother is enrolled in college.

Minor Characters
Akane Narita - Hatsumi's outgoing younger sister.

Mrs. Tachibana - Ryoki's mother rules over the apartment complex with her gaggle of gossiping minions.

Subaru - The nerd of the apartment complex who has a crush on Akane.

Storyline
Volume 1 - Hatsumi goes to buy a pregnancy test for her sister Akane, and she runs into Ryoki, who promptly decides to blackmail her into becoming his slave. How will she deal with Ryoki and her feelings for her old friend Azuza, who has suddenly moved back to town?

Volume 2 - Hatsumi wants to confess her feelings to Azuza, but will she be able to get Ryoki to stop ordering her around? Azuza seems to have mysterious motives for asking Hatsumi to be his girlfriend.

Volume 3 - Ryoki vows to warn Azuza to stay away from his "slave", and over at Azuza's apartment his motives for wanting to humiliate Hatsumi are revealed - his mother had an affair with Hatsumi's father before she died. Will Ryoki come to her rescue? Meanwhile, Akane gets closer to Subaru, the otaku of the apartment complex.

Volume 4 - Ryoki asked Hatsumi to be his girlfriend instead of his slave, and she rejected him. One of the gossipy women at the apartment complex tells Mrs. Tachibana that she's seen Hatsumi with Azuza. Hatsumi's family, including her baby brother Hikaru,is being shunned by everyone in the complex. Azuza shows up to help her and her baby brother. Hatsumi assumes Ryoki is behind her family's treatment and tells him she will obey whatever he says if he stops the shunning. Shinogu takes a job as Ryoki's tutor.

Volume 5 - Hatsumi realizes that she has feelings for Ryoki after all, but Ryoki is focused on the relationship Hatsumi has with her older brother Shinogu. Shinogu's been saving up money from his part-time jobs, and he decides to move out of the family apartment. He's moving out because he loves Hatsumi in a very unbrotherly way. Azuza tells Hatsumi that Shinogu is adopted. Ryoki and Hatsumi try to find Shinogu's new apartment, and he asks her to be his girlfriend-in-training. Volume 6 - Azuza takes Hatsumi to a coffeshop where Shinogu is talking to her father. Mr. Narita bows to Shinogu, saying he is sorry for the past affair. Azuza doesn't feel any better after getting closure. Hatsumi and Ryoki study for finals together, and he promises to help her raise her class rank by 20 if she agrees to spend a day with him. They end up spending New Year's Eve at a hotel suite, but Ryoki falls asleep before midnight. Hatsumi looks at Ryoki when he's sleeping and realizes she's in love with him.

Volume 7 - Akane and Subaru are closer after hanging out together for New Year's. Ryoki wakes up angry that Hatsumi let him sleep through the night, and abandons her at the hotel. Hatsumi starts walking to the train station, and gets picked up by Shinogu and his roommate. Mrs. Tachibana confronts Ryoki about his use of the family suite, and he tells her that Hatsumi is his girlfriend. Azuza's manager visits Hatsumi and asks for her help - Azuza is missing. Hatsumi finds Azuza staying with another family in the complex when she picks her brother up from a playdate, and she follows Azuza into the city. He doesn't want to go home, so she takes him to Shinogu's apartment. Azuza and Shinogu decide to investigate their parents' pasts.

Volume 8 -

Creative Team
Miki Aihara is the artist and author.

Order Codes

 * APR05 3271	HOT GIMMICK VOL 9 TP	$9.99
 * SEP05 3275	HOT GIMMICK VOL 10 TP	$9.99