Mame is just so cute!!!
I think this a pretty accurate glimpse into the modeling industry, but more mild so it's palatable to a younger audience. I'm very interested to see how the cliffhanger is resolved in the next volume.

This was very cute though I wish we had one more chapter to really round out what the story was. To introduce the us to the cast, conflict of story and address some of issues that brought up.
Though there are unhealthy habits displayed im giving the benefit of the doubt that this will be addressed in future volumes. Hence why I wanted more.

I loved the art style. It was a good mix of structured and relaxed. Plus all the characters were super cute and different.

I was drawn to the manga thanks to the amazing and cute artstyle. The fashion is great throughout the first volume. I've read dozens of different manga series and sadly this one did not connect with me at all.

The model aspect of the story was interesting, but the plot mainly falls flat thanks to an unlikable main character. I could not connect to Mame at all and sadly since there is barely a plot Mame is all there is to carry this volume. After reading this volume I only know two things about the MC, 1) She likes fried chicken and 2) She lacks self-confidence. That was it. I just couldn't find myself caring about her journey so I likely won't be continuing this series. I wish Kisaragi-san all the luck!.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tokyopop for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The coloring on the first few pages looked cute. I think that's the best thing I have to say about this. There wasn't much wrong with it, it just also wasn't interesting. The MC is a "country bumpkin" who likes to eat fried food, and for some reason is trying to become a model? I don't know why since she shows no interest in it really. At all. And she is also very poorly suited for the job, except for being naturally pretty.

CW: groping without consent which is never commented on. Also seems that the manga encourages restrictive eating or fasting that could be bad for your health. This might be discussed more in the next volume but I don't think that's an excuse. It's also sort of played off as a joke when the MC can't deal with her new diet and almost faints, after which she is allowed some of her favorite greasy food.

To be honest I didn’t know what I was getting into when I started this manga but I ended up having a lot of fun. The premise seemed simple enough but the major factor depended on its execution and translation. Let’s start with the translation, I think they did a good job and were able to make Mame come across as having a southern accent without over doing it. The story as I said is pretty simple, Mame wants to be a model but she is struggling with her current manager to get jobs. She is assigned a new one to help her get more jobs and become a better model. With Mame growing up in a different area and being poor she finds herself falling behind all the models she is competing against for jobs. The new manager, pushing her and using her weakness, fried foods especially karage chicken, helps Mame realize the kind of model she can be. I thought the characters were good, they often felt like they fall into stereotypes of what they should be but they end up showing unique character traits as we see them interact with each other and the world. The art was good, it reminded me of the early 2000s style of shoujo manga that I used to read. The first volume ends with a cliffhanger ending that sets up something bigger that they were working up to the entire volume. I’m very excited to read volume 2 and beyond.
Thank you to Tokyopop and NetGalley for the advanced review copy.

I am in love with the whole aesthetic of this manga. The colors in pinks and pastels! Her love of food! And a very lovable character. I like that her manager is a bit older but fashionable. Wanted the first volume to be a little longer. Guess this just makes me excited for volume two to release.

This manga is so cute! It reminds me of the classic shoujo manga I used to read in the 2010s, and that makes me really happy!! I'm really excited to see Mame's progress to become a fashion model!

First of all, I apologize deeply to this title, but it did not catch me in a benevolent reviewing mood. Mame Coordinate is a cute, lighthearted story about an unusual model named Mame. Having no fashion sense or confidence, she's finally foisted on a rookie manager for her last chance at being a model. This manga has a sweet, slightly childish art style to match its sweet, childish main character, which I think is the beginning and end of my praise available for this book.

The bottom line is, I finally started watching ANTM before I read this, and I think if I hadn't this book may have gotten 2-3 stars. Instead, I'm a little flabbergasted how Mame made it as far as she did in the modeling world, and I think this story has already fallen very flat with regards to how to make readers root for an underdog. If she'd made it past auditions, Tyra would have sent her packing in the first week. Mame is cute, and that is about it. She is somehow a perfect model, accidentally taking great care of her skin and looking stylish no matter what she puts on, but beyond that she doesn't have much of a personality beyond being singularly motivated by karaage (honestly, same, that was the most believable part of this book) and dressing like a five-year-old.

The rookie manager's entire family falls over themselves to help her become a top model, but it's because they want to, not even because her next audition will be her last if she doesn't succeed. There's not much about her that draws me as a reader to support her, so I'm curious why so many people she comes across seem to. I think I'd care much more if it was a confidence issue, but we soon see that she doesn't even know how to walk properly or take proper portfolio pictures of herself. Maybe there's just a huge gap between my understanding of how Japanese models are recruited and treated, but even beyond that, the characterization doesn't give me anything to go off of and Mame's current status as a sweet but clueless character doesn't give me any hope for her to handle a world as cutthroat as top modeling. At this point if she unseats Noel in the next audition I'll be disappointed.

I will not be continuing with this series, but thank you to TokyoPop for the opportunity!

Fluffy, cute, and fun!
The art is beautifully done and the characters are adorable. Since this is the first volume, it spends most of its pages setting up the series and accomplishes that well. I know exactly what to expect: loads of great clothing, fashion industry adventures, a rivalry, and growth and confidence for the main character - I'm really looking forward to reading more volumes!
The contrast between Mame and Kisaragi creates a fun dynamic, in both their personalities and dress styles. They're a great pair who can learn a lot from each other.
I do have concerns about the portrayal of food and dieting. The modeling world is notorious for furthering unhealthy relationships with food, and this story accepts those harmful ideas as natural rather than challenging them. The impetus for the modeling story itself is a bit weak - Mame really has no other options? Many jobs don't require prior experience and there's no reason why she couldn't try something else. Trying so hard to succeed at something she doesn't want to do in the first place isn't very believable.
Really though, this is a great start to what promises to be a fun series!

Mame Coordinate features pretty art and a sweet, simple story line. Mame is a model in training from outside the city who has been struggling to book an audition due to a lack of confidence. When she gets paired with a new manager, the intense and fashionable Uri Kisaragi, Mame is in for the makeover of a lifetime. With the help of Uri and her family can Mame become a top model?

While I think some of the dialog choices are rough and the characters need more time to develop, the story overall has good bones and promise. Plus the food drawings are mouth watering and there are some cute outfits, with hopefully more to come. I’ll be checking out volume 2 to see how Mame progresses.

The art of this manga is what originally drew me in! I love the colors and style of the cover and the soft colors of the first couple of pages really helped the art stand out.

After that thought I found as the manga went on I just really wasn't interested in the story being told. It was very cute and I did like the characters for the most part but it just wasnt the story for me. While I understand Mame is aiming to be a model though she lacks confidence it was all very superficial feeling. I'm hoping in future volumes Mame comes more in to her own and learns more about herself and her capabilities without just being worried about her looks/style/pretending to have popular interests.

I wanted to like this so badly but unfortunately this wasn’t for me. The main character didn’t care about being a model at all so I really didn’t see the point in her trying so hard? The text was also super small which made this difficult to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

I will be the first to admit, that what really drew me into reading "Mame Coordinate" was the cover art. Bright and colorful, but also has the softness of watercolor to it! The character herself was cute and indicated that the art style inside would be just as gorgeous. The art style is very pretty but sadly doesn't hold a candle to the cover. That was no biggie, having very high-quality art on the cover is fairly normal. I can tell the author themselves has an interest in fashion, it shows clearly when certain outfits are drawn. The story, however, I found to be lacking. The main character is Mame, a country bumpkin who feels insanely out of place in the big city. She herself states that the only reason she joined the modeling agency was that she was scouted by someone and that it was the only way for her to get out of her little hick town. Mame has no real goals or reason to become a model, she's only doing it because she doesn't know what else to do. She also doesn't care one whit about fashion or becoming an excellent model. While temporarily working at a take-out restaurant, she wonders if maybe she should be doing this instead of modeling. She honestly looked far happier working in a restaurant in a customer-facing role than she ever does while modeling! Her character felt flat, and I found myself more annoyed at her, than wanting to root for her. She is given to the newbie modeling manager, Kisaragi, and is told if she fails her next modeling audition, she's out. Unbeknownst to her, if she doesn't succeed in landing a modeling gig, Kisaragi will also be fired from the agency. Kisaragi, the manager, I had an instant dislike of only a few pages into meeting her. (Who the hell gropes someone in the middle of a restaurant! I know she was trying to figure out Mame's measurements, but did she really has to grab her like that?! IN PUBLIC?!) She obviously doesn't like Mame and is only trying to have her succeed so she herself doesn't get fired. Kisaragi's internal dialogue reveals that she thinks that Mame is a clueless bumpkin and she is constantly shocked by how ditzy Mame can be. Also within the scenes of Kisaragi training her, it's very obvious there will be some sort of twist in a later volume where Mame finds out Kisaragi tried to become a model and failed, and became a model manager instead. The dynamic between Mame and Kisaragi is strained, it came off as tense, and that made it not really fun to read. The only interesting thing was the cliffhanger with a potential rival, Noel. Though Mame beating Noel makes no logical sense what's so ever, I can see it becoming the dramatic point of conflict. Since I am curious about what is going to happen with Noel, I will be seeking out the second volume when it comes out.

I was given this e-arc from netgalley. My review is 100% honest and my own opinion.

I will say the art in this manga was super cute and amazing. I fell in love with the cover and how colorful it is. I wish I could say I felt the same way about the contents.

While I did like the story as a whole. I wasn't feeling the connection I was feeling for the cover. While I enjoyed mame as a character I feel like she wasn't the main character as they were portraying. I felt more connected with her manager.

I really did enjoy how the author wrote about the model world but mame isn't the typical model. Which I enjoyed but I felt like she was kind of an airhead. Which makes the story cute... But that's what it is, cute... it was a quick read however I will say the formatting for the e arc manga was slightly difficult to read especially when you can't zoom in to be able to read the smaller font...( And the fact it had multiple pages on one "page" making it even smaller) I understand this may be a preventative to piracy, it just made it slightly difficult to read.

Other than that a little bit confused about where the story is going but like all manga you need the "multiple" volumes to continue and contribute to the story.

Loved the points and tips about fashion though.

The cover is an absolute eye candy! It stands out a lot, but not story-wise. Why? I learned practically nothing, and was not inspired to do anything. Mame, our MC, is a lovable character, but in this volume, she has never been recognized outside of her looks. They're all pretty flat characters. Plus, the scene where her first photo was taken by her new manager? Pretty weird of her manager to do that, especially in a restaurant.

What I felt is that Mame should have chosen another job. While she does feel happy over her accomplishments in modeling, I feel like she'll be happier as a chef or something else. I did not feel her conviction-- the all-or-nothing drive. In fact, I don't even know what drives her in pursuing this career aside from not wanting to disappoint the people in her hometown. Her goal, at its core, is to thrive in the big city, not to become the best model or something, no?

I do hope all goes well for her, but when I saw how her rival works so hard in the last pages, my support weakened.

This is an honest review, I recieved this manga from Netgalley.

This was absolutely adorable. My goodness. This is a very happy go lucky, light, slice of life, and so refreshing to read! It's art style is super cute and reminds me of older shojo manga in all the best ways. The story is cute, and while I don't think modelling manga are everyones things, I think there is something everyone can enjoy in this. It's a simple light read that sparks nothing but joy.

My biggest complaint with it is while I LOVE the art style, Mame and her rival looks a little too similar for me. I'm not sure if this is the intended effect, but based on how the story is off of just volume one, they look too similar to me. I do also think it's a little light on character development currently, but seeing as this is volume one, I think there's a lot that could be added in future volumes easily.

Either way, loved this, definitely looking forward to more installments!

This book ends right when it's getting good!
Mame is a clueless girl from the countryside with no sense of fashion - but she's been scouted as a model! Her new manager is determined to make her the best model she can be.

Mame as a character is a little flat. The mangaka relies on gags (fried chicken) for the first bit of the book. However, after reading the ending, I'm hoping that the next volume will move the plot forward.

The drawing is very simplistic, rounded, and cutesy, which fits Mame's image, but it isn't my favorite to look at. I would recommend this to shoujo fans, as long as they weren't hoping for any romance.

Mame Coordinate follows the story of young Mame, making her first steps in the modelling industry without having a clue of what she's doing nor why she keeps failing her auditions. So when she's assigned a new agent, things are shattered. She learns everything from the start: to do her makeup and dress up nicely while matching her personality, etc. But Mame also has one audition left before getting fired, and she must do whatever she can to succeed against the most beautiful girls of her age wanted for the role.

I really liked the manga, but didn't love it. I found it cute, entertaining and enlightening concerning the industry. I liked that we get to see all the aspects of it and the struggles every young model is subject to when they don't find good agents.

I could relate to Mame and her social anxiety, which made things very difficult for her because, while a model, she is also afraid of being under the public eye. The story hints a bullying when Mame was a teenager, so I'd be curious to have more background to understand her more. As for the side characters, I know too little of them to really have made an opinion on them, but they see all very diverse and with different personalities!

I'd recommend this manga to every fashion shojo lovers. It made me vaguely think about Paradise Kiss, so I'd invite everyone who loved this manga series to dive into Mame Coordinate!

Thank you so much Netgalley and TOKYOPOP for allowing me to review Mame Coordinate!

Mame Coordinate surprised me, since this is actually seinen and it's quite serious in its topic. Mame Himekawa is a country bumpkin, who dreams of being a top model. Her auditions don't work, since she's slightly weird and stiff, but soon a talent agent finds her and sees the potential. If only she can train her and polish her, since she does have qualities. The series goes through modeling world quite realistically and in a way this feels like a textbook in a sense. Saving the poor girl that's a diamond in the rough. In this first part there's no other content really as we only see Mame loving food and trying to be a better model through practice. For those who are interested in the modeling world this series is a must though.

The art looks OK, nothing magnificent, but it works. For a fashion series we don't get to see outfits that much, which is kind of a bummer. We don't really get to know Mame either, but I hope this changes. This series is only four books long, so it's a nice short one if you like modeling, since we don't have many series about the topic.

"Mame Coordinate" is a cute manga about a young, country woman named Mame who was scouted in order to become a model. She's clumsy and naïve, however, and is about to get booted out of the agency when she's handed over to a new manager who is determined to whip her into modeling shape. The plot is fairly light so far, but it's interesting enough that I'd be happy to read volume 2 when it is out.