Swan is a shōjo manga by Kyoko Ariyoshi. The shōjo magazine Margaret serialized the story in Japan during the seventies. 21 volumes were released. In North America the story was published by CMX, but the series was abandoned after 15 volumes due to the closure of the imprint. The plot mostly follows a young girl, Masumi, as she struggles to become a ballerina.
Plot
The first volume begins with Masumi sneaking backstage after a Tokyo ballet performance in order to express her admiration for the lead dancers, Alexei Sergeiev and Maria Prisetskaya. However, when she meets the stars, Masumi becomes tongue-tied and clumsily begins to dance the Odile Variation from Swan Lake. Sergeiev and Prisetskaya graciously excuse her, saying that nothing could give them more happiness than her physical expression of appreciation, and Masumi returns home slightly embarrassed. Later, Masumi receives an invitation to enter a nationwide ballet competition. The competition is being held to discover the best ballet students in Japan, in order to invite them to an exclusive ballet school designed to improve the quality of Japanese ballet. Her impromptu dance for Sergeiev and Prisetskaya captured the attention of Sergeiev, and so Masumi goes to Tokyo in order to compete. Once there, Masumi meets Sayoko Kyogoku and Hisho Kusakabe, who both witnessed her clumsy Black Swan at the theater. They are now competing against each other. However, the three become friends, along with Aoi Yanagisawa, Kusakabe's friendly rival. Out of the eight finalists, Masumi, Sayako, Kusakabe, and Aoi are all accepted. However, Masumi is obviously the weakest of the eight. She must un-learn the bad habits she picked up at her former ballet school. Future volumes continue Masumi's entrance into the competitive world of ballet.
Characters
;Masumi Hijiri ;Sayoko Kyougoku ;Hishou Kusakabe ;Aoi Yanagisawa ;Kaoru Aoishi ;Alexei Sergeiev ;Leonhardt von Christ ;Larissa Maximova ;Lilliana Maximova ;Serge Lavrovsky ;Sydney Ekland ;Fernando Cardenas ;Balanchine ;Margaret Brown ;Lucian Stanley ;Edward Lucas ;Stephanie Austin
Publication
The series was published up to volume 15 in English by CMX comics before it closed its doors.
Volume list
Reception
Julie Rosato described Swan as "a rich narrative which describes classic shoujo". Erin Finnegan regards it as "a classic title that belongs on everyone’s “Must Read” list", feeling that it will certainlyappeal to young girls, but also to male readers due to Swan being "so girly it goes all the way around the circle from feminine to masculine again". Shaenon Garrity notes the "punishing training" focus is reminiscent of Shonen Jump series, and recommends its art sequences for aspiring comic artists to study.
