Title: Koi Beta!?
Author: YUMACHI Shin
ISBN# 4-09-130149-5
Flower Comics, 2005

Heh, ok, I admit that I did not buy this one because of the cover. I actually bought this one because it was was one of the few series in the shoujo section of the bookstore that I didn’t already have, or wasn’t part of some really long series ^_^; It’s getting kind of sad to think I may have totally exhausted the selection at Kinokuniya. Too much manga… @_@ Er, anyway, I am glad I did buy this, because it turned out to be nice fun. I actually don’t like the cover art all that much (there is something odd about the mouths) but I can tolerate the art style for the amusing story. This is a one-shot volume, and the main story takes up two-thirds of the book.

ETOU Sakura has a problem. She is 17 years old, and doesn’t have a boyfriend. It’s not for lack of trying. In fact, the series begins with her confessing and asking a classmate out. Unfortunately, she is rejected. Even worse, the guy rejecting her says that it is partly because it is assumed she is already dating another guy at their school, OKITA Kou-kun. Kou?! NO! She would never date him, he is her worst enemy!

Sakura has known Kou since they were kids in elementary school. He looked like a handsome prince even back then, and was very popular with the girls. But he was always very mean to her. She could never understand why they liked him. He always called her bad names and said she was ugly. His teasing was awful! Naturally, she is upset at the thought that people would think she is dating him. Kou doesn’t help matters when he hears about her latest failure. Sure enough, he teases her some more and continues to call her ugly.

That’s enough! Sakura is so mad, she declares she hates Kou-kun! But as she is about to storm off, Kou does the obvious unexpected! He grabs Sakura and kisses her! How mean! How could he! Sakura is really mad now, and Kou is back to saying mean things to her again.

Kou is the worst! Playing with her like this! Sakura doesn’t know what to think or do. The situation with Kou is really tense and strained. He is acting weird, and she feels weird too. She doesn’t realize that his mean behavior is obviously because he likes her, and Kou has a hard time expressing himself. Will they ever see eye to eye and realize their feelings?

Yes, the story isn’t exactly original or amazing, but I really liked it for a few scenes, in particular, Kou’s reaction to Sakura’s birthday is just so great, I loved it!

The 2nd story in this volume is about a girl named ARISAKA Chizu. Chizu is a really shy girl, and she is really afraid of a guy in her class, KATOU Shinnosuke-kun. Katou has these icy cold eyes that are very scary. She can hardly look at him, he makes her so nervous. Why does he scare her so?

Finally there is an insanely cute short story at the end that explains more about Sakura and Kou’s childhood from his point of view. Ahhhh adorable~!

Title: Himegimi no Tsukurikata
(How to Make a Princess)
Author: IZUMI Asuka
ISBN# 978-4-592-18651-9
Hana to Yume Comics, 2008

I bought this one because of the cover of course! The artwork is so cute! I also really like the coloring. Her hair is very pretty, and her expression is so funny! I would probably look a lot happier if I had two cute guys like that around me, ^_^. The art throughout this volume is really pretty, too. There are some key scenes that are especially nice. The line work is solid and simple, and Maria-chan is adorable.

This is the story of Maria, one of those legions of shoujo manga heroines with dead parents. I don’t know much about Japan’s version of Child Welfare Services, but I guess they don’t really care if kids are living by themselves, if shoujo manga is anything to go by. So, Maria is living by herself. Her mother, an elementary school teacher, died when Maria was 10 years old. Apparently she has been on her own since then (!). Maria is a small girl, but strong and with a bit of an attitude. She is willing to help others and has a lot of energy.

Her peaceful, somewhat normal life is interruped one day by the sudden arrival of two handsome young men. They are Rufus (the one with the light hair) and Yuri (the one with the dark hair). They are the servants of a foreign king. Ther have been searching for Maria, and are happy to finally find her! Apparently Maria is actually a princess! Her mother and father fell in love, but had to separate due to various circumstances. Now the King is ill and wants to see her. But he is also missing!

Rufus and Yuri’s mission is to find Maria and turn her into a proper princess in order to meet her father. To do this, they stay with her and begin giving her princess lessons. After her initial shock and anger, Maria adapts fairly well to having the two handsome guys around, though the lessons (often involving etiquette and fancy dresses) can get tiresome. She is such a free spirited tomboy, is there any way these two butlers can really turn her into a princess?

Each chapter explores Maria’s relationship with Rufus and Yuri, how they came to become servants of her father, the bond between them, and now their bond with her. Each guy has a time to shine and really make an impression on Maria. But being a princess is not easy, and there are many surprises in store for her!

Title: Love Luck
Author: ASAHINA Yuuya
ISBN# 978-4-08-846285-1
Margaret Comics, 2008

The cover of this manga is so cute! I love the art, it is clean and simple. It was actually the back cover of this manga that encouraged me to purchase it. It shows our heroine with these same two guys, but the one with lighter hair is on one knee holding out a bouquet of roses, and the one with darker hair is standing off to the side, holding out one rose. Such a cute picture! I liked the guy with the one rose because he looked a bit surly, and I am the type that likes the surly, tsundere types :)

This is the story of Suzuki Nero, a girl who has decided that she is finally going to confess to Kurokawa Yamato, the boy she loves. She goes to school with such determination to bare her soul, only to be distracted/thwarted by someone she does NOT like, Kurokawa Dan, Yamato’s twin brother! They may be twins, but their personalities are nothing alike. Yamato is friendly and cheerful, while Dan is a pain in the ass. Nero argues with him a lot, and he doesn’t seem to like her. Nero can’t understand why he is so popular.

Poor Nero, things are about to get very complicated. She is once again all set to confess to Yamato when she discovers that there has been a terrible accident, and the Kurokawa brothers are in the hospital! This horrible event really shakes Nero up and makes her realize that it may be too late for her to admit her true feelings to Yamato! So she rushes to the hospital and his happy to find him relatively healthy and safe. She builds up her courage and confesses! …only to get a shocking reaction from Yamato… he kisses her! This is not like him at all, what is going on!

Oh no, it can’t be…. that wasn’t really Yamato she kissed, that was Dan! How awful! But… but… the body and lips were Yamato’s… she can’t be mistaken there…! It appears that Yamato and Dan have switched places! They are twins, and have somehow managed to switch bodies! What an awful mess! The boys, unable to return to themselves, decide to return to school, each pretending to be the other one. This causes no end of trouble for Nero, as she is bound to secrecy. She is good friends with Yamato, that means she has to be with him, which means she will be with Dan! If she confesses to the real Yamato, it will look to the school like she is confessing to Dan!

What is Nero to do?!

Title: Love Fighter
Author: FUJISAWA Shizuki
ISBN# 978-4-09-131625-7
Flower Comics, 2008

I admit that I really only bought this one because it has an eye-catching cover and, at the time, there wasn’t anything else new at the bookstore that I didn’t already have or was interested in. :) This turned out to be a fun purchase. It’s a cute story, if not exactly the most original. I do look forward to the next volume.

OOGAWA Nami has liked SAKURAGI Haruka since a day in junior high when she attended another school’s festival day. They had a haunted house set up, and while inside, Nami got lost, then scared, and then totally panicked when something cold and slimy touched her cheek. In her terror, she bumped into the haunted house walls, and knocked a number of them over! It was such an embarrassing moment, but fortunately she was helped out by a cute young guy who appeared to be a student at that school. He was the one who had dangled the slimy object in her face, scaring her, so to make up for it, he helps her out of the haunted house.

 Nami is struck by how nice and gentle he is and how easy on the eyes he is. She pretty much falls in love on the spot, and vows that she is going to attend the same high school as this boy! The festival was held at a middle school that is connected to a high school and the students there are pretty smart. But with fierce determination, Nami studies hard and makes her dream come true. She is admitted to the high school, and now she can find the boy she loves!

She finds him much faster that she expected. His name is SAKURAGI Haruka, and he is at the top of the class, and delivers the welcome speech to all the incoming first-year students. Nami is struck again by how wonderful he is, but her new friends don’t seem as excited about him as she is. This doesn’t matter though, and in fact, the first time she runs into Haruka, she even blurts out the first thing that comes to mind when she sees him- “I like you!” But Haruka only looks at her coldly and without recognition. Instantly, he rejects her, and Nami is crushed!

Where did the kind boy in the haunted house go? This guy is a cold-hearted prince! Rejection doesn’t sit well with Nami, and she reacts angrily, vowing to not be defeated by him. He will fall for her! A challenge has begun! Haruka wishes her luck, but is not impressed by Nami’s enthusiasm. She is such a weird girl!

Haruka isn’t at all like how Nami remembered him. It turns out he has a long track-record of rejecting love confessions. He even has one of those fan clubs that I hope only exist in shoujo manga, where there is a large group of girls who all like the same guy, but they have vowed that he belongs to everyone and no one. They are not thrilled to see Nami being so forceful. With a cold guy rejecting her, and an army of girls against her, how can Nami ever win her challenge? Is Haruka really as mean as he seems?

Title: Kimi ni Todoke
(Reaching You)
Author: SHIINA Karuho
ISBN# 978-4-08-846061-1
Margaret Comics, 2006

Ahh, I can’t believe I haven’t included this manga on this site sooner! It is such a good series! I originally saw this series at my local bookstore a few months ago, but I never picked it up because at the time there were already 5 volumes out, and I was sort of reluctant to start a series that would require that much of a financial investment. However, this manga kept calling out to me :) The covers are so cute, and over time, it seemed to be getting more and more popular. The bookstore eventually ended up setting up a large display devoted to the series! My resistance was weak, and I finally picked up the first volume. All I can say is that I am sorry that I didn’t get it sooner. It is so cute! I feel affection for this sort of like the affection I feel for Koukou Debut. The art in this series is cute, and can vary wildly. There are some scenes that look rather scratchy and scribbly, while others are very pretty. The main character, Sawako, is often shown in a very cute cartoony way. So adorable!

This is the story of yet another high school outcast. I guess you can say it is sort of similar to another recent series I talk about Koko ni Iru yo! except that the heroine in this is not quite as pathetic :) The story revolves around KURONUMA Sawako, a girl who has a great deal of trouble expressing how she feels in both her face and manner. Her looks are so dramatic, with her long pitch-black hair and fair skin, that she resembles the frightening girl “Sadako” from horror movies. Thus, “Sadako” is her nickname, and few people in her class can remember what her real name is. Everyone in her class is afraid of her and they spread horrible rumors and gossip about her, such as stuff like how she can talk to ghosts or she can curse you. Unfortunately for Sawako, because of her shy nature, she had a very difficult time dispelling the horrible rumors or telling people that she really isn’t someone they should be afraid of.

Sawako is a very adorable character. Instead of isolating herself, she tries harder to be friendly. All she wants to do is help everyone and be useful and to make people happy. She doesn’t feel bad about all the horrible things people say about her, and has no hard feelings. She is used to it, and tries to be better, but she has been unable to make everyone around her understand her. Her personality is amazingly cheerful and optimistic, considering her circumstances, and she never gives up trying to be friendly to everyone.

Sawako’s situation is a stark contrast to a boy in her class, Kazehaya. He bright, cheerful, and popular. Everyone is drawn to him, and he is friends with everyone. More importantly, he is the only one who is friendly to Sawako, and treats her just like he treats everyone else. Because of this, Sawako respects him so much and admires him from afar. She considers him to be “refreshing” and she wants to be just like him- someone who is easily able to open up and make a lot of friends. The story follows Sawako as she struggles to be friendly (her face looks frightening no matter what expression she tries) and starts to become closer to the easy-going Kazehaya. Thanks to his help, she is slowly able to open up and make her feelings known. Kazehaya’s influence and assistance mean a lot to Sawako. She is finally able to make a friend or two, and to express herself, though the rumors persist. And what of her relationship with Kazuhaya? Could he possibly like Sawako? It seems like he might, but Sawako is so clueless, she just can’t imagine it!