"Ami! Nonstop"
by Miyuki KITAGAWA
ISBN# 4-09-135151-4
Flower Comics, 1993

Wow, this has to be one of the very first random shoujo manga series I ever purchased. I got this volume at this store that was selling some used manga. This was pretty much the only manga that looked cute and still had the first volume still available ^_^ Such demanding criteria, ne? I later realized that Miyuki KITAGAWA is also the author of another manga series I like, Princess Army, which was also made into a couple of OAVs (Princess Army Wedding Combat). I wish they would animate Ami! Nonstop also, the story (and the artwork) is pretty cute :)



It's about a normal girl named Ami who is out with some friends one day after school when they are stopped on the street by a camera crew. The crew thinks Ami is really cute, and they want to do a quick interview with her for their variety type show as a sort of 'cute girl of the day'. I guess they go around and interview a new cute girl every day or something. So Ami gets a few minutes on TV, and all around the city you can see everyone watching her thinking she is very cute. During the interview Ami lets it be known that she does not have a boyfriend ^_^ Anyway, the interview establishes the fact that Ami has a very good presence on TV.

Shortly after, Ami meets love interest #1, a cute blond guy named Nozomu who goes to her school. He seems to like her too ^^ But love interest #2 soon appears when Ami gets some concert tickets from her dad. They are tickets to a show by a group called 'Darwin'. At the concert stadium, Ami trips and falls, but executes a pretty fancy mid-air flip and keeps herself from hurting herself. A cute guy sees this and approaches her, teasing her about what color her underwear are ^_^ This guy is named Nozomu too ^_^ Wow, two Nozomus heheheh. After a close run-in with a bunch of screaming fans, we learn that this Nozomu, along with his friend Katsumi, are in fact the group Ami came to see, 'Darwin'. Because Ami met Nozomu, she gets to go backstage at the concert, where a record company guy (Darwin's manager maybe?) sees Ami, and boom, faster than you can turn a page, Ami is suddenly 'Discovered'. The management people want to turn Ami into the next idol sensation. She gets to do a tryout session, and she wows everyone with her cutness and actual singing talent.

She soon is on her way to a new career, getting to do commercials with Darwin's Nozomu, and releasing her own CD single debut song. But meanwhile, Ami still goes to school and sees the blond Nozomu, who protects her from jealous classmates, and is all-around cool as well. What a love triangle! Ami and two Nozomus :) Ami keeps noticing that a lot of things about the two Nozomus is very similar, causing her much inner turmoil! The art in this manga is pretty good- it is a very wispy style with lots of sparkles. Ami herself is a cool character because not only is she cute, but she is confident and strong. She often startles people with her gymnastic-athletic ability ^_^ If you liked Princess Army, this one is worth a look too!

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