Fanfiction: Skip Beat!: Shoudown

If you are interested in reading this, start here or, even if you're a fan, you'll get confused. Note that the disclaimer and introduction still apply. And I'm really almost done with this.

Disclaimer: these characters and scenarios are based on the work of Nakamura Yoshiki and I'm just speculating on what might happen later in the story. Nothing more, nothing less. It is not an original work and I will never try to market or profit by it in any way. The manga is rated "Teen" but this is probably closer to "older Teen" 'cause, unlike the manga, there's actual sex, though not in this chapter.

Ren felt surprisingly nervous. Normally, he had no worries meeting new people, winning them over, but these were the people who had looked out for Kyoko when she would have otherwise been alone, who employed and housed her, who supported her outrageous dreams. However they saw him, Ren knew he was very grateful to them, even if they hated him. Given her history with Fuwa, he could hardly blame them.

They'd parked a block or so away, because the restaurant was apparently popular. Kyoko walked beside him, her ring back on her finger. He wanted to hold her hand, put his arm around her, but he could see she was nervous, too. She didn't want to lose the approval of people who meant something to her, and who could blame her? He'd take it as slowly as she needed. Just before they went in, she turned on him suddenly.

"You haven't eaten anything since lunch so I want you to have a good meal."

He smiled at her and let himself touch her face. "Yes, Kyoko. Will you choose it for me? I'll eat anything you give me."

She caught his hand. "I love you, Ren. I'm going to ease into telling them, but it's not because I don't want to be with you. They're very down-to-earth people." She turned, straightened her shoulders, and pushed through the door, still holding his hand.

Apparently, it had not occurred to Kyoko that the proprietors of Daruyuma might listen to the news. Or that the patrons watch television or saw notices from the internet. The instant Ren and Kyoko came into the boisterous and bright environment, redolent with delectable scents, the sound turned off like a switch, leaving just some cooking sounds and a pronounced silence.

Ren fought the urge to laugh. "I think they already know," he whispered to Kyoko as the plump proprietress came 'round a counter and rushed forward to take Kyoko's free hand.

"Kyoko! You came!"

"I said I would. I'll go get changed so I can help. Okami-san, you—you met Tsuruga Ren, didn't you, at Maria's party?" Kyoko shook off both hands and flit into the back, leaving Ren to face a room of curious, if not hostile, strangers.

Ren bowed with respect and gave Okami-san his best smile. "I remember you quite well, Okami-san. It's a pleasure to meet you again."

She bowed in return, blushing quite charmingly. "We are honored to see you here. Would you care for a meal?"

Ren let her lead him to the counter (where he had wanted to sit anyway), exchanging pleasantries. His seat faced a stone-faced man he remembered as the mate for the personable proprietress. The man grunted and nodded at Ren, his face forbidding. The customers began to murmur amongst themselves. Ren knew it was only a matter of time before the customers started asking questions.

When they did, Ren was surprised to note that the customers seemed as fond and protective of Kyoko as the Daruyuma's owners. At first, they were pugnacious, "Are you really planning to marry Kyoko?" "You're not playing with her, are you?" "She's not like some of your heartless show-biz trash, you know. She's a fine young lady and needs to be handled with care."

Rather than be offended, Ren felt reassured to see how well Kyoko was treasured. Using his carefully honed patience and courtesy, he fielded questions and accusations alike, doing his best to showcase is sincere devotion to Kyoko. A tiny man, bent and wrinkled with age, confronted him with a bony finger, "Do you expect me to believe someone like you really loves Kyoko?"

Ren smiled over him, his eyes on Kyoko, now dressed in a white kimono, taking her place behind the counter. "Absolutely." His expression must have been persuasive because the old man backed off, nodding his approval. As Ren ate the food Kyoko gave him with obvious relish and responded with unshakable friendliness, the environment in the restaurant became boisterous again, and more and more approving. Everyone but the stone-faced Taicho.

Kyoko was flitting from table to table, her face friendly and charming. Ren couldn't keep his eyes off her. When the door opened, the tiny bell going off, she turned, words of welcome on her lips, before her face shattered into a look of shock.

Ren didn't have to look to know who was at the door. Fuwa. That prick. The Taicho had taken one look and snatched up a nasty looking cleaver, his face murderous. "Out!" he barked without preamble. "Get out of my restaurant!"

Fuwa smirked, not the least bit concerned about the deadly sharp knife and the hand that obviously knew how to wield it. "I didn't come to fight you, old man, or even you, Tsuraga-san," he sneered, making Ren's name an insult. "I just want a word with Kyoko."

"I don't have anything to say to you," Kyoko said, gathering her calm about her and wearing it like a jacket. "I guess you heard the news and, yes, it's true. We're getting married."

"Bull! You know and I know you're only saying that to force my hand."

"What? You idiot! Force your hand to what?"

Ren shook his head, but had to consciously calm himself, force himself not to leap from his stool and pound that smirking face into the dusty. Fuwa actually thought Kyoko still loved him, still wanted him. And if the fear that Fuwa might be even a tiny bit right still bounced around the back of Ren's brain, he restrained himself from acting on it. After all, this was Kyoko's decision.

But if Fuwa tried to get physical again against Kyoko's will, things would not go well for the little prick.

Fuwa's smirk became more pronounced. "You're boyfriend knows what I'm talking about. He knows you only got engaged to him to force me to marry you."

Ren did find the look of horror and shock on Kyoko's face reassuring. He doubted Fuwa felt the same.

"C'mon, Kyoko, come talk with me outside."

"I'm working, Shotaro. And I have nothing to say. There is no power on heaven or on earth that could convince me to pat you on the head, let alone marry you. The thought of you touching me that way completely creeps me out, like that kiss your forced on me before. Please leave. We really have nothing more we can say to each other."

"And I thought you were going to teach me a lesson." His voice was snide, insulting. Ren's hands clenched.

"I...I started out wanting to do that, wanting to do that more than anything I'd ever wanted in my life. Instead, I taught myself a lesson, that I was capable of more than I'd ever expected, that I could make for myself, all those wonderful boons I thought I'd get from marrying you. And I taught myself that, just because your first love turns out to be a false love, doesn't mean you can't find real love with someone else. I don't need to beat you any more, Shotaro, because I've already undone everything you've done to me. And I did it on my own. You have no more power over me."

Fuwa's smirk was long since gone and he'd taken two steps into the shop. With quickness, Ren had to admire, he snagged, Kyoko by the arm and dragged her through the front door. Ren was behind them in a flash and paused only when he all but ran into the Taicho at the door. "Please, sir," Ren offered. "It's my duty to protect her now. Believe me when I say I can. I will bring her back here so we can talk like civilized people."

The Taicho weighed him for what seemed a long time and Ren desperately wanted to catch up with Kyoko. "I'll concede that," the Taicho said, "if you get her back and take care of that little bastard."

Ren was out the door, walking silently so he could listen for the sound of arguing. For a second, he thought he'd lost them, when he heard Kyoko speaking in a low menacing tone in the alleyway beside the store."Look, Shotaro, I'm not going anywhere with you. I'm here with my fiancé."

Ren crept to the corner, where he could see them both, but he was shadowed. It was Kyoko's show, he knew that, but she had backup.

"Have you let him kiss you yet?"

"None of your business," she said, but her face entirely gave her away. Ren could not have been more pleased.

"Well, I never would have figured you for that kind of tramp," Fuwa sneered. "Guess I should have."

Kyoko visibly calmed herself. "I don't care what you think, Shotaro. I don't have to answer to you for my personal life." She raised her head and spoke with finality that was far more powerful than anger. "And I'm not going to be dragged away from my work, time after time, because you have some bug up your butt. Stop showing up at my shoots or here and disrupting my work."

"I need to talk to you." Fuwa sneered.

"Too bad," Kyoko retorted, stomping her foot. "I'm not at your disposal. I don't have to answer to you. Once I gave you that power over me, but you threw it away. I don't belong to you any more."

"That's what you think."

"Damn right, it's what I think. Look, Shotaro, if you have some professional issue you want to take up in the future, call LME and set up an appointment. Otherwise, leave me alone."

He made a lunge for her arm, but she avoided him, using a move Ren had used himself as Cain. Ren couldn't help smiling, even as he stood poised to deal with Fuwa physically if required.

"Don't you dare touch me," Kyoko hissed, eyes slitted into golden beams of light. "Don't ever touch me again. I only came out here with you this last time to say one thing."

"And what is that?"

"Goodbye, Shotaro." She turned and opened the side door on Duruyuma. Fuwa had apparently not expected it because it took him a second before he lunged again. Kyoko left the door open, but dodge him again, maneuvered away from the door. Fuwa pursued, trying to grab her hand, her arm, snatch her into his arms, but she was too quick, too slick to catch. Ren would have gone in already, but he was fascinated by how well she had absorbed Cain's moves just by watching him.

Fuwa was shouting as he chased her. "Don't you tell me goodbye! I've never given you permission! You're still mine!"

"Bullshit!" Kyoko snarled, slipping underneath his lunge. "I'm not your adoring slave any more."

"Is this about that kiss?"

"Are you stupid? This isn't about you at all! It's about me and what I want. I don't need to waste any more of my life worrying about you. My success will be satisfying enough no matter what, because I'll have done it for me."

"You mean for Tsuraga Ren!"

"Ren will be pleased, too. He's always worked for my future, but because it mattered to me, not for his own gratification. Stop trying to grab me! Leave me alone."

"I can't!" Fuwa shouted, stopping. "I can't! I need you to straighten me out when I need it, to spur me on. I didn't know it before, but I know it now. I can't let you be with someone else, not when I need you."

Kyoko looked up at him, tenderness in her eyes. Ren felt his breath catch in his throat. She lifted a hand and gently touched his face. "Too bad. I'm sorry, Shotaro. It's too late. You'll have to make it on your own because I just don't need you any more. And I won't be yours to control ever again."

Fuwa grabbed her by the hips and yanked her toward him. "I won't allow it!"

Ren was moving, but so was Kyoko, who boxed Fuwa's ears, then kicked him away. "Never again, Shotaro. Never." Behind Kyoko, Taicho came storming out, swinging his cleaver, but Ren had already grabbed Fuwa and pinned his arms behind his back before he could touch Kyoko again.

"That's it," Ren breathed in Fuwa's ear, letting menace flavor his tone. "You had your chance. You blew it. You won't get another, ever again."

Fuwa shook himself, trying to wrench his arms free. "Let go, you bastard, or I'll beat you like I beat that Beagle."

"Be grateful you're pinned, though if you keep moving that way, you'll wrench your own muscles. Because a scandal involving you at this time would upset Kyoko, I'm going to let you walk away unharmed."

"Ha! Let me go and fight me like a man."

"If I did, you'd be lucky if you came out of the hospital before your next single comes out. I'm not exaggerating. I could kill you five different ways if I wanted to."

"Like hell! You couldn't hurt anyone."

Ren pulled up just slightly on the arms, a move he knew to be excruciating, "Test me, you piece of shit. I'd love it. I'll shield Kyoko's reputation with mine. Yours, on the other hand, will take a beating. So much for being 'cool.'"

Fuwa tried to wrench himself away again and Ren let him go, prepared to defend himself or Kyoko if required, but not really expecting it. Sure enough, Fuwa pulled himself back, studying Ren's stance and face in the half-dark, then glancing at Kyoko's sneer and the pugnacious Taicho. Ren suspected others from the restaurant were out there, watching. Fuwa might guess as that as well. "Have it your way! Damn, here you are, beloved by millions, throwing yourself away on a nobody like Kyoko, even when you know she'll never love you like she loved me."

Ren took a step forward, he couldn't help it. "Kyoko was never a nobody, which is why she was always too good for you. Someday, you'll be stunned by what she's accomplished but I won't. I already know how incredible she is. As for loving, I hope she doesn't love me like she loved you, because that love is over and I want ours to last the rest of our lives." He took another step forward and smiled, BJ's smile, when Fuwa took a step back. "Last chance to make your escape unscathed."

"Fine!" Fuwa said, with a pathetic attempt at cool. "You'll both regret this. In five years, no one will remember either of you and I'll still be top of the charts, with a beautiful woman on either arm."

Kyoko came to stand next to Ren, "And we'll still be happy and you, who knows? Go home, Shotaro. There's nothing for you here any more."

Fuwa did a credible job of gathering up his shattered dignity, considering the number of unfriendly eyes on him, and walked away with surprising nonchalance. The little prick would probably bounce back just fine and take out his frustrations with another series of top hits. Too bad it would never fill the void he wouldn't even admit he had.

Ren wrapped an arm around Kyoko, then kissed her on the forehead. "You are incredible, you know that. You cut him down to size just by letting him go."

"Yeah. I can't even enjoy it because he's just so pitiful. I mean, he deserves it, but still, it means nothing. You were right about that."

Ren felt a heavy hand on his shoulder and turned to face the Taicho who was nearly, but not quite, smiling. "I like you," he said. "You handled that selfish jerk very well. I will trust you with Kyoko, but," and he brandished his cleaver menacingly. "If you ever treat her like that boy, I will come find you."

Ren bowed his head. "She'll be moving in with me tomorrow. Will that be a problem?"

He nodded. "I'll help you both pack after we close. She was a good employee, like a daughter to me. You take care of her."

Kyoko wrapped her arms around Ren's arms and answered for both of them. "We'll take care of each other."

All in all, Ren thought, it had been a very busy and very satisfying day.

And tomorrow was looking up as well.

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Maid-Sama: Gotta Have 'Em All

Maid-Sama (aka Kaichō wa Maid-sama!) by Hiro Fujiwara is the kind of school-centric, gimmicky-seeming story that could have become hokey or stupid or perverted (or all three) and desperately unappealing. Instead,I found it hilarious and charming with the occasional soupcon of drama and action. Once again (as it so often is with me), the characters are the key factor to making me fall in love with it because the plot is stupid. However, in all fairness, almost everything about this manga is hilarious, including the little side-bars and the Q&A stuff and even those parts about the author.

Unfortunately, this is one of my two on-going mangas that took a hit when Tokyopop went toes up earlier this year. Which means, as in love with this manga as I am, I'm stymied by the fact that I can't purchase any of the remaining books in English unless someone picks up the licenses (that are now available) and publishes them. Ironically, they just got a license for the anime in the US (though it is subtitled, not dubbed) so that's selling here. And books up until that point in the manga (and beyond) are available in English. Just not the rest of them.

Yes, I'm irked. I'm irked enough I'm going to add a new box to the side that includes links to several of the scanlation sites available on-line, where this and nearly every other manga can be read on-line. Now the whole scanlation-no scanlation debate is worthy of its own post, which I may or may not write, but not today. Suffice it to say that I read all my ongoing "gotta have 'em all mangas" on scanlations because they usually come out months if not years before the books are available. I'm not apologizing. I own every single available English volume of my favorite mangas (in fact, every one in my "Has a Certain Appeal" - except those not available in English at all and Alice in the Country of Hearts - another Tokyopop casualty with only one volume left to go. And that's true for most of my "Okay" ones, too. For Maid-Sama and my other GHEA manga, Shinobi Life, I've bought the volumes I can't get in English in Japanese, since I'm learning it for Tokyo Crazy Paradise. But I hate that I can't buy copies here in the States. I'm hopeful that Maid-Sama will someday get someone picking up its license.

In the meantime, it sucks. And makes it hard for me to recommend it to my friends. It's a real pity because this is a great manga.

If you read happen to read this manga, don't skip the sidebar stuff or any side stories. The mangaku's irreverent humor is laugh out loud funny whether she's trying to make her self-portrait more palatable or hosting a Q&A session disrupted by Usui. They're not only charming, they build on the layers of characters. Maid-sama also a manga that has no problems laughing at itself or many common aspects of manga thinking (a trait I always find appealing). Even though it has its serious sides, it doesn't take itself too seriously. And it has sarcasm, one of my absolutely favorite kind of humor. There is an anime, though it's subbed, and, yes, I recommend that, too. Sometimes the beauty of the characters doesn't come through when they do an anime. In my opinion, the characters are even more beautiful than in the manga, with the same humor and charm they display on the page. Which is fantastico.

Anime? Yes Volumes of manga: 13 (8 Eng) Status: Ongoing

My rating: Gotta have 'em all

Age range: Nothing here I'd be uncomfortable with a teenager reading. But then, I'm pretty progressive.

Taboos and "warnings": Some sexual allusion. Violence is frequent but not graphic and probably supposed to portray "friendly" ribbing. Cross-dressing here and there.

Premise: A poor girl with a chip on her shoulder about men becomes student council president of a school that recently became co-ed and where girls are in the minority. She determines to clean up the school and it's image, which she does aggressively with some level of violence and force of will. The only boy in school who can stand against her (though he really isn't the take-a-stand type) spots her in the extra job that embarrasses her mightily, working in a Maid Cafe, which is all about deference. Her initial fear becomes bafflement as he preserves her secret and tries to build a relationship with her.

What works: Takumi Usui, the one who finds out about her embarrassing part-time job (which is not a sleezy job, by the way). Usui is one of those "perfect" characters (whose perfection is part of the joke going through the whole book), smart, capable, rich, athletic, attracting all girls, all without any apparent effort. His effortless ability to do what she strives to do annoys our heroine no end. What's cool, though, is his interest, even fascination with the workaholic bristly class president, Ayuzawa Misaki. (Student councils apparently have a great deal more power and responsibility in Japan's high schools than they do here, by the way.) Misaki, who has everything she has through hard work and perseverance, makes things harder on herself by insisting on doing it all herself and taking on responsibility for everyone. Which means that it isn't necessarily because he's better, but because she's taking on too much.

As with many who have things too easy, he doesn't care about anything. He doesn't care what his classmates think (which makes him desperately popular). He isn't worried about being embarrassed or worshiped or hated or despised. In fact, you soon get the sense that one reason he's so successful is that he isn't trying too hard, which is the same reason people like him. It's only as he sees Misaki (the student council president) caring about everything too much that he finds anything that matters to him. The one person who doesn't like him without effort becomes the one person he wants to like him more than anything.

He has to work at it, work around her suspicion and her touchiness and her fear of her own reaction to him. He does so with patience and grace and gentleness and unflinching humor, while being dragged into any number of stupid escapades, often made more dangerous with the president barreling in without hesitation or any notion of self-preservation. He not only doesn't seem to mind, but has no hesitation sabotaging his own reputation or embarrassing himself and even seems to do so for his own amusement. He is hilarious and appears to have a complete grasp of everything except Misaki. He is protective and possessive, but also encouraging. He helps her learn to share her burdens, appreciate new viewpoints, even enjoy herself now and again. He is the perfect foil for her workaholic without being a lazy no-account.
It would be really easy to let such a character come across as overbearing or competitive or patronizing. That the author doesn't do so and, in fact, balances Usui's excessive brilliance with charm and an almost complete lack of self-importance (without imbuing him with false modesty) does a great deal to make him fun.

I like the lead, too. Although too bristly, too pushy and somewhat prone to tunnel vision, Misaki also cares deeply about people (even the boys), takes her responsibilities very much to heart and learns. That, alone, is a fine feature in a shoujo manga because that is not always so. She works hard and learns to appreciate people, friends and enemies alike, with an excellent instinct on who to trust, even if she doesn't consciously acknowledge it. She understand about responsibility in a way Usui doesn't so they balance each other nicely. Her earnestness is appealing without being preachy. I like a character who goes after everything 100%.

Villains are pretty darned villainous, which is nice. They're easy to hate without being cardboard. Side characters are absolutely a laugh riot, adding color and humor, particularly Yakimura who is the butt of a running gag through the entire series and manages this without losing his own humanity.

The humor is pervasive without sacrificing our characters. I laughed out loud repeatedly, either from Usui's sarcasm, the beat perfect sight gags, or the side bars or tongue-in cheek messages from the author. Nothing was sacred and I always find that amusing.

The artwork was nice without being awe-inspiring. The dialog for Usui was often more speaking than his face, which was largely drawn with the same (or nearly same) enigmatic expression. Often the in between sketching, without the fine detail, are the funniest panels. Still, it works as a whole, so I'm not complaining.

Quotes:

Usui: Hey, Ms. President, could you be a masochist? Since you seem to enjoy inflicting all this pain on yourself, maybe you're also a sadist.

Usui: In my opinion, giving a kiss is much better than receiving one.

Usui: I think you're fine just the way you are now. As in, if I had you as my little sister, just as you are now . . .
Misaki: If you had me as I am now?
Usui: I'd find it incredibly hot.

Misaki: How long are you going to follow me?
Usui: To the ends of the earth.
Misaki: Don't you ever think about things before you say them? You're totally grossing me out - even more than usual.

Misaki: Never mind that--why were you waiting for me?
Usui: You needn't let it disturb you. Since I am but a humble stalker.

What I didn't like: Like many school-centric mangas the scenarios, motivations and overall plot is frequently absurd. That's not entirely bad, since it's a huge aspect of the humor, but I had to roll my eyes once in a while. But I was usually laughing at the same time. And, let's not forget, you can no longer get the whole set in English, and even those that were previously published are getting scarce. Grr. On Amazon.com, only volume 7 is still available while the rest can all be had, but some are already at the $20-30 dollar range. Glad I grabbed them when I could.

Maid-Sama can be found on-line, but you'll have to look for "Kaichou Wa Maid-Sama." ("The Student President Is a Maid") The translation is often considerably different, losing the punchline with the on-line version, but sometimes picking up subtleties missed in the official version. There's a lot to translate with this one. And, of course, you can't get any new ones any more officially in English, not unless someone else picks up the license. If someone does, the title may also change.

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High School Debut: Gotta Have 'Em All

High School Debut, aka Koukou Debut by Kawahara Kazune may be one of the hardest manga ever for me to explain why I like it enough to be a "Gotta Have 'Em All." It has characters that are nothing like characters I generally identify with. It's almost entirely set in school and dealing with school problems and relationships that as a 43-year-old woman, I generally couldn't care less about. I don't care for the artwork. And yet, it's a favorite and I had to have them all and I still love them. Another of Amazon's recommendations, I was, before reading, put off by the very high school setting and the clinched Pygmalion premise. When I opened it, I was put off, rather dramatically, by the artwork.

It's ugly. Oh, I know the critics have praised it for the clean style and layout, dynamic figures and emotional expression (I'll endorse that last one). Since I'm not an art expert, I can't say whether that's true or not. I didn't notice any clever dynamics and I thought it was ugly, even the pictures I liked most, but I will say it worked for this story, very effectively conveyed emotion and, long before I'd reached the end, I'd gotten used to it.

Still ugly though.

Something else it is, though, in spades, is funny. Yes, laugh out loud funny, without the use of slapstick or many of the meaner forms of humor. No gimmicks, just normal people being funny. It also has characters that are not your standard cardboard, have charm and souls, flaws and failings, yet manage to be wonderful people you don't mind spending 13 volumes with (and might be willing to spend more, but alas...).

Anime? No Volumes of manga: 13 Status: Complete

My rating: Gotta have 'em all

Age range:This is one of the cleanest mangas ever. If someone wanted one for their kid just starting out reading manga, I wouldn't hesitate to suggest this one to anyone with a double digit age.

Taboos and "warnings": I honestly can't think of any and, if I had any, Viz media went overboard in cleaning it for US consumption. Only in a couple of places, but one, in particular struck me, when Yoh is sick and the directions for the cooling gel pads clearly say to put them forehead, underarms, etc., groin and Viz Media says "foot" instead of groin. Which diffuses the joke. Not to mention, they left the picture pointing somewhere other than the foot. But I digress. No, wait, one male to male kiss, but there was nothing romantic about it.

Premise: Haruna, having given her all to softball in middle school, has her heart set on having a boyfriend like all the girls in her beloved shoujo manga do in high school. Following the self-help advice she finds in the magazines, she determines to attract a boyfriend. With no luck whatsoever. Overhearing a talk to a stranger [Yoh] (who rescues her shoe) that "he knows what men like," she determines to enlist his aid as a makeover coach. He's reluctant but eventually gets sucked in under the promise that she won't fall in love with him.

What works: The premise. No really, it does. Because, instead of some sweet but uncouth person being polished into a diamond, you see a sweet but natural person trying to force herself into the mold of someone else in order to be appealing and a coach who helps her by undoing that and helping her accept herself as she is, see her own charms, rather than trying to staple someone else's idea of a charming bit to her.

Is it predictable? Duh. Of course she'll fall in love with him and vice versa, but she doesn't do so right away. And there are actually quite a few interesting side trips and development that I, at least, didn't see coming. Yoh, who could be the poster child for good advice for young women, is constantly straddling the line where he wants Haruna to be herself but still grow and not be so naive. He also works to remind her she doesn't have to sell herself short, that "any" boyfriend is not better than no boyfriend at all.

But the premise part of it only carried through the first two volumes. So, what works for the other eleven? Primarily the main characters. Haruna is the kind of character, nominally, I would find irksome. Earnest (uber-earnest in fact), she IS naive and takes the advice of nearly everyone at face value. She's trusting and and simple and has little to no egotism. So, not my type of heroine (generally), but, and Yoh picks up on this, she can't help being herself all the time, either, no matter what advice she gets. And Haruna is a nice person. Sweet, earnest, compassionate, forgiving, thoughtful, protective, hardworking. When she knows what she wants, she'll do everything in her power to make it so. She doesn't give up. She doesn't give in. And, although she thinks from the beginning, she's not good enough for Yoh, she's got enough self-worth to tell him straight out instead of pussy-footing around it eleventy-seven chapters (as has so often been done). There is no meanness, no manipulation, no subterfuge in Haruna. And that's pretty appealing.

Yoh, however, is a whole different ballgame. It's actually hard to get a bead on him at first except he's pretty obviously a nice guy. He's blunt and to the point, obviously intelligent, capable of sarcasm. Although he is ostensibly good looking (something one sometimes has to take on faith given the artwork, though, admittedly sometimes it comes through), he isn't particularly popular because he eschews girls since many have a hard time with his blunt way of speaking. He does share with his sister a dazzling power he uses only when necessary. Haruna takes his blunt criticisms at face value, treating it like pearls of wisdom and largely idolizing Yoh, which would make for an unhealthy relationship except that Yoh is well-aware of his shortcomings, painfully aware of them in fact, and suitably aware of Haruna's strengths, to a degree she even misses. She brings out the best in him, which he knows. And, once he has her in his life, he's well aware how much he needs her. He appreciates her without being blind to her flaws. And that's why it works.

Yoh is not just insightful when it comes to Haruna. He understands his sister (and manages to love her anyway without being even a little fooled as to her shortcomings) and his friends. There's a nice supporting cast here, too. Yoh's self-absorbed sister, Haruna's ex-catcher now friend, Yoh's two friends, one as sharp and sarcastic as Yoh himself (but less reserved and more socially adept), one who is as lovably stupid and earnest as Haruna only, get this, more so. We pick up one or two more along the way, but that's the core.

The manga manages not to drag or seem insipid despite an almost complete lack of any significant things happening (no natural disasters or murdered family members), no flashbacks to childhood horror a la Fruits Basket, in fact, very little focus on anyone outside the main group except for short excursions here or there. And no villains. Oh, a few people come and disrupt the happiness here and there, cause trouble, even do unkind things, but one can readily see their motivations (generally more pathetic than evil) and move on. No Haruna, Yoh and company manage to deal with very standard relationship stuff, grow together, learn together and enjoy each others company in a way that makes the shoujo manga standard "year separation" seem ok, that and the fact that they were both partners in deciding they could live with it.

With none of the smooth larger than life characters so frequently found in manga nor ridiculous events happening outside the scope of reality or in fact, any over-the-top scenarios at all, it manages to be consistently entertaining and charming. And I still don't entirely know why.

Favorite character: Yoh. Not because I don't love Haruna - I do and she's well done - but I know what it's like to be the only person who gets it. Yoh has the whole picture. He sees everyone's strengths and weaknesses, can appreciate the former without ignoring the latter. His genuine attachment to Haruna, while not stronger than hers, has the appeal of being without idolization. His very real concern for her happiness, his patience, his realization that, as the real Haruna continues to shine through, others will also appreciate her (gratifying but frightening, too, if you want her to stay with you), is wonderfully human and beautiful. Even his surprise when she does something wonderful for him he didn't expect is charming. He can't help himself.

Quotes:

Haruna: You know what, I think I've fallen in love and...
Yoh: It's Fumi, isn't it?
Haruna: How can you tell?
Yoh: You're such an open book.
Asumi: I kind of knew about it too.
Haruna: Aaagh! Really?!! Th-then do you think Fumi-san knows it too?
Yoh: Nah, no way. He's the most dense person I've ever met in my entire life. Though you're an infinitely close second.

Looking at old essays for insight into what he wants in college: "My dream is to be a triceratops."
Yoh: Well, no way that's going to happen.

Y0h: If you were to fight with Fumi...at that time, I'll...I'll think it's your fault.
Asumi: WHY? He could have cheated on me!
Yoh: He definitely wouldn't do that.
Fumi: I definitely wouldn't do that.
Yoh: It's also your fault if he cheats on you.

Haruna: Ah, a two-person ski-lift. It really feels like we're dating.
Yoh: That's because we are dating.
Haruna: In life, you don't get to fall down so many times in one day. This is pretty fun.
Yoh: Is it?

Haruna: I got hit on!
Strange male: Oh, so you're boyfriend's here. Please excuse me.
Haruna: He was trying to pick me up! Isn't that incredible?
Yoh: It's not incredible! Don't get picked up!
Haruna: This is the first time I've been hit on my entire life!
Yoh: Don't get hit on up here! What are you so happy about?
Haruna: I'm not happy. It's more like...surprised?

What I didn't like:I didn't particularly go for the artwork (in case you missed it). I still haven't figured out the charm so prevalent in manga for having a minimum one year separation that proves the relationship. It's set in Hokkaido, which is why everyone's body looks dumpy and frumpy. I would have liked to see the last couple in the six-some become a couple (why not?).

It's ironic because there are a great many similarities between Kimi No Todoke, which you may have noticed, I just didn't like. Similar pace, premise, even artistic style, but, as I find these characters charming, those I just found irksome.

Really, I have little to complain about. I liked it and I didn't really expect to. I can't even clearly say why. That probably says there's something ineffable here that makes it a charmer. It should be noted that many agree with me. It was amazingly popular in Japan while it was going.

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