by Aya Nakahara, 180 pagesRisa Koizumi and Atsushi Ôtani are an odd couple--she's the tallest girl in class, he's the shortest guy, and just seeing them standing next to one another sends their otherwise-encouraging classmates into fits of laughter--but they've long since come to terms with their many contrasts and instead focus on enjoying what remains of their high school life while looking toward the future. This usually entails a lot of giggling.
In this volume, the kids travel to a tropical island for their outgoing teacher Mighty's wedding, but--as seems to happen every time Koizumi and Ôtani go on a trip together--plans do not go off without a hitch. Add to that their friend Seiko-chan's identity crisis, Ôtani's former basketball team's dire straits, and their graduation committee responsibilities, and the duo's going to have one very busy final year.
Love*Com (short for Lovely Complex) is a great romantic comedy. Koizumi and Ôtani pick on each other constantly, but without hurtfulness and with an understanding that they're far more alike than they are different, though it takes them a while to figure that out. Watching them get past that seven-inch hurdle over the course of the series has been much fun and I will be sad when it's over. The art is as much a plus as the characters and story. Nakahara does wonders with expressing her characters' wide range of emotions, whether subtle or exaggerated, and gives them individual wardrobes and hairstyles that change from day to day (and occasionally resurface, just like your own closet's contents) rather than the more usual and easier tack of keeping them in school uniforms and the same dos all the time.
For fun, snickers, sweetness, and some more snickers, you really can't go wrong with this one. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment