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Another book by HATTA Ayuko! I really like this mangaka. I’ve talked about a few of her other series before. She’s the author of the popular series, ‘Wolf Girl and Black Prince.’ This one is fun 3-volume high school romance series with a bright and upbeat heroine and a surly hero. I always like that combination. The ‘opposites attract’ scenario. The English title on the cover of this book is, ‘Haibara is in a Bad Temper,’ and you can really see that from the cover illustration. As I write this, I’m still reading the series, so I’m wondering if the Haibara-kun in this is related to the Haibara-sensei in Kimi wo Chuushin ni Sekai wa Mawaru? They look pretty similar.
Anyway, this is the story of NANJOU Mio, a simple but happy high school girl. She’s cute and outgoing, and can get a bit carried away sometimes. One day, while trying to comfort a little boy she found who was crying over a dropped ice cream cone, a strange boy walked by and called her an idiot. Wow, how RUDE! His comment upset and frustrated Mio, who sometimes second guesses her actions, as she’s aware that she overdoes it sometimes.
At school, right when she’s still fuming over the boy’s comments, he walks into her classroom as the new transfer student! He introduces himself as HAIBARA Reiichi. Other than that, he doesn’t have much to say, but their teacher brags about how smart Haibara-kun is. Mio is shocked to see the guy from yesterday. This is a typical Shoujo Manga Land coincidence. So of course, he is assigned to sit next to her! Mio is annoyed at first, but she quickly rebounds and decides to befriend the rude guy. She introduces herself to him and offers her hand, but he flatly refuses. In fact, he’s just as rude as he was the day before and he even calls her an idiot again!
WHAT?! The nerve! Why does he have to be so mean? What did Mio ever do to him? But it turns out Haibara-kun is rude to everyone, not just Mio. He’s a very unsociable guy! Mio finally gives up on trying to be his friend. After all, she has other worries, mainly that her grades have been so bad that she is in danger of having to repeat a year! She does try to ask Haibara-kun if he could tutor her so she could pass the exams, but he refuses in the coldest way possible. FINE! No time to waste on Haibara-kun, Mio needs to study! She has one chance left. If she can bring up her scores in the next set of exams, she will be able to advance to the next grade. With her usual enthusiasm (and a lot of desperation) Mio throws herself into studying. And of course, she goes overboard, studying herself dizzy. She’s trying her hardest because she doesn’t want to be separated from her friends next year.
Meanwhile, Haibara-kun watches Mio trying so desperately to study, and he is not amused. As usual, he looks generally disapproving. Haibara has a very cold attitude. He doesn’t seem to believe in handouts or coddling anyone. But as the days go by and Mio continues to try hard, he can only start to feel a bit of pity for her when she still manages to fail a mock exam.
Mio is beyond frustrated and embarrassed and angry and desperate. She tried her hardest, focused all of her energy, and she still failed! What else can she do?! She’s almost ready to give up. Seeing how devastated Mio is finally moves Haibara-kun enough to try and help her. He rationalizes his decision with talk of how he might benefit from the additional study also. But Mio doesn’t care. She’s desperate, and clings to his offer. But can Haibara-kun make a difference? Will working together, with their opposite personalities, yield any results? Can Mio’s sunny attitude thaw Haibara’s cold heart? The series follows the two of them as they get closer. Mio is usually baffled by Haibara’s coldly logical way of thinking, while he is equally baffled by Mio’s unflagging enthusiasm for the things she does.