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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~!
Hi Emily!
I’m also a manga fan and have read and bought so much manga I’ve drained my local bookstore (and wallet). LOL. Anyhow, I just wanted to comment on how much mangaka love to use the ‘childhood friend turned lover’ plot. I was just reading through the reviews you wrote, and 4 out of 5 was about the childhood friend situation. ;P I think these mangaka really need to come up with more original plots. Hehe.
Linda
You like saved my life I hate looking around online for new manga because it is frustrating. I really like your site because it has the type of manga that I like. Thank you very much. You are awesome.