Four high school friends navigate their first relationships and crushes, some with more success than others. One friend juggles five girlfriends at once; one is a dom who likes to make others feel pain; and one is a nerd who hopes to find another nerd girl to share his interests. Then, there's Natsuki, who is a hopeless romantic, and finally has his first girlfriend just in time for Christmas! His friends warn him that she might be a gold digger because he wears expensive hand-me-downs from his fashionista sisters, but Natsuki believes in the power of love. Later Natsuki tries to figure out a mysterious girl he met at an ice rink - is she aloof or just shy?
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Nakamura is overwhelmed by his crush on Hirose, so much that he's stunned into silence for most of his class interactions. Many of his classmates think he's either shy or standoffish. One day, Nakamura gets an opportunity to talk with Hirose, and even be cast in a play with him! As Nakamura slowly starts to open up, he and Hirose strike up a timid friendship that is often interrupted by other classmates. One observant classmate draws an amateur manga of Nakamura and Hirose being in a relationship, and Nakamura absorbs some of the confidence from his alter-ego. On a class field trip, Nakamura strikes off on his own to the aquarium and is startled to find Hirose tagging along. The two converse at length about the fish and especially the octopi, Nakamura's favorite. At the end, Nakamura confesses his wish that he and Hirose would be friends, while Hirose admits he felt they were already friends.
Aoi is starting middle school, and he is supremely sensitive to sound. He's just moved to town and will start middle school with the new term. While exploring his new city, he is drawn to the sound of the choir for his new school during their practice, and he knows he has to join them. Some of the other students, however, resent Aoi’s beautiful soprano voice and his innocent faith. Aoi is also approached by the band's sponsor to join the local Opera association. Her thought is that Aoi needs to show off his beautiful gift before his voice changes and its lost forever, but members of the choir see it as a betrayal, especially because the competition falls on the same weekend as the Opera's performances.
Itsuomi tells Yuki he’s leaving the country for a little over a month, but before he leaves, he asks her to be his girlfriend. Yuki is shocked and still a little doubtful that Itsuomi could really fall for a girl like her, but she accepts. While he’s gone, Itsuomi sends Yuki photos of his adventures and asks her to send sign language videos so he can practice. When he returns, Yuki misreads his lips, and she ends up acquiescing to her first kiss accidentally!
Ryō has to deal with the fallout of having a popular YouTuber out him as transgender. At first, many people at school are supportive, but that quickly diminishes as classmates start asking inappropriate questions about Ryō’s body and sexual attraction. Ryō skips school for a couple of days to do some soul searching while Jin and Itsuka plead with Tsubasa to take down the video. Ryō returns to school and announces to his whole class who he is and apologizes for his silence. No one is more hurt than Chika, Ryō’s crush, who admits she thought they were closer friends. Meanwhile, Tsubasa has an intimate night with a woman, and she posts a photo online that goes viral. This causes Tsubasa's fans to question Tsubasa and criticize them for potentially lying to garner views and profits. The "Boys" create a new shirt supporting Tsubasa and their right to some privacy.
Akihito relives the day of the festival when their classmate commits suicide, and particular focus is on one student who Akihito could have done more for. Akihito witnesses him constantly being bullied, and often stands up for him, but lets a couple of encounters slide without helping. Akihito wonders if this is the person who committed suicide and trapped them here, and whether it was entirely his fault. After this, Akihito disappears and doesn't get a chance to discuss with the others what he has discovered. Rika also gets separated from the group and has a flashback of her own and also disappears.
Shino Oshima practices saying her name over and over, but she just can't get out Oshima. Shino has a stutter, and it makes it extremely difficult to say words that begin with vowels. So the next day, the first day of her high school career, Shino has to introduce herself to her homeroom class, but can't get her own name out. The students laugh mercilessly and Shino feels hopelessly defeated. One day, she gets up the courage to apologize to Kayo who she accidentally injured, but Kayo isn't about to let anyone get close to her so easily after being ostracized in junior high for being tone deaf. The two strike up a rocky friendship, and Kayo realizes Shino doesn't stutter when she sings. They practice together and Kayo tries to break Shino of her crippling shyness by performing outside and signing them up as an entry for the talent show.
Eriko Ichimura is a pretty invisible girl at her high school, so she spends most of her time writing out fantasies on Twitter. She pretends to have a super-hot boyfriend who is strangely very similar to Ohmi-san,a boy at her school who is always surrounded by doting females or having his clothing stolen. When Ichimura accidentally drops her phone where Ohmi can get to it, he finds her Twitter page and reads most of her tweets. The two start an unsteady acquaintanceship that mostly involves Ohmi teasing her or leaving her with half-formed ideas that she could interpret as romantic advances. Ichimura also makes a friend over a review she posts for the library, but she’s worried Sara-Chan is using her to get close to Ohmi. Her fears are unfounded, but that doesn’t stop Ohmi from being strangely protective of Ichimura. In a moment of weakness, Ichimura asks Ohmi to go to the summer festival together, and to her shock, he agrees!
Illustrated by Mia Ikumi
Earth is under attack from aliens who are disgusted by the way humans are destroying the planet. They infect animals with chimera properties to make monsters. Ryô Shirigane, a rich high schooler, and Keiichirô Akasaka, a “café owner” and researcher, want to protect the world from these aliens. They infuse five girls with “red data” animal DNA - DNA from endangered animals - to become warriors against the chimera animals. When they’re not fighting, the girls work at Café Mew Mew as a way to gather information from customers. Ichigo is the first warrior to awaken to her transformation powers and found by the two guys, and she must find the other four teammates while fending off attacks from Kish, one of the aliens who has keyed in on Ichigo. Ichigo also has to juggle her time with her crush, Masaya, who is also interested in endangered animals and saving the planet. 
Adapted and illustrated by Aonoshimo
Rei is a corporate drone who finds happiness after hours playing her favorite dating sim. As the main character, she’s supposed to choose from between three handsome princes, but the person she’s most interested in is the rival, Miss Claire. One night, while playing, Rei is transported into the game as the main character, Rae Taylor, a commoner at an elite academy, who can now pursue Miss Claire without the pesky game getting in the way! But, as her rival and a noble, Miss Claire thinks lowly of Rae and constantly teases her. Rae loves the attention, which drives Miss Claire even crazier. After some time, Rae becomes employed as Miss Claire's maid. Now, she can be around Miss Claire at school and at home! |
About MeI've been reading manga and comicbooks for years. Now, I write reviews and other helpful things for School Librarians, teachers, parents, and students. Search this site
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