Nakahara Aya - Love Com, vol. 02-06 (Eng. trans.)

[oyceter]

I have missed blogging about manga so much! More than that; I miss reading manga. Grad school means less time for tachiyomi-ing, and the local library here doesn't have nearly as much manga as my old library did. Less random manga = sad Oyce.

I was rather fond of this after reading the first volume, but never quite had the time to read more until now. Thankfully, I did not completely forget everything as is the norm, since I watched the movie during winter vacation.

Even though this is very standard high-school shoujo, I like that Nakahara doesn't seem set on doing 20 volumes of "Will they or won't they?" Or, she does, but in a way that the relationship actually progresses and Risa goes through quite a few different emotional stages.

Spoilers

I feel like it's been some time since I've read high-school shoujo, so my impressions may be totally off. But I felt like the progression so far from Risa realizing she likes Otani to her saying something to the awkward maybe-maybe-not stage to being turned down and having to get over that isn't one that's usually in manga. And even though it's not the development of a romantic relationship (the other thing I like seeing that isn't often in manga), I like that Risa's feelings aren't static and that the situation has been changing every few volumes.

Also, much as I like Otani, I wanted to whack him over the head for doing that "I sort of like her but sort of don't" thing, in which he is nice to her in a way that seems like it is promising something, but still won't give her an answer! Booo!

And because the "maybe maybe not" goes on for so long, it makes Risa's defection to Maity more believable. (Even though I am still squicked by the way Maity flirts with her! Yeah, yeah, it's to make Otani jealous, whatever. Still squicky!)

I was also pleasantly surprised to find that Otani doesn't ever entertain getting back together with his ex; I hate it when shoujo heroes do that. It makes me like them so much less.

There's still the normal school festival stuff and the change of the seasons and whatnot, but (as I'm sure most of you have figured out) I am very fond of high-school shoujo when it's done well, largely because the rhythm of the school year brings back fairly happy memories of high school in Taiwan. I kind of miss that period of life, when worrying about what your class was going to do for the festival was the entire world. (Of course, I totally don't miss not earning my own money or being emotionally stupid or negotiating relationships! But that's why high-school shoujo is great! I can reminisce happily while the characters go through all the pain.)

Anyway, not amazing or ground-breaking, but this is a nice, solid high-school shoujo series. It's very relaxing.

Comments

[jinian.livejournal.com]

Soemthing about Nakahara's art in this one has reached the stage where I LOVE IT SO MUCH. Her earlier stuff doesn't quite do it, but I just adore Love Com. As you say, it's not doing anything really new, yet nothing has made me crazy or driven me to feminist rage yet and I have huge affection for the characters. (It doesn't hurt that Wim and I are the same kind of dork, just like Risa and Otani.) In conclusion, YAY.

[oyceter]

I know! I love Risa and Otani so much! Ok, so Otani has been woefully clueless in these volumes, but neither of them are mean, and they both seem to get along so well!

[larryhammer]

This is one of my favorite continuing series, precisely because it does what it does so well and never resorts to static emotional loops -- there's one episode later on that partially repeats some of the issues of an earlier episode, but that's about it. The characters change and grow (and keep growing) and are never idjwits, just ... humanly dumb sometimes. It doesn't hurt that Nakahara has a gift for comic timing and off-the-backboard humor ("flaunt your inner boobies!") and funny faces.

High School Debut is all about inverting the tropes of shoujo romantic comedy; Love*Com does them straight but does them well. Well enough, I'm willing to buy each volume as soon as it comes out.

---L.

[oyceter]

Yay! Although for some reason I was under the impression that it's finished? Is Love Com D basically the same thing, or is it a different storyline or something?

I think you are totally right about High School Debut and Love Com; I wish I had the budget to buy them instead of waiting for the library or the bookstores!

[larryhammer]

I meant ongoing into official English translation (though the scans haven't actually reached the ending either). Yeah, it's complete -- ended at 17 volumes.

I don't know much about Love*Com D, other than it starts Real Soon Now in a bimonthly magazine and it focuses on the other characters than Risa and Otani.

---L.

[oyceter]

Oh ok! For some reason, I thought it ended at 10 vols. I am glad there is much more to come! And it'll be interesting to see what Nakahara does with other characters.

[larryhammer]

Volume 11 just came out this month, so nope on the stopping at 10. :-P

And FWIW, High School Debut ends with volume 13 (plus a sequel one-shot).

---L.

[sarasusa.livejournal.com]

...and <3 <3 <3 to Umibozu, yo.

[oyceter]

Yes, definitely!