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Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Fall in Love Like a Comic, vol. 2


The story: Rena is a high school mangaka dating the perfect guy -- Tomoya. In this second, and (thankfully) final, volume, Rena decides she wants to take her relationship to the next level when she, Tomoya and their group of friends go on an overnight trip. Once they survive the trip, Rena finds out that her new tutor for college placement tests is Tomoya's ex-girlfriend. Just what is she do to?

Reaction: Egads, I can't believe I actually picked this up. Didn't I go through enough pain reviewing the first volume? Oh well. In this end to the story, we see Tomoya and Rena focus even more on their all-too-perfect relationship, they go through the stereotypical high school problems when an ex shows up and they eventually decide they're in this for the long haul, ending the volume on an odd "happy ending." Even odder, the bonus story at the end flash-forwards ten years to show where Rena, Tomoya and their friends end up at.

Deep thoughts: Okay, I cry "uncle!" I don't have any deep thoughts for this manga. It not only doesn't bring anything remotely resembling a deep thought to mind, it simply doesn't deserve more of my time.

Artwork: This is all you need to know about Chitose Yagami's style -- big eyes, childlike teenagers doing all-too-adult things and sparkly, screentoned panels abound. Yup, that's it.

The verdict: Just say no! Seriously, this book is simply not good. Do yourself a favor and keep the 30 minute or so of your life that you'd otherwise spend reading this derivative drivel masquerading as manga. When I reconfigured my rankings system, I had originally taken out this category. But I brought it back just for this volume! Fall in Love Like a Comic is available in the U.S. from Viz.

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