I love the feeling of when you have finished a story and loved it and then realise you have read other series by the author and loved them as well. In this case mangaka. Beast Master and the currently publishing Dengeki Daisy are two other popular titles by Kyousuke Motomi.
I'm not sure the percentage of men who create shoujo manga but I'm sure its not many, nothing jumps out and says this was written by a man. Just originality and flair.
What drew me to read this was the picture on the cover of Kiriko Maejima who is featured in the first story Youth Survival. A shoujo manga with a picture of a girl in army camouflage, little interest lights go off.
All four chapters tell very different stories and are beautiful told, in fact I would go as far as to say they are amazing. Unlike other one shot volumes where each chapter blends into another, where you forget what happened in the first story half way through the second chapter; all of them leave you thinking if they were a series you would read them. Each story is original and heartfelt, not cliché, annoying or the haven't I read this before feeling.
Although the main characters look the same in all four stories they are well drawn. It can also be forgiven as they are attractive and drawn nicely, with a soft style.
The characters all have personality. In the last chapter Never Dying Crow, is a group of "weridos" who are fantastic, in the sense of interesting people, who don't conform to the norm.
Comedy, Romance, Shoujo, what more could ask for? This is a great little gem volume of one shots. Did I also mention Kyousuke Motomi, great mangaka. I was pleased to see that he has more titles and that the last chapter Never Dying Crow is a side story to Otokomae! Beads Club.
Enjoy
