Love Roma 1

Just the most hilarious manga, ever! The artwork is unique; I didn't like it at first, but don't hesitate! The characters are wild, good natured, and just plain silly. Plenty of laugh out loud gags, over the top situation comedy, and a story line running through it. Plenty of Tsukkomi/Boke. Nandeyano?! I want more!!! If you don't believe me, believe CLAMP. They are telling all their friends to "read this manga!"

Negishi thinks of herself as a rather average and plain-looking high schooler until a boy named Hoshino declares his love and asks her to go out as her stunned classmates look on. While put off at first by his open heart, Negishi submits to his attentions because of peer pressure and her own secret desire to fall in love. Volume 1 of Love Roma is mainly about the couple's first bumbling attempts to get to know each other and to carve out their own space in the realationship. It is filled with light-hearted and innocent comedy and some occasional deeper insights into the human heart that alternately craves solitude and company. Adding to the comedy are the friends of the couple, Tsukahara and Yoko, whose deadpan attitudes about life offer constant counterpoints to Negishi's excitibility and Hoshino's one track mind. The story is slow-paced and comfortable and feels like a window into a naive but warm world. The art is a bit more cartoony and American-seeming than most manga, but it suits the story. The author has really drawn and plotted a winner here. I would also recommend the manga Aria, which also has a laid-back plot and mood. Also, the Azumanga Daioh anime and manga. His and Her Circumstances is a good anime that delves into a little more seriousness than is seen in Love Roma.

I enjoyed this volume because it takes an otherwise common formula--boy declares love for girl, girl stumped--and makes light of all of the usual emotional and shoujo-esque aspects of relationships in manga. It's very much like Kare Kano (Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou/His & Her Circumstances) without the emotional baggage, heavy storylines, and occasional complete changes of story focus on what should be minor characters. Granted, this is only the first volume, but it's certainly well-grounded in what it's trying to express, and the upbeat and almost comic-strip-like art keep the series from collapsing on itself with too much drama. Totally recommended, especially if you've just gotten through a far more serious manga series.