Ultra Maniac, Vol. 1, Volume 1

Hello there, (...)here. Ultra Maniac is another one of Yoshizumi-sensei's works. It's about Ayu Tateishi, who is crazy over Kaji Tetsushi. One day, a new transfer student transfers to Ayu's school, Nina Sakura. Apparently, the transfer student transferred to Ayu's school from the Magic Kingdom, where of course, all beings are able to use magic. With the help of Nina and her mini-computer, Ayu gets into many strange adventures, all planned by the one and only, NINA!! But, problems occur on the way. For instance, many times throughout the series, Nina uses a spell on Ayu or a student at the school. After what is needed to be done is done (or at least nearly accomplished being done), Nina never seems to ever find a spell in her computer to reverse the magic. In those cases, Ayu just has to live with the magic until it wears off. Other moments, Hiroki Tsujiai, one of Kaji's friends, is always near Kaji, making it difficult to use a spell on Kaji. Oh, well, no more. Nuh-uh. See ya next time. This is (...).^_^

Ayu Tateishi is the star tennis player and one of the most popular girls at her junior high in Japan and she has a crush on Tetsushi Kaji, the star baseball player who is one of the most popular guys. Sounds like a match made in heaven, right? Well, as usual in shojo, Ayu is having problems working up the courage to tell Kaji about her feelings. Enter new student Nina Sakura, who seems to be overly needy and looking for a friend. She's a little weird and Ayu begins to think that she might be some kind of psychotic stalker. Imagine her surprise when she finds out Nina is a witch from the Magic Kingdom who flunked out of her school because she was inept at casting spells. But that's not going to stop Nina, as she transforms Ayu into a boy to play a match against the boy's tennis team for court rights. Her pitiful skills also do not stop Nina from trying all kinds of wacky tricks to make Kaji fall in love with Nina! Ultra Maniac is a cute, harmless, and very funny manga! It entirely skirted the dangerous territory of sappiness. The humor is good-natured, playing off of Nina's gullibility and dedication for doing good without belittling her. You'll most likely find yourself laughing aloud as you read this book. This would be a good starting book for new manga readers. I would also recommend the anime version Ultra Maniac.

I loved this book! It was great! It truly was for all ages, despite what the first review said. And, maybe if you read the book you'll know why she kissed another girl (that does sound kind of dumb, though). Anyways, I enjoyed it. Give it a chance! I'm sure you'll love it too!

This book really is basically a kid's manga. When reading this book, that should be kept in mind. Nina and Ayu both act a bit immature at times, but they're never to the point where they're annoyingly immature. Yes, as was said before, there was one part where Ayu was turned into a boy, and kissed another girl (unwillingly...) but that was basically the only thing somewhat (I mean SOMEWHAT.) that could turn it into a 12+ manga. However, this manga is full of shoujo goodness in every aspect of the word. The art isn't heavy, instead, it's greatly detailed and flourishy, and it isn't full of sappy sappy love. There's a wonderful little plot twist at the end of the first volume that really gets you thinking about what'll happen. So, in short, if you can't stand any kind (and I mean ANY KIND.) of the shoujo ai or shonen ai stuff, you'll probably be a bit bothered by the girl to boy transformations Nina and Ayu pull off. However, if you're really not bothered at all by that subject, inside, you'll find a great read that really is appropriate for basically any age.

First of all I have to disagree with the previous review, this is a great series! It's a wonderful cute story about jr high school boys & girls and unrequitted love. As well as the interesting plots that come about when you have a witch in training who means well but isn't very good with her spells that often go awry more often than not. Just skimming through the story will not give you a full appreciation of the hijinks and plot twists that can come about. The artwork is well done and cute but not excessively so. And everything that happens is very innocent, even the only "kiss" scene was a result of a comedy gag or punchline than anything else. I really like this series and can't wait till the next volume is released. I would also recommend Marmalade Boy, another manga series by the same author.