Ultra Maniac, Vol. 4

This is a great series to add to your anime collection. The price was great and it arrived on time, as promised.

The Ultra Maniac series by Wataru Yoshizumi is about Nina who just got expelled for the time being from the magic kingdom. After she gets expelled she comes to earth to study abroad and meets a nice girl named Ayu who becomes her best friend. Pick up a volume of Ultra Maniac and LOL as you go along with the crazy stories of Ayu and Nina.

Sayaka has become the loose cannon of the cast. She's going with Yuta, but it seems like she wants to mess things up for Ayu, because she makes a pass at Tetsushi, even planting a kiss on his lips. Then she has the nerve to tell Ayu about it! What exactly is her problem. And what has she got against Nina? Speaking of, Nina isn't exactly having a good time these days either. She is still receiving nasty letters saying that someone knows her secret and threatening her in an effort to get Nina to return to the Magic Kingdom. There hasn't been any violence yet, but the notes are starting to get more disturbing. Also, Hiroki asked her out last volume, but Nina told him no because she believed that he only liked her because she could do magic. Hopefully, that isn't the truth. I really like this series, because it's a magical girl manga with very little magic, if that makes sense? I would say 3/4 of the book is simply about the relationships between the lead characters. The characters are engaging and likeable enough to keep your interest. There is a scene where Ayu and Nina change into cats to spy on Hiroki and Tetsushi which turns out to be not quite a good plan. And then there's the magical battle climax, but besides this, it's pretty much a school shojo comedy-drama. But I like the subtlety. It's also nice to see that Nina is progressing. I mean Ayu ASKS her to use magic at one point, something that would have been unthinkable in the first volume. In the beginning, she was begging her NOT to use magic, but she trusts her as a friend AND as a spellcaster now. Nice series. Extras include sidenotes about the anime version of Ultra Maniac and also a short but funny manga about a trip the creator made to Kenya with some other manga artists.