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LOVE HINA 1, by Ken Akamatsu.
Keitaro is a shy boy who didn't get into college on his first or second try, so he's a ronin. (The Japanese term is specifically about kids who failed the entrance exams, but "slacker" probably has similar connotations.) After his parents boot him out, he goes to Tokyo to throw himself on the mercy of his grandmother, who owns an inn. But when he arrives, he finds that his grandmother is gone and the inn is a girls' dorm. Next thing he knows, he's become caretaker.
For the next 200 pages, every innocent thing Keitaro does somehow manages to make him look like a Peeping Tom. If he repairs a window, it's inevitably overlooking the women's bath. Etc. I guess the attraction is that the reader too gets to peep but without the guilt of doing it on purpose. Panties plus shoji-slamming farce = Not my cup of ocha. The best part was a sort of afterword which had a series of sketches of the characters and notes on how they evolved.
FLAME OF RECCA 1, by Nobuyuki Anzai.
This also has a few panty shots, as befits a shonen series (shojo has bare-chested male hotties instead) but that's not at all the focus of this charmingly eccentric series. Recca is a contemporary boy with a ninja obsession. In the singleminded fashion typical of teenage geeks, he spends all his spare time practicing ninja stuff, to the resigned bewilderment of his friends and family. He's in search of a master to dedicate himself to, and has declared that whoever can beat him in a fight will get his ninja services forever.
His classmate Fuko is a tomboy who can't decide if she wants to date him or knock his head off. But she knows that she wants him to dedicate himself to her. But so far neither she nor anyone has ever beaten him. His ninja skills are just too good. But then Recca meets Yanagi, a gentle girl with a secret: she has the power to heal. Recca too has a secret: he can control fire. Recca impulsively declares that he'll dedicate himself to Yanagi, even though she's not a fighter. Sparks fly.
This is a completely whacked-out book, full of realistically weird characters, romantic quadrangles, fights, and fireworks, and a touchingly sweet-natured sensibility. It's funny, too. I'll be reading more of this one.
Keitaro is a shy boy who didn't get into college on his first or second try, so he's a ronin. (The Japanese term is specifically about kids who failed the entrance exams, but "slacker" probably has similar connotations.) After his parents boot him out, he goes to Tokyo to throw himself on the mercy of his grandmother, who owns an inn. But when he arrives, he finds that his grandmother is gone and the inn is a girls' dorm. Next thing he knows, he's become caretaker.
For the next 200 pages, every innocent thing Keitaro does somehow manages to make him look like a Peeping Tom. If he repairs a window, it's inevitably overlooking the women's bath. Etc. I guess the attraction is that the reader too gets to peep but without the guilt of doing it on purpose. Panties plus shoji-slamming farce = Not my cup of ocha. The best part was a sort of afterword which had a series of sketches of the characters and notes on how they evolved.
FLAME OF RECCA 1, by Nobuyuki Anzai.
This also has a few panty shots, as befits a shonen series (shojo has bare-chested male hotties instead) but that's not at all the focus of this charmingly eccentric series. Recca is a contemporary boy with a ninja obsession. In the singleminded fashion typical of teenage geeks, he spends all his spare time practicing ninja stuff, to the resigned bewilderment of his friends and family. He's in search of a master to dedicate himself to, and has declared that whoever can beat him in a fight will get his ninja services forever.
His classmate Fuko is a tomboy who can't decide if she wants to date him or knock his head off. But she knows that she wants him to dedicate himself to her. But so far neither she nor anyone has ever beaten him. His ninja skills are just too good. But then Recca meets Yanagi, a gentle girl with a secret: she has the power to heal. Recca too has a secret: he can control fire. Recca impulsively declares that he'll dedicate himself to Yanagi, even though she's not a fighter. Sparks fly.
This is a completely whacked-out book, full of realistically weird characters, romantic quadrangles, fights, and fireworks, and a touchingly sweet-natured sensibility. It's funny, too. I'll be reading more of this one.
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---L.
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Total male wish fulfillment manga.
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