Thanks to barnesandnoble.com for the image.

Rated “T” for “Teen”

Risa Koizumi is the tallest girl in class.  Atushi Ôtani is the shortest boy in class.  Risa has a hard crush on Atushi, but he’s playing hard to get.

In Love*Com, Vol. 6, Atushi wins two tickets to a concert, he asks Risa to go with him.  Could this be a first date or the biggest fight of their admittedly contentious relationship?  Later, the school gets a new teacher, Maitake Kuniumi aka “Mighty.”  Many of the female students are madly in love with Mighty, including Risa.  When she starts a fan club, “The Mighty Girls,” Atushi becomes royally pissed off about it.  Is Risa trying to make him jealous?  Why does Atushi keep making her so mad?

THE LOWDOWN:  Just reading the cover copy of Love*Com told me that I wouldn’t be interested in this manga and reading it would be a chore.  I’m disappointed to say that I enjoyed it, which probably means I’m turning into a girl (because I find myself enjoying a rapidly increasing number of shoujo or girls’ comics titles).

The bickering couple is a well worn fictional cliché, but storyteller must put his or her own stamp on this old chestnut.  Manga-ka Aya Nakahara pulls it off by varying the mood throughout the narrative.  Love*Com is by turns madcap, romantic, serious, farcical, etc., and Nakahara does this by how she presents the visuals.  She’ll highlight or draw all the attention to a character by toning that lone image or even employ a smart use of deforming.  The panels aren’t static.  Just like tempestuous teen love, Love*Com is lively and in a state of flux.  It’s also surprisingly likeable.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Love*Com epitomizes the “Shojo Beat” line’s emphasis on quality and entertaining YA drama.

B+