We Never Learn Graphic Novel Volume 8 cover image

Nariyuki Yuiga comes from an impoverished family.  A high school senior, he is eager to secure a full scholarship, known as “the Special VIP Recommendation,” to college before he graduates.  His principal agrees to give him the scholarship, but there is one stipulation.  Yuiga must tutor the three smartest girls in school:  Rizu Ogata, Fumino Furuhashi, and, Uruka Takemoto so that they can get into their target colleges.  However, each girl wants to focus on a subject area in which she is practically an utter failure!

As We Never Learn, Vol. 8 (“As the Festival Unfolds Mysteriously, [ X ] Dance in Full Splendor”; Chapter 61 to 69) opens, it's time for “interview practice.”  Yep, the students should be prepared to be interviewed by their perspective colleges, so they need to learn how to give a good interview.  School guidance counselor, Mafuyu Kirisu, is the tutor, and she won't go easy on them.

Next, it is time for the Ichinose School festival; it's time for haunted houses, food booths, and singing.  When Furuhashi's class decides to put on a stage play, they choose “Sleeping Beauty.”  However, they also decide that Furuhashi should play “Sleeping Beauty,” so that they can get the student who plays “the prince” to kiss her.  And their target for this princely role is Yuiga!

[This volume includes “Bonus Comic” and “Bonus Comics 2.”]

THE LOWDOWN:  The We Never Learn manga blends academics and teen romance.  Like Nisekoi: False Love, We Never Learn features a boy with several girls from which to choose.

We Never Learn Graphic Novel Volume 8 focuses on one of my favorite elements of manga set in high schools – the school festival.  Six of the nine chapters in this volume (64 to 69) concern the festival and related antics, which include selling udon, a lecture on the history of the Roman Empire (?), and getting Furuhashi and Yuiga to kiss.  This is one of the few times that creator Taishi Tsutsui plays a story line over this many chapters.  Most chapters of We Never Learn are standalone sitcom-like episodes, but this school festival mini-story arc is a pure delight to read and a testament to this series' comic appeal and Tsutsui's talents.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Fans of shonen high school comedies will want to learn about the Shonen Jump title, We Never Learn.

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9 out of 10