If I can hold out for another 30 minutes, it'll be the first day this year that I didn't do any of the above 1) read manga/Japanese novel 2) play a Japanese game (i.e. Kiminozo, Natsuiro) 3) watch anime 4) listen to Japanese music. I have 5 manga and a novel with me...oh, so tempting.

I'm currently back at my parent's house for the Memorial Day weekend. That means I finally get to watch some TV! But of course, there's still nothing on.

Title: せんせいのお時間 (Doki Doki School Hours) Vol. 1
Artist/Author: ももせたまみ (Tamami Momose)
Book Size/Pages: A-5, 134pp., w/o furigana
Original Serialization: Manga Life Original 3/97-9/98
First Printing: 4/27/99
Rating: 3/4

Hearing the anime is out, I decided to pick this series up to see what it's about. The series is in 4 panel format, so there's not much of a plot, but rather short snippets and situations. I can't help but compare this to Azumanga Daioh as the format is the same and the setting is pretty similar too. While this has it's high points at times, the characters aren't as interesting. Mika, the teacher, is hilarious, but there isn't much of a supporting cast. The humor in here seems to be aimed towards a more mature audience, and appropriately so since this is published in a young women's mangazine.

Bonus includes a few color pages in front and a bonus chapter.

The story revolves around a 27-year-old school teacher 鈴木みか (Mika Suzuki) who just started work as a literature/language teacher at high school. She's abnormally small for her age and in fact, a lot of her students are taller, bigger, and even more "voluptuous" than she is. A big part of the humor comes from her size. Among her students are a homosexual, a big and tall girl who likes little girls (like Mika, her teacher), an otaku, and other students who are obsessed with one thing or another.

Title: 彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 1
Artist/Author: 津田雅美 (Masami Tsuda)
Book Size/Pages: Small B-6, 187pp., w/furigana
Original Serialization: Monthly LALA 2/96-4/96
First Printing: 6/10/96
Rating: 4/4

I think this might have been the very first manga I've ever purchased, oh so many years ago. I never got around to reading it as girl's manga is quite intimidating with their long dialogue. But I managed to get all the books up to volume 16 at the closing sale at Nippon Books, so with 16 books sitting here, might as well get started.

The first few chapters are pretty much the same as the anime. I always thought that the buildup in the first few episodes was the best in all of anime, and this manga is no different. The anime died pretty poorly though and I hear that the manga is a lot different. I hope so.

There's a separate chapter which I believe is one of one-chapter story that sometimes gets included in the magazines. There's also another mini-comic after that.

1. ACT1 彼女の事情 (Her Circumstances):　宮沢雪野 (Yukino Miyazawa) is a first year high school student who obsessively cares about her appearance. She's always been the top student and the envy of all until now, when she feels like she's been overshadowed by 有馬総一郎 (Soichiro Arima). As such, she made it her duty to do better than him on the next test to regain her crown. When she does, he doesn't react the way she thinks he should, which makes her realize that he might not be putting up a front like she is. At home, Yukino is a real slob as no one sees her, but she accidentally lets Arima see her true self when he comes over unexpected to lend her a CD.

2. ACT2 シークレット (Secret): Using his knowledge of her secret life, he blackmails her and makes her do all his work. Along the way, they start talking to each other more, but eventually she gets fed up. He apologizes and tells her that he only did that so he could get a little closer to her.

3. ACT3 彼氏の事情 (His Circumstances): Arima lives in a nice house with very proper parents. Yukino has a lively family. After Arima sees this, he's reminded of his own life, how he was adopted and feels like he needs to live up to his worth. With these thoughts, he gets more withdrawn and starts ignoring Yukino as he tries to deal with what his true identity is. Eventually, Yukino slaps some sense into the boy.