New Flavors: Sora no Manimani

Sora no Manimani
( At the Mercy of the Sky )
by Kashiwabara Mami
Saku Ooyagi returns to his old town after seven years and becomes reacquainted with a childhood friend, the ever-boisterous Mihoshi Akeno; but the reunion is far from merry since his last piece of memory between them is of her falling off a tree and him diving to save her. Regardless, Mihoshi focuses her all into improving their tattered relationship and forces Saku to join her astronomy club.

This is the manga adaptation of one of the anime this coming season. I hear a lot of positive remarks about it, so I got really really curious. Good thing I checked it out! I had been thinking of skipping the anime when I read the plot because it seemed kinda boring, (slice of life isn't really my thing) but reading its manga made me realize that I almost missed something fantastic!

The art is actually . . . errr . . . normal. Not that spectacular; but not bad at all either. I'm also relieved that it's . . . errr . . . normal art style, not extremely shoujo-ish art style with gigantic eyes and fancy hair. I like this for being simple. Simplicity can be really pretty. Even if panels look simple most of the time, the significant and intense scenes are presented really nicely.

As for the story, it is actually very ordinary. What made the manga lively and interesting are its characters! It's such a great cast! I like all that had showed up so far! Even the minor characters are likable! The student council president's endless mockery on Micchan entertain me. The club president is crack! Edogawa's a character that is put aside so much yet he seems fun. Micchan's friend (I forgot her name! Gomen) is so nice and I salute to her capacity of being able to get along with someone as crazy as Micchan! Hehe! I also like Saku's mom! She's crazy like Micchan! And I like Hime a lot! She's a darling! Hehe.

As for the main characters, I swear, they have to be descendants of Nodame and Chiaki from Nodame Cantabile! They're like Nodame and Chiaki's high school selves! They even look alike physically and their personalities are so close! Their interactions are even similar (both wacky! Haha!). The main difference on their crazy interactions I guess is that it's the girl who does most of the bullying, while in Nodame Cantabile it was mutual. Haha!

BEST "ROMANTIC" REUNION EVER!!!! BWAHAHAHHA!!!!

They are so entertaining and hilarious! My stomach hurts from so much laughing! Haha! However, though Micchan seems to go openly lovey-dovey to Saku, she didn't openly state that she loves him romantically, unlike Nodame. And though Saku also does all he can to avoid Micchan's glomps, like what Chiaki does, it seems that he already likes her (while with Chiaki it was developed).

Oh what's a romantic shoujo manga without a love triangle? *sigh* However, I like the love triangle of this series. I'm usually annoyed with the third-party, for having a hopeless one-sided romance. With Hime though, I FIND HER ADORABLE! I honestly don't care if Saku ends up with Micchan or Hime. I like both pairings. Saku x Micchan is just the insane type while Saku x Hime is more like the sweet type. Haha!

But well, official couple is official couple. We know they're gonna end up together somehow, or at least acknowledge to themselves that they're in love with the other. It's already hinted since chapter one. But sadly, I've heard that romance development in this series is really really slooooooooooooooow.

Damn, that will drive me insane. I will be entertained but also tortured. Guuuuh why oh why oh why!

Anyway, this series is so crack! I enjoyed it a lot! I am very positive that most Nodame Cantabile fans will also enjoy this! I also encourage those who love this type of insane romantic comedies to give this a try! Haha! It's so much fun~

I'm definitely following its anime adaptation this coming season. DEFINITELY! I am so hooked! Hahahaha!

Plot Source: Baka-Updates