From the back cover:
Kiri steps in to help the injured Narumi in a Scissors Project beauty battle. But before Kiri can complete her magic, reminders of an incident in her past make her too fearful to continue with the cut.

Review:
For a minute there, this series was on the verge of improvement. Here’s what it did that pleased me:

1. A new character is introduced who’s actually not annoying. Seki, called Ken-niisan by Kiri, is a masseur who, in addition to being mellow himself, has the ability to mellow out others around him, even the volatile Narumi. I also really like that Kiri seeks out his presence; he’s the only boy she’s ever done that with and, currently, the only boy of the cast I can actually see her becoming romantically involved with.

2. One of the Scissors Project boys begins to develop feelings for Kiri, and it’s not the one you’d expect.

3. Once Ochiai unveils his plan for the Scissors Project club to carry their talents into the professional realm, and urges everyone to begin practicing their skills, there’s actually a kind of sports manga vibe going on that’s quite fun. Also, Narumi’s challenger in the competition is fond of calling out the names of his haircuts, like “Condor cut!” which is totally a sports manga thing.

Alas, by the end of the volume I was irritated again, because Narumi’s very annoying young sister appears, and we are apparently about to sit through a tiresome story where she won’t go away while she searches for her prince (a guy who helped disentangle her hair from some shrubbery and who is actually, of course, Kiri). The thing about Narumi getting a rash whenever he touches a girl is also pretty dumb. Sigh.

Nana thought it was a dream come true when Yano, the boy she liked, told her that he returned her feelings and they became a couple. Some problems have become apparent in their relationship, however. Early on, Nana was willing to go along with Yano’s moods and demands since he had experienced so much tragedy in his past. Now, though, she realizes that simply accepting Yano’s odd behavior isn’t going to help him, so she begins to challenge some of his actions. Unfortunately for her, her attempts to get closer to Yano and draw out more information from him about his past and his feelings for his ex-girlfriend bring forth several revelations that seriously threaten their relationship.

We Were There is not unlike NANA in that it can be simultaneously very good and very painful to read. There’s a lot of raw emotion in this series, from Nana’s reaction to Yano’s devastating secrets to her realization that no matter how much she loves him, it isn’t enough to mend the wounds he suffered because of his ex-girlfriend’s betrayal. Yano comes off as the villain in a lot of what transpires, but it’s evident that he’s in a lot of pain, too, and probably somewhat mentally unstable.

With Nana and Yano seemingly so inevitably doomed by volume four, I honestly have no idea where the story could go from here. This is definitely not your average shojo high school romance.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

From the back cover:
Every day, all day, I think about him. I wonder if there’s a limit to love? I’m no longer able to imagine a world without him.

Review:
Now that Nana and Yano have been dating for a little while, some problems are beginning to arise. Their relationship has been growing more physical and while Yano’s not exactly insistent for more, it’s clear that he’s expectant, while Nana doesn’t see the urgency to “do it.” They’ve got other problems, too. When, at Christmas, Nana tells Yano a small lie about her afternoon plans so that she can shop for his gift, he gets all paranoid and stalks her. In an ordinary shoujo story, such a scene would be played for drama, but with this series, I was actually very worried that Yano was going to snap and do something violent. Even his friend seemed to have the same idea, since he declined to actually go shopping with Nana as she had asked.

After the holiday is over, Yano asks her about the lie and she confesses. He makes her swear that there will be no secrets between them. It’s right around here that I seriously began to dislike Yano, because he, of course, is keeping some pretty mighty secrets from Nana. When she grows suspicious about one of them, the exact nature of his relationship with Yamamoto-san, the sister of his ex-girlfriend, he lies.

Yes, the truth would’ve hurt her tremendously, but it makes one wonder… what exactly is Yano giving to this relationship? He expects Nana to behave as he wishes and to be completely open and honest with him without having to give her the same in kind. I found it very disturbing that Nana was convincing herself not to ask about his past with Yamamoto san because she wants him to keep on smiling, like even she knows on some instinctual level that the alternative is a very scary thing.

When, at the end of the volume, Nana tells Yano that she’s ready to sleep with him, I mentally cried, “No no no no!” Seldom have I been so worried about one half of a lead couple. We Were There is an example of a series that’s very, very good but also somewhat torturous to read.

From the back cover:
Tsuyoshi Niida, having taken second place to Harumi’s hairstyling once again, is determined to come out on top against the Scissors Project. He issues a challenge, but the Scissors Project needs five people to compete in this beauty battle or they’ll lose by default. Narumi needs Kiri’s help—but is his desire to win stronger than his pride?

Review:
I was beginning to lose hope for this series when I started this volume. The cast is peopled with annoying characters and I am so tired of Iori’s way of speaking. Here’s an example:

And since me is really happy right now, me wants to share some of that happiness with you.

I’m not sure what’s going on in the original Japanese. Perhaps he’s using the English “me” where he should be saying “ore” or something? Anyway, it’s irksome.

Matters aren’t helped by the introduction of Niida, another spaz-prone guy who sees himself as Narumi’s rival. He issues a challenge to Narumi that conveniently requires five people, specifying an aromatherapist and two hairdressers, which means that much of the volume is Ochiai trying to convince and/or manipulate Iori and Kiri to participate while Narumi has many tedious violent outbursts about how he doesn’t need their help, et cetera.

Finally, though, finally, we start to see some of Narumi’s good qualities. We see, for example, that he’s really hardworking and is so fixated on his goals that things like girls and love don’t even register with him. He also incurs personal injury to prevent Kiri’s cat from being hurt by a bicyclist. I realize that this last is a silly turn of events, but I was so desperate for any glimmer of redeeming qualities in Narumi that I was grateful to get it. Too, this selfless act is what finally serves to convince Kiri to participate, leading to another fun challenge and a cliffhanger ending with the fate of the competition hanging in the balance.

These characters really are at their best when they are using their skills. I hope Narumi can get over his latent insecurity/megalomania soon because, this being shouo and all, I think I’m supposed to be rooting for him and Kiri to get together. At present, however, they’ve got no chemistry together at all.

From the back cover:
Kiri’s identity as the mysterious “X” who does makeovers behind the scenes is now public knowledge as she competes against hairstylist Narumi in a one-on-one Scissors Project challenge. The hairstylist who loses will receive a haircut by the winner—and must endure whatever that haircut might be…

Review:
This volume introduces a couple of over-the-top annoying characters: Kiri’s flamboyant former neighbor, Iori, and her mom, with whom Iori has evidently been in contact all these years. I don’t like either of them, nor am I fond of Narumi’s angry rants, so found many scenes in this volume to be tiresome. Iori seems to be a master with scents and pheromones, so I reckon that Ochiai (who gets more like Kyoya with each volume) is going to try to recruit him to the Scissors Project before long.

I did like, though, the outcome of Kiri’s challenge against Narumi and another similar situation near the end where the Scissors Project boys have undertaken the task of making an over-forty bride look young and cute while Kiri gives a makeover to the dowdy professor who’s going to be marrying her. It’s the first time we’ve seen a guy get a new look, so that is fun.

I’m kind of concerned that I don’t really like any of the characters after two volumes. Kiri is okay, but the rest of them do absolutely nothing for me. I’m pretty sure I’ve liked at least someone by this point in other series I’ve read. In fact, I think the best character so far is Kiri’s cat, Shampoo. I really am a sucker for cute animal types. Karupin in The Prince of Tennis, Kero in Cardcaptor Sakura, Yoyo in The Palette of 12 Secret Colors and now Shampoo. I adore them all. If only any of the humans were as lovable.

From the back cover:
Although a truly gifted hairstylist, Kiri Koshiba has no interest in using her talent to pursue fame and fortune, unlike the three popular boys in the “Scissors Project” at school. Determined to become the best makeover team in Japan, they give showy makeovers to handpicked girls. As much as Kiri tries to shy away from the Scissors Project spotlight, she finds herself responding to beauty’s call…

Kiri’s friend Kanako gives a present to one of the members of the Scissors Project. Her act of kindness is interpreted as a bribe to get a makeover, and they reject her out of hand for being too ugly. Kiri decides to help Kanako and give the boys a lesson in what true beauty is.

Review:
I’ve heard good things about this series, but I have to admit I was a little disappointed in this first volume. Perhaps I wouldn’t have been if I hadn’t had inflated expectations, though. It’s not like it’s at all bad. It’s just that the boys in the Scissors Project are such common types. There’s Narumi, the tousle-haired lead guy; Kei, the cute and energetic snack-freak; and Ochiai, the second-in-command megane (guy with glasses) with a propensity for collecting data on classmates. Basically, he’s Kyoya (Ouran High School Host Club) and Inui (Prince of Tennis) combined. Oh, and Kiri also has the obligatory male friend from childhood, Taro, who will probably be revealed to have a crush on her at some point.

While the boys are kind of bland, Kiri herself is a great character. She’s aloof and unimpressed by the showy theatrics of the Scissors Project. As Taro puts it, Kiri is “pretty much always half-asleep.” It’s revealed that she once had a dream of becoming a beautician, but she claims not to care about that now, even though her dad (owner of a beauty salon) keeps issuing challenges to her, forcing her to improve her skills and trying to nudge her into pursuing them seriously.

Arai’s art is clean and cute, with delicate lines that work well for depicting precisely cut hair. I also love the way Kiri’s cat, Shampoo, is drawn, frequently stretching and lounging about, and how his simple affection is one of the few things that can make Kiri smile.

The situations in this volume are a little repetitive, too. The Scissors Project only makes over hand-picked girls, so when a few desperate girls are denied the makeover of their dreams, Kiri helps them out. Her identity’s a secret at first, and while Narumi freaks out at this unknown challenger, Ochiai puts things together and arranges for a face-off at the cultural festival. While the early chapters aren’t that exciting, the battle between Narumi and Kiri at the festival ends with a cliffhanger that makes me want to read more.

It’s sports festival time, giving Haruna and Yoh the chance to work together on the same team. Alas, the plans for togetherness don’t work out, as Yoh is elected grade captain and has to work hard to master his ceremonial duties and not disappoint those who elected him. Haruna, of course, is very encouraging and does things like make him foul-tasting radish juice to help his throat (since he has to yell a lot). Meanwhile, Haruna receives some encouragement herself from Yoh’s friend, Asaoka, who seems to be in in her vicinity quite often. Yoh figures out that Asaoka has feelings for Haruna and tells him not to confess, as doing so would only upset her.

I’ve read about sports festivals and romantic rivals before, but somehow High School Debut is able to take these familiar manga staples and make something new out of them. The sports festival, for example, provides many opportunities for sweet interaction between the two leads, from Yoh’s embarrassment at his own sentimentality to their inability to vote for other people in the captains’ election, even though they had agreed to do so.

Also, because so much time has been spent on developing the supporting characters, it doesn’t actually feel out of left field that Asaoka, who has seen how being with Haruna has changed Yoh for the better, might come to wonder what might’ve been. He’s an intriguing character, the kind who jokes so often that it’s impossible to tell when he’s serious, which has the additional benefit of pushing normally cool Yoh’s buttons in very entertaining ways.

Are there really only four volumes left of this series? How time flies!

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

From the back cover:
Yoh’s worried that a freshman seems to have the hots for Haruna, but Haruna is as oblivious as ever. So when the boy in question makes a move on her, how will she respond? More importantly, how will Yoh react?

Review:
Ah, High School Debut. How I love you so.

Only this series can make it palatable when the heroine receives an unsolicited smooch from some other guy and then goes absolutely bonkers trying to disinfect herself, pondering ways to turn back time, et cetera. While I didn’t enjoy Haruna having a “too stupid to live” moment, there were still a few scenes and comments that made me giggle, so it was okay in the end.

I really liked the story about Haruna’s birthday, though. Yoh’s under a lot of pressure to make it a special one, and even condescends to buy a massive shoujo-looking tome of birthday ideas. Haruna has actually purchased the same thing, and there’s a great pair of pages where the same ideas that mortify him make her all giddy.

In the end, she tries to help him out and relieve his stress by giving him suggestions, and they end up having a wonderful time. Volumes in this series usually end on wonderful moments between the main couple, and this one is no exception, as Yoh spells out for Haruna why he likes her and how happy she makes him.

This series makes me laugh, sniffle, and feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Review copy provided by the publisher.