High School Debut 8 by Kazune Kawahara: B+

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.