Lovely Complex 15

Aya Nakahara – Viz – 2009 – 17 volumes

This series is pretty cute, and I grow to like the characters more and more with every volume I read.  It’s not exactly breaking new ground (this volume covered the tropical graduation trip and the pre-graduation planning, complete with the expected complications for each), but it’s still a fun read for anyone who likes shoujo.

My favorite story in the volume was the first, shorter one, about a character named Seiko.  Now, Seiko fulfills the shoujo manga requirement of having a character who cross-dresses, except it’s not for the usual shoujo manga reasons.  Seiko is a transsexual that the story takes very seriously, in its way, and Seiko’s story here is about confessing to a boy she ran into on the train.  She gives up her female identity and begins unhappily trying to fit in as a boy when her voice gets deeper and she thinks she can’t convincingly be a girl anymore.  It’s a nice story, with Seiko completely rejecting her feminine side and Risa continuously trying to convince her otherwise, since Seiko is such a happy, upbeat person and is clearly unhappy as a boy.  Since Seiko isn’t even a regular character, and this is a romantic comedy, Seiko’s voice was only deeper because she had a cold, and she winds up with the boy she likes from the train.  Hmm.  I would read a series about Seiko in a second.

The “Graduation Trip” story takes place in Hawaii (I believe), and is less a graduation trip and more of Mighty and Julia’s wedding, though the wedding is secondary to the usual “Oh! Each couple has their own room and I don’t want to share a bed!”-type wacky hijinx.  Risa and Otani power through it, some issues with the wedding are worked out, everyone is okay in the end.  Whew.  It had me worried for a second.

Later, Risa and Otani are chosen for the graduation committee, but before they do anything, Otani has to help the second-years on the basketball team work through some self-esteem issues.

As mundane as most of the content in this volume was, it definitely helps that Risa and Otani are both likable characters, and everything is handled with a light and humorous touch.  I also like that there isn’t a lot that’s over-the-top or too comedic, and I also like the back-and-forth between Risa and Otani, though that seems to be less and less in each volume.

I’m curious to see how things wrap up, though with two volumes left and graduation looming inevitably on the horizon, I have a feeling the story probably just ends rather than having any big climax.  And that’s all right by me.

This was a review copy provided by Viz.