And I do love the way the characters seem to work together relationship-wise so far. Naoki did really seem to appreciate Kotoko just for her personality, and it is sweet that she forgives him his very negative attitude. In most other series, this is more like the heroine just ignoring such things and taking them because she has to, but Kotoko does seem to stand up to Naoki here, even if she doesn’t think it will help. I can also see what you mean by Naoki not having good people skills, though here it seems mostly to affect Kotoko since everyone else really… sucks up to him and he has no reason to put them down. I’m looking forward to seeing how he develops.

I’m glad you spelled all the good points out for me, because I was a little worried after reading that first volume. I had heard it was good, but I was a little worried it was good because it set all the formulas and followed them perfectly. I’m glad to see that the interesting dynamic between Kotoko and Naoki gets better and better and that the series is way more than just a high school romance. It definitely makes me look forward to volume 2 a lot more. Thanks so much!

I didn’t always like it. I read the first few chapters and stopped reading it because Naoki was such an asshole. But after hearing Daisuke Namikawa in the role (2008 anime) it really made sense to me.

The charm of Itazura (outside of being hilarious and having likeable characters), is Kotoko and Naoki’s relationship. I came to realize that Naoki is a complete jerk and acts like he hates her because he DOES hate her. He slowly falls in love with because of who she is, not because she’s pretty or smart or a doormat. He likes her because she’s fun and kind and loves him despite all of his personality problems.

Which is where most of the problems come from in their relationship. You slowly realize that his superiority complex has always put distance between him and other people and when it comes down to it, he doesn’t know how to deal with people outside of a professional manner. He’s socially and emotional stunted. So when he acts like a five year pulling braids and acts cold, it’s because he honestly doesn’t know any better. He’s never had the personal experience of actually having to get along with someone. Further pointed out by the fact that he had ONE friend who is barely ever in the series, while Kotoko has tons of them. And there’s his stupid male pride. But we all already knew about that.

And the one other thing I have to credit it for, is it’s scope. The manga isn’t about their relationship in high school. It’s about their relationship period. It follows them through high school, college, career training, and way past marriage. It show something that not many other shoujo manga do. Happily ever after in a relationship isn’t going down the isle in a white dress. It’s loving each other and working together to sort out problems long after you exchange rings. And really, how can you not love it for that?