Typical rom-com manga plotline. Girl meets boy, girl falls in love with boy, girl attempts to confess to boy, boy completely misunderstands what she’s actually trying to say and instead of accepting or rejecting her love, hands her an autograph made out from a famous and popular girls’ manga artist, who actually happens to be him.
Wait, what?
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun follows the misadventures of the eponymous Nozaki-kun, a popular shoujo mangaka, and the poor unfortunate assistants he recruits to work for him. True to its placement in the romantic comedy genre, this means adding a plethora of other characters and their romantic misadventures, too
©Izumi Tsubaki/SQUARE ENIX
In this volume, two of Nozaki’s (secret) assistants discover each other’s identities, Nozaki Mayu’s weird behavior makes for comedy gold at a group date, and Kashima fills in at a cafe Seo’s older brother Ryousuke works at and causes havoc when she tells Ryousuke that Seo’s interested in Wakamatsu.
Here we are at Volume 8, and the storyline shows no signs of nearing conclusion. (To be fair, the “storyline” is pretty loosely woven and could end at more or less any time.) In this volume, which features Kashima in the waiter outfit on the cover and Mikoshiba NOT in the waiter outfit on the cover, the series’ ongoing gags run full-throttle in a lighthearted and enjoyable romp.
The chapters set in the cafe are probably my favorites in this volume, for two reasons: the general hilarity of Kashima and the drama club being in the cafe and Seo Ryousuke’s interactions with Wakamatsu, whom Ryousuke becomes increasingly convinced is in a mutual romantic relationship with his little sister.
The Seo-Waka strips in Volume 8 are frankly all pretty excellent. In this volume, it becomes increasingly obvious to the reader how Seo really feels about Wakamatsu, and it’s simultaneously adorable and hilarious. The ongoing secrecy of Lorelai’s identity (definitely Seo) leads to ongoing hilarity for the characters who do know.
But a close second for favorites comes towards the end, when Kashima makes a cake for Hori — a brandy cake, which subsequently gets him drunk. Fans of this particular couple are going to be super pleased at the results.
This volume has two different extras, which are a lot of fun. First, the cover interiors are extra comics featuring Nozaki and Sakura during Chapter 73, which is one of the Kashima-in-the-cafe chapters. The second extra is a small chapter at the very end that’s about the Nozaki family. It’s told from the point of view of the youngest, Nozaki Yumeko, whose favorite manga is Let’s Fall in Love! and thinks of Sakiko Yumeno (Nozaki-kun) as “a god.”
It’s about what you’d expect in a comedy manga.
Like Volume 7, Volume 8 brings Seo and Wakamatsu to the forefront, making it the second in a row that’s great for fans of this couple. With this volume, the series is caught up in English publication with the Japanese tankobon releases, so subsequent volumes will be releasing much more slowly — meaning you have plenty of time to catch up on this series before Volume 9 releases.
Story: 5 out of 5 stars
Art: 4 out of 5 stars
Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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