Squib Feeling Blue

by Arina Tanemura, Rosa Vollmer (Übersetzer)

Der Band enthält vier Kurzgeschichten: "This love´´s non-fiction", "Romance heroine in the rainy afternoon", "Second love" und "Squib feeling blue". Die titelgebende Kurzgeschichte handelt von Yamano Kajika. Das Mädchen ist eine Nachfahrin einer berühmten Ninja-Kampfschule. Ihr Großvater bittet sie darum, ihre Fertigkeiten geheim zu halten, denn die Begehrlichkeiten anderer Clans auf ihre Spezialtechnik sollen nicht geweckt werden. Natürlich hält sich die Enkeltochter nicht an seinen Ratschlag und benutzt ihre Fähigkeiten, um anderen zu helfen … Und dann ist da noch Fujisaki, der ausgesprochen süße Präsident des Teezeremonien-Clubs …

Genres: Manga, Romance, Graphic Novels, Short Stories, Shojo, Comics, Young Adult

192 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1998

About the author

Arina Tanemura (種村有菜) was born on March 12, 1978. She's the author of Full Moon O Sagashite, Time Stranger Kyoko, Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne, The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross, Sakura Hime Kaden, and more.

Her favorite hobby is Karaoke. One song that she sings is Smile, originally by Myco. She has two cats, named Riku and Kai. She has one elder and one younger sister and one brother. She's the type who hates to lose in anything. She also likes Ribon.

Reviews

[nitya]

3.5 stars really

I read part of the first story (with the female ninja) a looong time ago, so to have 3 more stories in the same volume was a treat! Since this is from an earlier time in Tanemura's career, the art style isn't as detailed/distinctive. Nevertheless it's enjoyable. And as a longtime fan it was really wonderful to finally read her debut manga too!

The stories themselves were created 20+ years ago, so there's some casual sexism and body shaming/fatphobia (one character in the second story, who is definitely NOT fat, says "I'm a blimp!").

Still, I like this anthology and it is a quick and easy glimpse of the themes Tanemura explores in her more recent work. If you're a shoujo fan, you will most likely have a good time with this!

[#ReadAllTheBooks]

Being a fan of Arina Tanemura's other works, I quickly snapped this volume up. Rather than have one volume devoted to one story, this manga collects several of her short stories. I'll review each one individually below:

Short-Tempered Melancholic: A story in two parts, the tale follows a modern day ninja by the name of Kajika. She's well known around her town for being valiant, but when her crush tells her to be more ladylike she tries to stop her ninja ways. Of course nothing is as it seems, especially when her childhood friend is trying to warn her about her crush & there's a rival group of ninja that is trying to steal her family's valuable secret weapon! The second part of the story is more of an "after" story that mostly surrounds Kajika's childhood friend & his attempts to woo her.

This Love is Nonfiction: This story is about a young girl named Yuri who sends her penpal a picture of her friend Karin, believing that she herself isn't attractive enough. Trouble ensues when her penpal wants to meet her & she has to have Karin stand in for her... only for it to seem that the pair are actually falling for each other!

Rainy Afternoons are for Romantic Heroines: Minori loves Takato but can't properly express herself other than asking him to share his umbrella on rainy days. However Takato has been rumored to be someone who is completely against the idea of falling in love...

The Style of the Second Love: Mana has a problem. She's completely infatuated with her best friend's boyfriend. She also has the problem of a hot younger guy that's competing for her attention. All of life's problems should be so terrible, shouldn't they?


Overall, I really loved this volume. Sure some of the stories were a little simplistic, but that's usually what comes of a one chapter story. All of the characters are incredibly likable, even the characters that are supposed to be "bad". For the most part I think that these single servings are just right & that too much would ruin the great flow that these stories have.

[Bibliothecat]

Short-Tempered Melancholic is a collection of short stories by Tanemura. These are not just any short stories, though, as they include some of her earliest works including her debut work Second Love.

This was one of my first manga. My first one was also by Tanemura and it had an advertisement for her other works. That is how I ended up with this specific volume. Tanemura’s works were the only manga known to me that time and it was lovely seeing her debut work and her growth as an artist. It is always nice coming back to this volume as it holds very fond memory for me and it is hard to believe that it is around 10 years ago that I bought this. The four stories included are all romance and are surprisingly versatile. A problem with manga short stories is always the lack of space to add much plot or depth. With that in mind, I think Tanemura did a great job with making these four stories so different from each other. What they do have in common is the light-hearted romantic atmosphere. None of them are dramatic – they are simple and sweet love stories – a very pleasing read if you simply want something short and nice. I also love the simple comedy which I feel Tanemura has lost since The Gentlemen's Alliance †, Vol. 1: ` – therefore I always love reading her older works for the sake of the humour she used to have.

As for the actual stories:

Short-Tempered Melancholic (I cannot help but feel it is supposed to be Short-Tempered Melancholy??) is the first story after which the volume was also named. This story, I feel, requires you to discard some disbelief about how everything is run by high school students. I find that this is a common theme with mangas that I have long stopped questioning how and why these events are possible and have simply accepted it as an aspect of manga high school romances (especially the ones with comedic undertones). Tanemura gets to show that she is also able to draw action scenes and not just fluffy romance. The scenes are short but well drawn. The art is lovely in general and one can see the traces of the style it will eventually turn into.

This Love is Nonfiction – This one was cute and I loved both the art and the aquarium theme. Still, I am afraid this is my least favourite of the four: as cute as it may be, the whole ‘love of my life’ after spending two hours (?) with each other seemed a bit too much for my personal taste!

Rainy Afternoons are for Romantic Heroines – this one is so adorable. It is easily my favourite out of the book. The main character, Minori, is such a sweet character. I love the whole concept of her hoping that it will rain so that she can walk home with the boy she likes. It is such an innocent and sweet love story as I hardly find them in manga anymore. Her art is clearly older compared to her later works but it is still very nice to look at.

The Style of the Second Love – her debut story: and it shows. The art is actually quite different and reminds me more of other artists. The hair shows most that it is Tanemura though, and in the odd panel here and there we get to see drawings that remind a lot of later works. While the art is not as good as the previous stories, it is still nice and interesting to see where she came from. The story itself is simple but sweet. It is probably the most realistic of the whole volume.

[Tinka]

Re-Read!

And welcome back to my Arina Tanemura Re-Read Session. Or hello, if you’re just joining.

So, this year I decided to relive all of my Arina Tanemura Mangas, after recently "reconnecting" with her work via 31 I Dream. I just want to see if my affection still holds up or if my views have changed much, since I first read her works as a teenager.

Let’s get right into this, shall we?

This is a collection of Arina‘s early short stories, among them her first story ever, "Second Love". I admit, I didn’t remember all that much about those stories, apart from finding them cute. My memory was a bit clearer while re-reading, but not all that much. Since this is a collection I decided to briefly review the stories apart from each other.

*Disclaimer: The titles might change depending on translation

Squib Feeling Blue

The title giving story is about 16 year old Kajika who trained all her life to become a strong kunoichi and the protector of the secret weapon of her ninja clan. But she also struggles with being a teenager and the boys in her life. Kajika‘s crush turns out to be the leader of a rival ninja clan and her best friend is deeply in love with her, a fact obvious to everyone but her. Ninja hijinks and romantic misunderstandings ensue.

It’s a very cute story, with a quirky and strong female lead. There is a little bit of an issue with "what is considers girly and what not" but thankfully Kajika learns to be above stereotypes and to value herself the way she is. There is one line about her being a girl and needing protection that went really against everything established in the story and set incredible wrong with me, but otherwise it’s a cute little story that even had potential to be a bit longer. 3/5



This Love‘s Non-Fiction

Yuri is about to meet her pen pal Ryo, whom she is in love with, for the first time. Her problem, she initially sent him a picture of her best friend Karin, because she wasn’t happy with her looks the first time they connected. Now Yuri asks Karin to meet him and explain the situation, so she can meet Ryo herself afterwards. Sheltered Karin however goes on a date with him and falls in love. While spying on them Yuri constantly runs into a strange guy and as it turns out, the boy is the real Ryo, who also send a picture of his best friend to Yuri.

This one starts somewhat as a catfish story and it’s the most insta-lovey I have ever read, BUT believe it or not, it’s actually my favorite out of the four. This has everything to do with the character who are so insanely likeable it really makes the premise work. Especially Karin is so sugary sweet it’s impossible to not love her and her dolphin obsession. 4/5

Romance Heroine in the Rainy Afternoon

Minori is a very shy girl and unable to talk to boys, until one rainy afternoon a boy called Takato let’s her share an umbrella with him. Minori immediately falls in love with him and grows out of her shell. Takato however is abrasive and irritated by her, which Minori learns is because he once was humiliated by a girl in Middle School who broke is heart and made him distrustful towards girls. Still, Minori doesn’t give up and slowly he warms up to her. Through a friend Minori later discovers she was actually the girl who broke is heart, because she was too shy to talk to him and just ran away. Chaos complete, because Minori has no idea how to fix the situation.

Ah, yeah... the twist you see coming a mile away. I mean I don’t look for twists in the rom com genre, but this one was still kinda lost on me. It’s easily my least favorite of the bunch and I blame that on the main character. I don’t know what it is about Minori that I don’t like. Her obsessive behavior or her general lack of a personality outside of her feelings for Takato... who knows? Some characters just don’t work for everyone. 3/5

Second Love

Here we have it, Arina’s first short story and it does show (which is not a bad thing btw). The artwork is less polished and the writing a little bit clumsy. The story is about Mana, who is desperately in love with her best friend’s boyfriend and not sure how to deal with the situation. At the same time there is Nakamura, the school playboy, who is in love with her and trying to win her heart.

It’s a very simple story about first love and moving on. It first showcases Arina‘s most-used romantic trope, girl is in love with boy and then falls for boy who was right in front of her eyes all this time, and it feels a bit like a prototype for most of her romances. Mana and Nakamura are likeable and the story has a positive message about heartbreak, moving on and that sometimes we need to give people a chance and get to know them better before judging them. It’s just very charming. 3/5

Well, over all my opinion hasn’t changed much, I guess. I still think it’s very cute, though some aspects just don’t reach me like they did a couple of years ago anymore.

[Albert Sr.]

(Copia desde mi Instagram @agamundisr_escritor / @leyendoconalice)

Konnichiwa a todas, lectoras 🌸

Hoy os traigo la reseña de *Qué difícil es ser una chica*, un recopilatorio de cuatro historias cortas de Arina Tanemura.

🔬Aunque cada relato presenta personajes y situaciones distintas, todos comparten un mismo hilo conductor: las inseguridades, el primer amor, las oportunidades perdidas y la dificultad de expresar aquello que realmente sentimos. Tanemura demuestra que no hacen falta grandes conflictos para construir historias capaces de emocionar.

🔬Uno de los aspectos más interesantes del tomo es contemplar la evolución de la autora. Tanto el estilo de dibujo como muchas de las ideas que desarrolla aquí anticipan claramente obras posteriores como *Kamikaze Kaitō Jeanne*. De hecho, resulta difícil no reconocer rasgos de Maron Kusakabe en la protagonista de la primera historia, tanto por su diseño como por su expresividad.

🔬También aparecen algunos de los temas que terminarían definiendo la identidad de Tanemura: personajes que deben crecer a través de sus emociones, relaciones marcadas por el destino y conflictos que rara vez se resuelven mediante la confrontación, sino aprendiendo a comprenderse a uno mismo y a los demás.

🔬Narrativamente son relatos sencillos y de extensión breve, por lo que algunos personajes dejan con ganas de saber más. Sin embargo, esa misma sencillez les permite transmitir emociones con mucha naturalidad y convertir este volumen en una lectura muy representativa de los primeros años de la autora.

🌸Conclusión: *Qué difícil es ser una chica* quizá no sea la obra más conocida de Arina Tanemura, pero sí una de esas lecturas que permanecen contigo cuando llega en el momento adecuado. Un recopilatorio honesto, delicado y con un evidente valor para quienes quieran descubrir el origen de muchas de las ideas que acabarían dando forma a sus obras más emblemáticas.

Valoración: 4🌸

Arigato gozaimasu por vuestro tiempo 🌸

#arinatanemura #quedificilesserunachica #shojo #manga #mangareview #shojomanga #kamikazekaitoujeanne #mangalover #anime #otaku

[Yoyomaus Die Büchereule]

Das junge Mädchen Kajika ist Mitglied eines Ninja-Clans, bei dem ihr seit Kindesbeinen an eingetrichtert wird, dass sie ihre Fähigkeiten verbergen soll, um feindlichen Clans nicht in die Hände zu fallen. Außerdem trainiert sie hart mit dem "Familiengeheimnis" und der "Geheimwaffe" ihres Clans. Ihr Freund und Schulkamerad Yuga ist heimlich in das Mädchen mit dem akuten Helfersyndrom verliebt, doch sie hat nur Augen für den Schulschwarm Fujisaki. Als dieser von ihr verlangt, dass sie mädchenhafter werden soll, willigt Kajika ein, was Yuga und ihrem Großvater ganz und gar nicht gefällt. Und dann fällt Kajika fast auf einen sehr gemeinen Trick herein, muss aber auch erkennen, dass ihr Herz nicht wirklich für Fujisaki schlägt, sondern für jemand ganz anderes.

Die Hauptgeschichte in Squib Feeling Blue dreht sich um Kajika, jedoch tauchen hier auch noch drei weitere Geschichten rund um die Liebe auf. An sich sind die Geschichten wirklich toll, jedoch nicht gut genug ausgebaut. Obwohl es sich hier um einen One-Shot handelt, hätte ich doch mehr von Arina Tanemura erwartet, kenne ich schließlich auch viel liebevoller gestaltete Geschichten von ihr. Die Zeichnungen der Autorin sind in gewohnt guter Qualität, was dem Manga wieder mehr Pluspunkte einheimst, jedoch macht es die schnelle Abfolge der Story und die etwas lieblos dahin geklatschten Szenen nicht wieder wett. Um ehrlich zu sein bin ich von diesem Manga ganz schön enttäuscht. Schade eigentlich. Auch die Ähnlichkeiten der Charaktere mit den aus anderen Reihen ist wieder sehr auffällig. Ich hätte mir neuere Charaktere gewünscht, zumindest vom Aussehen her. Besonders bei Mangas hat man sehr viel Möglichkeiten Charaktere zu schaffen. Man könnte meinen, dass Arina nur standardmäßig diese eine Art von Charakteren beherrscht.



3 von 5 Sterne


Taschenbuch: 192 Seiten
Verlag: Egmont Manga; Auflage: 6 (15. November 2003)
Sprache: Deutsch
ISBN-10: 3898859150
ISBN-13: 978-3898859158
Größe und/oder Gewicht: 11,5 x 1,5 x 18 cm

[Selenita]

Este es una de esas historias a las que les juega en contra ser tan corta, la principal sobre la chica kunoichi es interesante y me hubiera gustado que se desarrollara más, porque todo sucede demasiado rápido y por eso no tiene mucho sentido. No obstante, me gusta que la chica sea fuerte y que les diga a los chicos que son imbéciles por pelear por ella, ya que va a elegir a quien le de la gana. Asimismo, también está muy bien que digan que da igual que ella sea más fuerte que él porque eso no es malo, que una chica no necesita aun chico más fuerte que la proteja, sino a uno que la comprenda y trate bien como persona. Precioso.

Las otras 3 historias cortas son bastante tontas y olvidables, la verdad.

En definitiva, no es gran cosa, pero no está mal para pasar un rato.

[Koorihime-sama]

Bought from Amazon, and I still own a copy.

APART OF THE GOODREADS 2012 READING CHALLENGE.

Review/Rating:

4 out of 5

Omnibus of four different stories from Arina Tanemura.

Short-Tempered Melancholic Chapter 1 and Chapter 2
This Love is Nonfiction
Rainy Afternoons are for Romantic Heroines
The Style of the Second Love

Art Touch-Up: 4 out of 5
Translation: 4 out of 5
Design: 5 out of 5
Ease of Reading Text: 3 out of 5

Short-Tempered Melancholic Chapter 1 and Chapter 2

Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Plot: 3 out of 5

Kajika is a Kunoichi (a female ninja), and she has the job of protecting her family’s secret legendary weapon, Kureha. However, someone is currently after this weapon, but when she should really be protecting it, she vows not to be a Kunoichi anymore — and all for the sake of her crush.

I loved the illustrations, as usually, and the designs for the characters looked really cute too. However, there is one part in the second chapter, where little kid Kajika looks kind of drawn weird. I don’t know why it looks weird to me, but it does. Pretty much all the characters had a good personality — even the clueless Kajika was amusing at times. It was just the plot that I really couldn’t bring myself to like that much.

Don’t get me wrong, it is an okay plot. However, it is just very average and somewhat lacking in some things, even though there was two chapters to cover this story. Both chapters had the same theme, a clueless girl about who she loves, and kind of a rushed ending. I don’t mind characters who don’t know who they love, or it takes them a long time to know, but it tries my patience. :|

Overall, for this story, I liked the art (except for that one little image). However, the plot kind of got on my nerves. >.<

This Love is Nonfiction

Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Plot: 5 out of 5

Karin is a typical rich girl — pretty, elegant, a little spoiled, and never have experienced true love. But when Yuri, her best friend, sends Karin’s picture to her pen pal, she meets Ryo. She falls in love with him at first sight, but how can they be together when her best friends likes him as well? And how will they fix this mistake in identity?

All of the artwork and designs for the characters were really well done and really cute. :D I especially like some of the outfits she came up — especially the dolphin pendent. The aquarium and fish were also really cute and drawn very well.

Anyways, the plot is something I have seen before, but the manga-ka made it kind of different — and very cute to read. :P I like how she mixed things up with couples, even though you can kind of notice it. Despite being a short story, it felt complete and less annoying than the first. Though, I kind of wish Karin’s personality was a little less spoiled.

Overall, it was a simple, but pleasant, reading. Also, the drawings were so cute. :D

Rainy Afternoons are for Romantic Heroines

Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Plot: 5 out of 5

It just took Takato sharing his umbrella with Minari one time, for Minari to fall in love with him. Now, in order to get closer to him, she forgets her umbrella every time it is supposed to rain. However, is this love mutual or one-sided?

The drawings are still kind of cute and wonderfully done — so pretty to look at. I like it when this manga-ka draws gutsy and cheerful girls who seem kind of annoying — makes it more interesting and believable. Also, it fun to look at her characters when they go into “kitty mode”. :P

Anyways, the plot is really cute and believable. Believable because what girl (or guy) hasn’t used some of an excuse for the person we love to pay attention to us? xD So, this is one of my favorites in this manga because it is really realistic. The ending also feels complete. ;)

Overall, the drawings were well done, but not as well as her later manga. Also, the plot was simple, realistic, and left good feelings.

(Side note: I don’t like the long English title. :( )

The Style of the Second Love

Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Plot: 3 out of 5

Mana likes her best friend’s boyfriend, but she tries to keep this crush a secret. However, even though Mana already likes someone, Nakamura is determined to make her fall in love with him.

The drawings are not as pretty as the other stories, but it is still pretty average because this one is supposed to be her debut manga. ;) Well, it is better than how I can draw, at least. :P Anyways, I love the “kitty mode” drawings. :D

This time the boy (Nakamura) is the happy character, instead of the main female character. Not so sure I like this, since I don’t really like guys that are over energetic or that much of a girl-magnet. ^^; Anyways, the plot is pretty average and kind of boring, and it didn’t feel really completed.

Overall, it was kind of average to look at and to read. >.<

Okay, now time for how VIZ did bringing this Japanese manga into English. I’ll just list them. >.>” 1) The SFX translations could have been a little better. 2) The lettering for the dialogue, etc looks like doesn’t really fit right. 3) Some art touch-up errors, if you look really closely. 4) Translation and sentences looked okay.

(Side Note: I think the stories go something like this for when they were published, in case you are wondering why the artwork doesn’t look the same. 1) The Style of the Second Love. 2) Rainy Afternoons are for Romantic Heroines. 3) Short-Tempered Melancholic Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. 4) This Love is Nonfiction. I think that’s the correct order as to when they were published in Japan. ^^;)

[Ana Jim]

Entre 3-4 estrellas. La última historia no me ha gustado, pero las otras cuatro sí.

Tiene clichés y cosas previsibles, pero es muy disfrutable y la mayoría de las relaciones son muy sanas y bonitas.

[TT]

3.5 stars, am a fan of this mangaka!

[Stasia]

Out of all these short stories, my favorite was "This Love is Non-fiction".

[Casey]

Maybe a little bit cheesy at times, but I think romance short stories just will end up with that element anyways. Fun, quick read.

[Alexa Maciel]

Cute short stories with cute art <3

[-moonprismpower-]

My fav story had to be “This Love is Nonfiction”!!!

Overall, this was a cute short story collection but nothing special? Tanemura’s art is so beautiful though!

[Sabi Lola]

appreciate the art but the stories ain't it for me unfortunately

[Candii]

3.5
considering they were the mangka's first stories, they are alright but she has definitely gotten better with her actual series :)

[kuristina- tabreez]

Short-Tempered Melancholic: Kajika is the sole heir and possessor of the secret weapon, Kureha, from the Yamano clan! Now, all the other ninja clans have learned of the secret weapon and are coming at her from all sides to claim it-- even her most beautiful classmates! Not only that, but Kajika has two more beautiful men fawning over her... but she is completely oblivious to it! All that Kajika really needs is her childhood friend's shoulder to cry on, but what if that is taken away from her?
This Love is Nonfiction: Young Yuri sends a picture of her best friend, Karin, to her pen pal whom she has a crush on! Now he's come to visit her and doesn't know the picture was a lie! Now Karin must fill in for Yuri until they can let the secret out, but what will either of them do when Karin ends up falling for the boy that came to visit? And who is this suspicious character that is copying every move Yuri makes?!
Rainy Afternoons Are for Romantic Heroines: Minori "forgets" her umbrella every day in hopes that after school it will rain so that a boy named Takato from a neighboring school might offer to walk her home under his umbrella, as he always does. Minori quickly falls head over heels for his kindness, but her classmate that went to Junior High with him tells her that he is not a believer in love..?!
The Style of the Second Love: High school student Mana is in love with her best friend's boyfriend, she knows it's wrong but it's just so hard to let go. Will Mana ever be able to let go, or will she need a little bit more of a reason from a certain playboy classmate that always follows her around wherever she goes?


I'm sure that I would have given this tankobon four stars the first two times I read it in 2010 and 2011, but I'm making this review now so I will give it how I feel about it now. This is so cute, as all of Arina-chi's manga are. c: This tankobon really preserves the feel of early adolescence for those girls and boys in Junior High to High School who are experiencing crushes or love for the first time. It's so sweet, haha! Kind of shallow too though, but aren't those first crushes always shallow? And of course she added ninjas! Ah! Amazing, Arina-chi!

[Em Mirra]

Summary:
This is a one-volume collection of some of Arina Tanemura's most early works (1996!). It includes her debut manga, "In the Style of Second Love" as well as three other short stories. Each story focuses on young, first time romantic crushes and love.

Age: Young Adult Reader (Ages 13+)
Rating 4 out of 5 stars for:

- Excellent art/drawings. The artist has a very defined, unique style that sets her drawing apart from others (you can easily pick out her drawings out of a selection of artists). It's interesting to see Tanemura's earliest work in this volume, especially to compare to her present day style which has developed drastically over the years. Her perspective and anatomy isn't as confident as her current work, and you can easily tell her drawings in this collection were done in the 90's (they follow the manga styles of that time period). She has yet to develop her incredible sense of fine detail, yet her work in this collection shows mass amounts of potential (which she ended up living up to).

- Her writing and characters themselves are a bit weaker than her present day work, but she's just branching out in the world of manga with these stories. These stories contain characters that are very much bubbly, innocent, and slightly superficial (however, it's quite hard to develop superb character depth in manga short-stories). The stories themselves are cute and enjoyable, with love-struck, innocent female protagonists, and charming/gallant male counterparts (though sometimes I do wonder how realistic some of these male counterparts are, lol).

Recommended to teens who enjoy reading teen romantic-comedy manga and to fans of Arina Tanemura's work!! Honestly, this is a must-read for all Tanemura fans. The comparison study you can do with this work to her present day collections is extremely satisfying!

[Bakura]

A collection of simple, cute love stories, Short-Tempered Melancholic is a quick read. While lacking deep plot because of this, they focus on the characters more. My favourite is probably Rainy Days Are For Romantic Heroines, with This Love is Non-Fiction coming in close second; that being said, the characters in the two Short-Tempered Melancholic stories - Kaijika and Yuga - are both much more appealing and well-characterised. Arina's characters are rather similar-looking throughout these stories and others - Karin bears great resemblance to Full Moon, while the male characters' designs are not too varied at all. Viz' translations are off in places. At the end of the first story there is a reference to the story's title, but given Viz' translation of said title, it would go over the reader's head (The original title is かんしゃく玉のゆううつ - Firecracker's Melancholy).

None of these things really do detract from the enjoyment of these stories, though - they're simple, cute love stories in Arina Tanemura's typical style, that are sure to brighten your day.

[Steph]

In the debut manga and other stories by Arina Tanemura, I was slightly dissapointed. I did not like the drawing as much, but at the same time In understand that the author was just starting out. However, the stories were ont as good as her other ones. My favorite was Short-Tempered Melancholic; then This Love is Nonfiction; followed by Rainy Afternoons are for Romantic Heroine and finally, The Style of the Second Love.

[Chelsea]

This volume was a lot of fun and had several cute stories included. I loved all the characters involved throughout the 4 different stories included in this volume and would like to read more about some of them.

Volume Includes:
Short-Tempered Melancholic
This Love is Nonfiction
Rainy Afternoons are for Romantic Heroines
The Style of the Second Love

[Shiritaku]

Sehr süßer OneShot mit 4 Geschichten von Arina. Eine jede ist sehr süß, man kennt ihnen ihr Alter aber auch an. Nichts desto trotz definitiv wert gelesen zu werden.
Mir fällt es auch sehr schwer einen Favorit zu nennen, weil ich alle toll finde und eine jede einen anderen Kontext hat.
Schade, dass sie alle nur so kurz sind - eine Neuauflage mit weiteren Kapiteln fände ich toll! 💜

[A'ledyn]

This book was adorable, I liked the last three short stories much better than the first.

Short tempered melancholic its self had issues with flow imo.

I really enjoyed the short story about the two pen pals near the end. Tres Bien.

[Megan]

love.

[Chrona]

It's a good book.

[Kereesa]

Review to come.

[Domini Phillips-Perkins]

Arina Tanemura always writes such cute, sweet stories. This one is a great quick read.

[Yuiko]

Loved some like some!!!!

[Brittney Flemingo]

Nice little sort stories.

[Evey Morgan]

Horrible y terrible.... Esta autora parece que no es para mí. ¿Lo peor? Que tengo varios mangas más suyos en mi estantería...