“I want to fall in love!” A girl thinks in her mind, as she stood quietly in the streets, hoping to be picked up by a guy. She is overly dressed, looking queer with her muscular thighs as she looked on sadly, with yet another possible failure today.

Love…seems so far away for her.

She must be loved.

A seemingly generic start for many shoujo series but is this series just like the many floating out there? The answer is dead no. Read on to know why Impz endorses this manga series.

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Synopsis

Haruna, the main female lead, is a girl that has never fallen in love, with her muscular limbs trained from playing softball in middle school. Her fashion sense is non-existent as she tried to get herself picked up in the streets, only to knock onto a dashing young man. She then accidentally mouthed out that the man was attractive. She was not picked up, as she returned to school the next day. Wondering how she could be able to fall in love, her friend Mami told her to find a coach as she found the man she saw on the streets. With that, the man, Yoh, became her coach at love. However, it seemed that Yoh did not like….girls.

Thoughts of Vol 1 (minor spoilers)

For one thing, the comedy value of this shoujo series is hilarious. Haruna is totally hilarious in the clueless girl who mixed up fashion sense as though oolong and pepsi tasted good together. Trust me, they do not, which is why she is having problems luring guys because she often dressed in really audacious clothing that is way over the top. She also reveals her feelings too easily, as Yoh and the others noted how she was like a transparent person, speaking her thoughts out through her body language.

Yoh, her coach, seems to hate girls a lot due to an incident in the past. He is brooding, but clearly cares a lot about Haruna. His two friends also seemed to show a decent interest in Haruna, as expected from any shoujo series. However, without spoiling you, there will be some surprising twists ahead of time.

The chapters for Vol 1. is in a light hearted mood, with incidents such as training to be a better girl, nearly getting molested and the likes. Character development is aplenty, especially with the rather aloof and mysterious Yoh given a good amount of character development.

Why you should read this

1. A really likable female lead. Haruna is about one of the few characters in manga that is hard to dislike. She is not overly dependent, honest and clearly someone that will help her friends. She is also not dumb and helpless, being muscular enough to even protect Yoh from any trouble. She is perhaps the classic tomboy, yet having a real girly side in her (she LOVES shoujo manga).

2. Character interaction. This is about the most hilarious manga I have read for ages and I do read quite a bit of manga. Humor is aplenty, without being totally slapstick. It is often inserted in right positions to make you laugh and the fact that Haruna’s influence from shoujo manga makes her completely dramatic (overly, I might add) in her actions and behavior. It is always funny how she thinks stuff in the warped way and often negative. Yet, her personality is bright and confident, which makes for a good conflict sometimes. Yoh’s slight coldness at times simply lights up the interaction as well, as you have a strong contrast between the two leads.

3. Artwork is good. Shoujo manga tends to be a bit sketchy but this is decently drawn, with the vivid expressions and features of the characters done out proficiently. It is definitely decent, with that soft style of drawing that fits the mood of this genre. If you like shoujo with humor and a bit of drama, this is for you.

Afterthoughts

Koukou Debut is good for re-reads, due to the extremely sweet moments later in the manga. The good thing is that the sweet and aww moments of the manga is not done in a cheesy manner, simply on the spot, which makes it a light yet entertaining read. Good stuff and you should read it if you like shoujo with tons of comedy, sweetness and a slightly different variation of the “strong woman, handsome man” sub-genre.

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