Takemoto is starting his sophomore year in art school, and he’s finally gotten used to the isolated farmland and the insane amount of work. But as it turns out, his troubles are just beginning, as he meets his fellow students: the mysterious, brilliant Morita Senpai and the diminutive prodigy, Hagumi Hanamoto. Senpai disappears for days at a time only to reappear laden down with unexplained wads of cash. Hagumi is small enough to be mistaken for Koropokkur—a Japanese faerie—and is soon the star of a Web site for Koropokkur fetishists. Takemoto, of course, soon finds himself falling for Hagumi and competing with Senpai for her affections. But this manga, winner of several prestigious awards in Japan, is more shaggy-dog stories of college life than tightly plotted romantic comedy. Like her plotting, Umino’s artwork is slapdash—at its best it nicely captures some of the shambling chaos of college life, but sometimes the chaos is more confusing than kinetic. In particular, her stilted, wide-eyed renderings of Hagumi create a creepy “Valley of the Dolls” effect that makes it difficult to imagine Takemoto falling for her. Still, the characters remain likable, and the story may be just the thing for those who daydream of escaping to dormitory life. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Mar.)

Gr 9 Up-With translations scheduled through volume four (December, 2008), this series seems here to stay. In this first volume, Takemoto, a college art student in Tokyo, takes center stage and provides the main perspective. He lives the life of a starving artist and student, looking quite like a character from Chibi Vampire (TokyoPop) whenever he has the opportunity to eat meat. Takemoto lives with several other male students, including the illusive Morita, who frequently takes off on a whim, returning days or weeks later with interesting treats (usually involving meat) and then crashing for a minimum of 48 hours. The first chapter sets the scene for the remainder of the book, with Moritas oddities introduced and all the boys meeting tiny, beautiful Hagu, an art prodigy who catches the interest and attention of everyone she meets. Morita, though, takes special exception and begins to exploit Hagu through a Web site he creates, marketing her as a koropokkur, a member of a mythical race of tiny people. Throughout the story, the characters go about their daily lives, attending to class, trying to get enough to eat, and falling in love with the wrong people. Uminos graphics are simple, and the characters are typical of shojo manga in that they are prone to frequent fits and hysterics. Though the sexual innuendos are tame, the college setting and complex love connections make this a better fit for high school readers. Sarah Krygier, Solano County Library, Fairfield, CA