Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist) takes a personal touch in this fresh take on coming of age. Searching for direction, city teen Hachiken enrolls in an agriculture-focused vocational high school out in the countryside. He assumes his intelligence and academic skills will make the transition a breeze, but, in the time-honored tradition of fish-out-of-water comedy, the wind gets knocked out his sails with his first 4:00 a.m. wake-up call. Hachiken soon learns that agriculture courses are demanding, farm work is hard, animals seldom do what you want them to, and the other students-mostly the children of farm families-are smart and motivated in their chosen careers, ignorant about algebra but able to chatter excitedly about the latest livestock cloning technologies. On the plus side, there-s fresh produce at every meal. Arakawa grew up on a dairy farm and brings a refreshing realism to her sitcom premise. In between scenes of rural slapstick, the reader learns all about the realities of modern farming, including cruel realities: some of the animals are penned in factory-farm setups, and the teachers warn kids that -you need to be able to kill.- The simple, character-centered artwork is less arresting than in Arakawa-s prior series, but it-s bright and funny, littered with unexpected visual gags. It-s a side of Japanese high school life seldom seen in manga, making for an irresistible series. (Feb.)