Again!!

I have to recognize I have a soft spot for high school manga and for sport manga. So I started reading "Again!!" Vol.1 expecting to see your average run-of-the-mill high school story that I enjoy so much even if I have read it many times.

What I didn't expect was a time-travelling, high-school set crazy manga as this one where from page 1 I was hooked on the story and characters and where, even if everything that appears on its pages I have read before, it is presented in a fresh and engaging manner that I have to do a 'tip of the hat' to Mitsuro Kubo for her inventiveness.

Kinichiro is your average 'yanki' looking character from a manga. With the deep secret that he is actually shy instead of, you know, a rebel. He has gone through his three years of high school in solitude, and is now confronted with the graduation ceremony, the last of his days as a student there before going to his next phase in life. Walking around school, he wonders what if anything has left any lasting memories in him from all those three years and he remembers the 'cheering' girl that was at the entrance ceremony three years ago ('ouendan' meaning 'cheering' but instead of cheerleaders, more like shouting, and drums and uniforms, and normally, boys). It was the only time he remembers seeing her, so he decides to go and check if the 'cheering' club's room is still there. But the door is locked and, when he tries to get in, he is discovered by a girl. She runs away thinking he is trying to break and steal things and he follows her trying to tell her is all a misunderstanding. Both fall downstairs and when they wake up...

It is their first day of high school. And they have another chance to relive all those years and experiences.

What follows is a great introducing volume to the manga. The pace is great, the drawing style, pure manga, but nicely drawn and very expressive. It has lots of humor (visual and dialogues) and the characters are introduced and developed (in this first volume) in a great manner. We get to know why Kinichiro is how he is, and the same for Akira (the time travelling companion) and Yoshiko, the captain of the 'ouendan' (and other characters). And they are really easy to relate and very fun to be with. And if that was not enough, Kubo does a great job in turning upside down the topics and themes of high school manga; she plays smartly the time travelling (or is it just a dream?) card. I also said something about sports manga. Well, this manga is not about sports (even if it seems it will follow some of its quirks). This is about the cheering part of sports (or other events). And in centering in this aspect of Japanese high schools, Kubo offers a fresh and surprising look on your typical manga story, offering a glimpse to an aspect of Japanese youth that manga normally don't center on so much (especially the manga that are translated).

Just amazing.