is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by . It was serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine Monthly Afternoon from April 2002 to October 2005, and published in five volumes.

Plot In the middle of class, first-year high school student Hajime Hoshino suddenly asks his classmate, Yumiko Negishi, to go out with him, confessing his love for her. Negishi refuses, so they settle on walking home together, to the amusement of their class. The next day, spurred by Hoshino's candidness, Negishi asks him to go out with her, beginning what would become a romantic relationship that would last through the rest of their high school years.

Characters

An honest guy who always says what he thinks. He has loved Negishi since the first moment he saw her, but he did not have the courage to act upon according to his feelings; from that moment on, he decided he would always be honest.

The girl Hoshino loves; she has more common sense than he does, and thus she often slaps or punches him out of embarrassment. She gets embarrassed when their relationship is put on display to the high school public. Negishi is a horrible cook who can barely make any edible food.

Negishi's best friend. She often thinks of absurd plans for Hoshino. Despite this, she supports their relationship.

Hoshino's best friend. Unlike Hoshino, he tends to be rational in his decision-making. Although he generally sees through Yoko's pranks he stays silent, preferring to be the onlooker.

A member of the Occult Research Club. Often referred to as .

A member of Tsukahara's band and Hoshino's classmate.

Publication Written and illustrated by , the series originated as a one-shot published in the June 2002 issue of Kodansha's manga magazine Monthly Afternoon, after it won the Grand Prize of the Spring 2002 . A sequel to the one-shot was published seven months after in the January 2003 issue, and was later turned into a full series which began serialization in Monthly Afternoon on March 25, 2003. The series completed serialization on October 25, 2005. Its chapters, referred to as "tracks", were collected into five volumes. In 2012, Shogakukan began re-releasing the volumes in format.

In February 2005, Del Rey Manga announced that they licensed the series for English publication, with five volumes published between August 30, 2005 and February 27, 2007.

Volumes

Reception Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network described it as a "warm, honest adolescent love story", while also stating that it can be repetitive at times. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly expressed similar opinions on the story as Kimlinger. They also compared the illustrations to those of John Porcellino and Jeffrey Brown. In Manga: The Complete Guide, Jason Thompson wrote that the artwork, which he felt was similar to indie comics, complemented the story well. Conversely, Carlo Santos of Anime News Network was more reserved, describing the art style and dialogue as "simple and to the point", and thus an acquired taste.

See also Draw This, Then Die!, another manga series by the same author Kongōji-san wa Mendōkusai, another manga series by the same author

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