hisashiburi!

There’s a lot of fuss about this manga at my place so I decided to take a peek to see what it is all about. The story goes something like this – you have your normal highschool and like any normal highschools there are ugly bullies. Enter Mikito your four-eyed weakling who seems to have a habit of getting beaten up and extorted for money. He actually has a noble reason for this but his friend Saki doesn’t understand and thought he was just a coward. Moving forward, a crystal ball somehow got into his bag and transported him to strange place where he met Zakuro, a little monster who’s looking after a barren tree. Zakuro asked Mikito his innermost desire so Mikito told him that he wants to be stronger. Zakuro granted his wish and in return he wanted Mikito to make the flowers bloom all over the tree. Mikito didn’t quite understand and he woke up in his bed. Mikito felt strange and when he ran into the bullies at school, a bloody fight ensued. But this time Mikito was the only one left standing.

Sorry for the spoilers but I find this manga so interesting that I can’t help but tell all about it. The 1st chapter, though, still leaves a lot of questions. There’s obviously some sinister scheme behind Mikito and Zakuro’s deal and I read from a summary that Mikito will gradually turn into an ogre/monster. I’m really excited about the flow of the story, a lot of interesting angles. Fight scenes are detailed and effectively drawn highlighting great moves from Mikito. I’m expecting more of these engaging scenes in the next chapters.The manga is already quite popular and I wouldn’t be surprised if it hits the TV screen anytime soon.

Where else can you find a guy who gets to score with a girl in the first episode/chapter? Matsumaru Fumihiko is the man! And the (poor and really cute) girl is Aka Onda. But don’t be fooled, this explosive start actually sets up the plot for the romantic and somewhat realistic relationship between Matsumaru and Aka.

Aka is an aspiring voice actress while Matsumaru works for a sweets company. The story is a diversion from your usual highschool love comedy and would definitely appeal to the working class like yours truly. A story of two persons struggling with their work and dreams somehow takes a more mature and realistic tone. REC surprisingly delivers this in a light manner. It has its share of funny scenes but you’ll see something deeper. You’ll see conflict and misunderstandings brought about by common demands and frustrations of work.

I’ve already watched the 9-half-episode anime which covered vol. 1 of the manga and expanded it a bit. I haven’t heard of any sequel so I guess we’ll just have to read the manga for the rest of the story. The anime was short but mini series seem to be more appealing to me like Hantsuki. Maybe because I don’t really have the luxury of time to watch a naruto-bleach sort of anime. Anyway artwork in the manga is ordinary but characters are distinctly drawn. Matsumaru reminds me of a younger Koshiro (Koi Kaze). Aka is simple which suits her character.

Overall, I really like it. If you want a break from the usual highschool story but want to retain the romantic element, then try this one.