SOS (Viz)

    (Viz, 2005)
™ and © 2003 Hinako Ashihara/Shogakukan
Read right to left; b&w.

Love’s distress signal is answered in three separate short stories of love and loss. Hinako Ashihara puts a unique twist on three typical shojo (girl’s manga) plotlines. In the anthology’s chief story, “SOS” a trio of high school students start a dating service at their school and become embroiled in the love affair of a sympathetic stalker. Historical nostalgia creates the setting for “That Sweet Organ Song” when a couple is torn apart by the historic earthquake in Kobe, Japan. Lastly, “The Easy Life” follows a spoiled guy, Yohei, and the sweet girlfriend he treats like a servant, Mami. Will their relationship be able to survive Yohei’s male chauvinism when Mami gets fed up with being treated like a personal assistant? Ashihara’s twist ending will surprise you.

— Jillian Burcar
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