Miss Me?

(CPM Manga, 2004)
™ and © 2004 Tomoko Taniguchi

For a country supposedly always on the cutting edge of the next hot trend, the Japanese still seem to have a soft spot in their hearts for ’70s glam rock hair band chic, which is why this manga looks more like something out of VH1’s I Love the ’80s than anything contemporary.

But, once you get past the “outrageous” hairstyles and boys in mascara backdrop, what you’ve got is a perfectly nice, predominately wholesome high-school romance. That may come across as faint praise, but it’s genuinely refreshing to read a manga that understands you don’t need creaky complications or convoluted premises to keep young lovers apart—they’ll do that themselves, thank you very much.

The art’s a bit rough and minimalist, but what it lacks in slickness, Taniguchi more than makes up for in deft characterization, heartfelt feeling, and pure storytelling skills.

— S.A. Bennett

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