Itazura Na Kiss is a manga romance.   It takes place at a high school where each student is placed in a class depending on their  scores.  Kotoko is the main character.  She is a 17 year old girl who is very energetic, emotional, pretty, and not too bright.   She is in Class F , the students with the lowest scores. Things seem to go wrong around her.   She has a never ending crush on Naoki Irie, a cool, unemotional, genius and top of his class, Class A.  He is the best of the best and always scores the top grade.

Highlights

At the opening, Kotoko gives Naoki a letter expressing her feelings.  He refuses even to take the letter.  Unfortunately, all of this happens in the middle of school, so everyone is now talking about it.  Whispers abound in the halls.  Naoki is cruel when he says, ” I … don’t like stupid women”.

Kotoko has an admirer too, her friend Kin-chan.  He comes across very strong in his feelings, and is protective of her.  She doesn’t seem to acknowledge his feelings as different than any of her Class F friends.

That evening, Kotoko’s house is destroyed in an earthquake.  Kotoko had suspected something was wrong with the house, but her Dad always thought the house was strong.  Once again, she is the girl everyone is talking about at school.  All of this happens fast, within the first 25 pages.

Kotoko and her Dad go to stay at the home of his old school friend and (gulp) it turns out to be Naoki’s  father!  The look on Kotoko’s face says it all (check out page 35).

Naoki’s parents welcome them with open arms and excitement. The Mom welcomes her   in an extreme, smothering, “I-always-wanted-a-daughter” kind of way (wait until you see the photo album). Naoki and his little brother Yuuki are the opposite.  Naoki is cool and indifferent, and Yuuki openly expresses his disappointment at her inadequate intelligence.

Now life is even more awkward for Kotoko.  Incensed by Naoki’s behavior, she wants to prove her worth by being one of the top 100 students on mid term exams. With the studying not going well, luck is on her side and hands her something that gives her confidence and the power to blackmail Naoki to get him to tutor her for the tests.

Suddenly the secret is out, everyone knows of their new living arrangements.  Now what will happen? Naoki, cool as always, toys with Kin-chan and provokes his jealousy. At home, the parents have their own ideas and plans concerning Kotoko and Naoki ( they definitely hear wedding bells).  As time goes on, college exams come up and everyone looks toward the end of school.  Situations and mishaps put the two together more than is comfortable for them and they slowly begin to affect each other.

Overall

A lot happens in this book. It keeps up a brisk pace and packs a lot of entertainment in it’s pages. It was easy to feel for Kotoko and her crush that just won’t go away. Kotoko can’t seem to escape her embarrassment.  Naoki Irie seems to pop up when she’s already in an embarrassing predicament, only making it worse.  Who hasn’t had that problem when they had a crush on someone. The character of Naoke’s mom, Machiko, is absolutely great. She is great comedic relief.

I love the clarity of the characters.  Everyone is so distinct, you can’t be confused with who is who. Kotoko has these big puppy dog eyes that easily express her emotional life to us.  They embody the essence of her character.  Even though the plot may seem like a standard crush story, I thought the story was well handled. I enjoyed this light hearted romance.

ComicsOnline gives Itazura N Kiss gives 4.5 embarrassing photos out of 5.