Those of you who've read my reviews of Kannagi Satoru's other works know that I'm not especially fond of her, but I actually like this story quite a bit. Unlike OtRFK, its story depends entirely on the characters, instead of often contrived-seeming plot devices.

By the way, there is no one named Rin in this book. In a note in the back of the book, Kannagi-sensei explains that she really likes the kanji "rin" (凛), which means cold and is also used in the words for "intense," "mettlesome," and awe-inspiring." I have no idea what this has to do with the story, really, but I guess that's okay!

This is the story of a boy named Katsura, who has a serious anxiety problem. He can relieve his anxiety temporarily, but only by being "squeezed" (as in hugged-- you pervert) by his older brother's best friend Sou. But Katsura's starting to realize that these occasional hugs may be causing trouble for Sou, when he accidentally stumbles upon Sou being confessed to by a girl.

In the midst of this, Katsura is also struggling to achieve "zen" so that he can participate in an upcoming archery tournament. Oh, and throw an over-protective older brother and a best (male) friend who keeps hitting on him. And all four boys are in the archery club. Bit of a rough spot for Katsura, no?



I really enjoyed this. As I said before, it's more character-driven than other things I've read by Kannagi-sensei, and the art isn't bad either, although it's not a style I'm especially fond of. (Honami-sensei is one of those artists who, in more wistful/thoughtful panels, doesn't color in a dark-haired character's hair...random pet peeve of mine).

For those of you who're looking for hot smexy action though, this isn't a good way to spend your money-- only one scene gets beyond a peck on the lips, and it's short, at the end, and still not especially smextastic.

This is volume 1 of what appears to be 3 volumes total, which confuses me...the book wraps up pretty well, I think, although Katsura's best friend Kouichi makes references to not giving up on Katsura. Still, I'm interested in seeing where volume 2 will take our two heros.

Mangaka: Kannagi Satoru and Honami Yukine
Censorship: N/A
Warnings: A bit of manipulation, but um...that's really about it. Unless you hate archery for some reason.
Disclosure: This was a free review copy from Juné.