Fall in Love Like a Comic!
Encyclopedia
is a shōjo
manga
by Chitose Yagami
. It was serialized in Ciao
magazine, published by Shogakukan
in Japan
. The series has been licensed in North America
by Viz Media
and was released on October 2, 2007. The sequel, , was released on October 1, 2004, also published by Shogakukan
, and it was released in English under the title Fall in Love Like a Comic! vol. 2 on January 1, 2008, again by Viz Media
.
The chapters in Zoku Manga Mitaina Koi Shitai (released in English under the title Fall in Love Like a Comic! vol. 2) were stand alone one-shots involving the characters from Manga Mitaina Koi Shitai and were serialized at irregular intervals in the manga magazines Chuchu
and Ciao
.
A preview of the first chapter was included in the September 2007 issue of Shojo Beat
magazine.
A few months later, Rena and Tomoya go on a trip together. Rena starts pressuring Tomoya about sex, but Tomoya refuses her pleads rather coldly. Later he goes to her room and assures her that he will have sex with her one day in the future. After a few weeks, Rena tries calling Tomoya, only to hear a girl on the phone saying she is going to take a shower with Tomoya. Worried, Rena rushes over to Tomoya's house. There she meets Shiori, a relative of Tomoya. Shiori says that she will marry Tomoya in the future, which makes Rena extremely jealous. When Rena brings up the subject of Tomoya and her next date, Tomoya agrees to Shiori's pleading to come along. Rena objects to this loudly and then runs home. The next day Tomoya and Rena go on their date as planned, but Shiori cries when she is ignored. When Tomoya tries to calm her down, Shiori's father arrives and invites Shiori to go home with him. After some persuading from Tomoya, Shiori leaves with her father. A few days after that incident, Rena's parents get her a tutor who turns out to be Tomoya's ex-girlfriend. Rena soon becomes jealous and when Tomoya tries to calm her down, she shoves him away and runs off. Later Tomoya visits her and brings her to a chapel where he proposes to her. Rena says yes and they get married in the chapel, bringing the story to an end. There is also a chapter featuring them as adults with children.
Tomoya Okita
Yun
Sunahara
Yamase
, writing for the appendix to Manga: The Complete Guide
, praised the lead character for being "one of the all-too-few really eager careerwomen in shojo manga for this age group".
Shojo
The term refers to manga marketed to a female audience roughly between the ages of 10-18. The name romanizes the Japanese 少女 , literally: "little female". Shōjo manga covers many subjects in a variety of narrative and graphic styles, from historical drama to science fiction — often with a strong...
manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
by Chitose Yagami
Chitose Yagami
is a Japanese manga artist. She made her professional manga debut in 2001 with Magical ¶ Project. Her list of works include Fall in Love Like a Comic!, Boku no Platinum Lady, Kiss Kiss, and Ikenai Navigation. The majority of her works are featured in the monthly shōjo magazine Ciao. Her hobbies are...
. It was serialized in Ciao
Ciao (magazine)
is a Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Shogakukan for young girls . The first issue was launched in 1977. As of 2009, the circulation was 815,455. Formerly, the magazine attached paper crafts, but now attaches various goods that are different every month...
magazine, published by Shogakukan
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The series has been licensed in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
by Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
and was released on October 2, 2007. The sequel, , was released on October 1, 2004, also published by Shogakukan
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...
, and it was released in English under the title Fall in Love Like a Comic! vol. 2 on January 1, 2008, again by Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
.
The chapters in Zoku Manga Mitaina Koi Shitai (released in English under the title Fall in Love Like a Comic! vol. 2) were stand alone one-shots involving the characters from Manga Mitaina Koi Shitai and were serialized at irregular intervals in the manga magazines Chuchu
Chuchu (magazine)
ChuChu is a Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Shogakukan for early teen girls . ChuChu became a monthly published shōjo manga magazine as a separation from Ciao in December 2005...
and Ciao
Ciao (magazine)
is a Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Shogakukan for young girls . The first issue was launched in 1977. As of 2009, the circulation was 815,455. Formerly, the magazine attached paper crafts, but now attaches various goods that are different every month...
.
A preview of the first chapter was included in the September 2007 issue of Shojo Beat
Shojo Beat
Shojo Beat is a shōjo manga magazine formerly published in North America by Viz Media. Released in June 2005 as a sister magazine to Shonen Jump, it featured serialized chapters from six manga series, as well as articles on Japanese culture, manga, anime, fashion and beauty...
magazine.
Plot
The story centers around the relationship between Rena and Tomoya. Rena is your not-so-typical high school student because she is also a popular manga artist, who while drawing love scenes, bumps into also popular Tomoya. She quickly runs away from him but forgets her draft in the process. But when her publisher mentions that she doesn't put enough feeling into her works, she decides that she wants to improve her manga artist career by getting some hands-on experience in love. She goes back to find her work and discovers that Tomoya now knows she is a manga artist. While there, she asks him to become her boyfriend to help her with her manga. Tomoya agrees and a few days later a jealous girl tries to hurt Rena when Tomoya takes her out for a date. He rescues her and takes her to his house. Later on, Rena sees him with another girl and thinks Tomoya doesn't want to be her boyfriend anymore, not realizing that the girl is his older sister. She starts avoiding him and soon Tomoya is becoming annoyed. A few days later he demands to know what happened. She then publicly professes her love to him. A few weeks after that, one of Rena's manga has the opportunity to be a drama on television. Her manager asks Rena to ask Tomoya about being an actor in the movie. He agrees to have a look, and ends up securing the role. In the middle of the filming, Rena becomes upset that Tomoya is being intimate with another girl, even though it's only acting. Tomoya assures her that he will never leave her.A few months later, Rena and Tomoya go on a trip together. Rena starts pressuring Tomoya about sex, but Tomoya refuses her pleads rather coldly. Later he goes to her room and assures her that he will have sex with her one day in the future. After a few weeks, Rena tries calling Tomoya, only to hear a girl on the phone saying she is going to take a shower with Tomoya. Worried, Rena rushes over to Tomoya's house. There she meets Shiori, a relative of Tomoya. Shiori says that she will marry Tomoya in the future, which makes Rena extremely jealous. When Rena brings up the subject of Tomoya and her next date, Tomoya agrees to Shiori's pleading to come along. Rena objects to this loudly and then runs home. The next day Tomoya and Rena go on their date as planned, but Shiori cries when she is ignored. When Tomoya tries to calm her down, Shiori's father arrives and invites Shiori to go home with him. After some persuading from Tomoya, Shiori leaves with her father. A few days after that incident, Rena's parents get her a tutor who turns out to be Tomoya's ex-girlfriend. Rena soon becomes jealous and when Tomoya tries to calm her down, she shoves him away and runs off. Later Tomoya visits her and brings her to a chapel where he proposes to her. Rena says yes and they get married in the chapel, bringing the story to an end. There is also a chapter featuring them as adults with children.
Characters
Rena Sakura- The main protagonist of the story. She has a secret that she is a professional manga artist who draws shōjoShojoThe term refers to manga marketed to a female audience roughly between the ages of 10-18. The name romanizes the Japanese 少女 , literally: "little female". Shōjo manga covers many subjects in a variety of narrative and graphic styles, from historical drama to science fiction — often with a strong...
mangaMangaManga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
. After an accident at school, Tomoya finds out her secret, and remembering some advice from her editor, she asked him for a date so that she could learn more and improve her work. However, throughout the series, she is easily embarrassed by having any contact with boys (especially Tomoya) and often turns either extremely red or melts into goo. Later on, she falls in love with Tomoya although she questions their relationship. She becomes jealous when Tomoya shoots a kissing scene with an actress (who is also a fan of Rena's works). Rena is very shy toward boys but enjoys the help. In the future, Rena marries Tomoya and they have a son named Hiroki.
Tomoya Okita
- Rena's boyfriend and the one she shared her first kiss with. He is extremely popular at school with the girls, and even though many have asked him out, his reply was always no. It is hinted that his older sister, who is a famous manga artist, influenced his personality. When Rena asked him why he didn't have a girlfriend, this was his reply: "I'm only going to date someone I'm interested in." The truth was that he was talking about Rena. Tomoya became mad when Rena told him that he seems to be a main hero of a shōjo manga because he wants her to see him as a real person. He also confesses his love to Rena. In the future, Tomoya marries Rena and they have a son named Hiroki.
Yun
- Rena's closest friend who knows about her secret and supports her. She usually pushes Rena and is supportive of Rena's relationship with Tomoya. Yun always cares for Rena and has her best interest in mind, often offering Rena advice when needed. In the future, Yun marries Sunahara and they have a daughter named Sana.
Sunahara
- Sunhara is one of Tomoya's friends. He is calm and does not talk a lot in the manga. In the future, Sunahara marries Yun and they have a daughter named Sana.
Yamase
- A childhood friend of Tomoya who is the reason why Rena ran accidentally into Tomoya. He usually questions the relationship between Rena and Tomoya. At their school, he is actually the second most popular boy after Tomoya. In the future chapter, Yamase is working at a kindergarten, which Hiroki and Sana attend.
Volume listing
Reception
Jason ThompsonJason Thompson (writer)
Jason Thompson is a manga critic, journalist, writer and comics artist.-Life and career:...
, writing for the appendix to Manga: The Complete Guide
Manga: The Complete Guide
Manga: The Complete Guide is a 2007 encyclopedia written by Jason Thompson and published by Del Rey which provides basic details and short reviews of over 1000 Japanese manga titles that have been translated and released in English in North America...
, praised the lead character for being "one of the all-too-few really eager careerwomen in shojo manga for this age group".