The Manzai Comics is a manga series written by Atsuko Asano

Atsuko Asano (writer)

is a Japanese writer. She wrote the children's novel series Telepathy Shōjo Ran and the manga series The Manzai Comics. She started writing the children's novels when she was in college. She graduated from Aoyama Gakuin college and majored in literature...

 and illustrated by Hizuru Imai. In Japan it is published by Jive

Jive (publisher)

is a Japanese publishing company in Shinjuku, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan and was established on May 12, 2003. In 2004, the company sold its stock to Poplar Publishing and now Jive is an affiliate of that company....

. In the United States it is published by Aurora Publishing

Aurora Publishing

Aurora Publishing, Inc. is the American subsidiary of Japanese publisher Ohzora Publishing, the leading josei manga publisher in Japan. Headquartered in Torrance, California, it licensed and published Japanese manga for the North American market...

.

, a confident and forceful student, cajoles , a misfit, into forming a comedy duo

Manzai

is a traditional style of stand-up comedy in Japanese culture, which usually involves two performers —a straight man and a funny man —trading jokes at great speed...

. Other characters include Meguna, Takashi's childhood friend and "fated partner", Kotomi, a yaoi fan who ships

Shipping (fandom)

Shipping, derived from the word relationship, is the belief that two fictional characters, typically from the same series, are in an intimate relationship, or have romantic feelings that could potentially lead to a relationship. It is considered a general term for fans' emotional involvement with...

 Takashi and Ayumu, Yuichi, a "class officer", and Nobuhiko, Takashi's soccer teammate who mediates between Takashi and Ayumu.

Volumes

Jive prints The Manzai Comics under its Pureful imprint in an A6 size

ISO 216

ISO 216 specifies international standard paper sizes used in most countries in the world today. It defines the "A" and "B" series of paper sizes, including A4, the most commonly available size...

 and under its Colorful Bunko imprint in a B6 size.

Reception

Danica Davidson finds Ayumi to be a very sympathetic character, as she regards his "insecurity" and drive to be "normal" as being "understandable to readers his age or anyone who’s ever been his age". Davidson felt that the serious treatment of Ayumu's family tragedy was incongruous with the broader comedy themes of the manga, and wondered in what tone the manga would continue. Ed Chavez feels that the theme of the manga is "learning about relationships" and feelings, and notes that they've "gone through a lot", particularly Ayumu, who is starting at a new school after a family tragedy. Ayumu feels responsible for the incident, and is making an effort "not to stand out" and to "just be a normal kid". Chavez feels that Takashi sees Ayumu's true personality under his "normal kid" facade, and decides that Ayumu is the perfect teammate for Takashi's dream of being part of the funniest comedy duo in Japan. Chavez did not find the main duo engaging enough to wish to continue reading the series, although he enjoyed the interactions of the whole cast. He feels the theme of The Manzai Comics is learning to grow up and have fun along the way and learning to hold on to your ambitions, classifying The Manzai Comics as seinen

Seinen

is a subset of manga that is generally targeted at a 20–30 year old male audience, but the audience can be older with some manga aimed at businessmen well into their 40s. In Japanese, the word Seinen means "young man" or "young men" and is not suggestive of sexual matters...

, but feels the manga would be more suitable for younger readers despite some swearing.

Chavez places the theme of the manga within the context of a manzai boom of the 1980s, and a subsequent general increase of manzai on television and anime. He felt that the comedic twist on the staging of Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...

was refreshing. Brigid Alverson was disappointed that there were no translator's notes explaining manzai

Manzai

is a traditional style of stand-up comedy in Japanese culture, which usually involves two performers —a straight man and a funny man —trading jokes at great speed...

. Chavez feels that later, the more complicated manzai humour is lost in translation, and that it is a difficult topic for a manga. Alverson did not find the comedy particularly funny, but felt the secondary characters were well-developed, especially enjoying the lampooning of "super-cute shoujo girl" characters via Meg. Chavez also remarked on the character designs of the females, describing them as "moe", noting the illustrator's previous work for Gainax

Gainax

is a Japanese anime studio famous for productions such as Gunbuster, The Wings of Honneamise, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Neon Genesis Evangelion, FLCL and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann which have gone on to critical acclaim and commercial success, as well as for their association with...

. Katherine Dacey felt that the manga "covered familiar ground, but yielded some funny moments nevertheless", feeling that the more "melodramatic" moments were not well-integrated with the rest of the manga, but that they added an extra dimension to the characters' friendship. Connie C. for PopCultureShock felt that the blending of genres was done well, and although she found the plot and characters "unremarkable", she felt that the manga was well-executed.