POSSIBLE SPOILERS!
This manga has a very somber tone... its a lil weird, a lil odd. I can't quite find my footing with it yet. so 7/10 for now
Edit: I am on chapter 16...and this is NOT a sports manga. I thought it was (what with ping-pong being mentioned) but pingpong is actually a very insignificant part of the story from what I've read so far. Some people (like me) are bound to be disappointed. So far, they've only played ping-pong a few times through all these chapters, and the matches were quick...lasting 2 pages at most.
The mobster is a joke. The mobster, who should have been mysterious, dark and cool, is no more than a lonely convenient-store owner with a lotila complex, and plays ping-pong. It's just sad that he likes a 16yr old girl, even though he’s in his 30s. The only “woman” who is in love with him is a gay cross-dresser (who, I’m beginning to favor above the others for simply the fact that she/he has a personality). For the sake of romance, I can be open-minded about age differences, but his boring looks and bland/uninteresting personality is just such a turn off. No young girl would fall for such a papa-like demeanor. He is so pathetic. Thank god he is not the male lead. I think the high school kid is, since nasuki comes alive when she is with him, and barely even talk when she is with mobster-guy, which I wouldn’t blame her.
It's such a pity… the art is so clean and neat, but the storyline is boring... the characters are boring. I noticed “comedy” was part of the genre for this manga… I didn’t laugh even once… not once!
The setup of the story was interesting enough, but the flatline execution of the plot killed it. There is NO-noteworthy-CONFLICT... and conflict helps make a good story... it also helps built and develop characters. Unfortunately, for all 2 volumes, all they do is work at the convenient store, and awkwardly coexist amongst each other. Some things that happened seems completely irrelevant...like the events that resulted in the date between that really tall high-school graduate and nasuki... what was that all about? Where’s the meaning in all that?
-I'm sorry, I'm sorry… there might actually be some small drama in here... for instance: nasuki hates her mom; her mom was the love interest of mobster-guy once upon a time (though he just kinda played ping-pong with her and had a small crush on her, nothing too deep). And, though a few people are “in love” with nasuki, I don’t even know if what they have even qualify as a love triangle...
Since someone said the story picks up after volume 2, I'm going to give it another chance and keep reading... hopefully, I won't be disappointed. My rating as of now: 5/10