Easy Chocolate - Enjoyable slice of life read. The progression of the male lead's feelings from complete disinterest to a full-blown crush is adorable. Love the character designs here... so unconventional for this genre. 7/10

Heavy Clouds, No Rain - Excellent - This is one of my favorite oneshots ever! Tells the story of a couple who have been together since childhood trying to adjust to life after graduating from high school. They're broke and struggling, but the "reparations" they pay are an act of kindness to a man who is looking for something to live for. I love that the "voice" of this story is an absurd, airy leading lady who tackles some deep issues. 10/10

Broach - Another AMAZING oneshot for my personal Hall of Fame. Most stories in this genre focus on the beginning of a relationship and it all has a nice "happily ever after" stamped on at the end. This actually explores the deterioration of romance and deals with how we feel when the end is inevitable. The fate of the cat makes me sad. Booo. 10/10

From the Cabbage Kingdom '03: Hesitation - Another fun read. I thought the main girl in the second story was loopy and silly, but the leading lady in this oneshot outdid her. Basically a fluffy, silly, unconventional weird girl trying to woo a very *ahem* VERY reluctant boy. 7.5/10

... Last updated on March 7th, 2013, 9:58pm

Ikuemi Ryou is a master of one-shots, and she's at full force in this diverse collection of one-shots. I loved "Easy Chocolate" just for the fact that the main guy character was based off of the lead singer of Bump of Chicken (a favorite band of mine!) She did a wonderful job capturing the atmosphere (and the looks!) of the person who this character was based off of.

But my favorite one-shot from this collection would have to be "Broach." This one-shot captures the emotions of a young couple who have found themselves drifting apart after many years together. With the cat that had been their glue in their relationship missing, they have to try to pick up the pieces and figure out where to go on from here. I really liked how Ikuemi Ryou didn't try to wrap up the one-shot with a "...and they lived happily ever after." She gives no easy outcome for the characters, and we're left to figure out what becomes of them after the one-shot ends. It is a very bittersweet and touching story that accurately captures what it's like to find that your feelings for another that you thought would be forever turned out not to be forever.

this mangaka has a knack for unconventionality, alright. even if not all are to my personal taste, she did a good job. i was never bored when reading her works. my favorite has gotta be the 4th story, although the girl is........ abit weird.

I read this and it was incredibly good. The stories were different, interesting, realistic, and well done, but most of all, the author seemed to have this amazing ability to make all her characters sympathetic. You could really feel for her characters. The stories themselves are good as well. But while it was intelligently written, the art was also skillfully drawn and great to look at - her characters also looked different from each other. After reading this, I am definitely looking forward to reading more from this mangaka.

... Last updated on July 25th, 2008, 8:45pm

I reaally like Ikuemi's art a lot! Unexpected weird twists but really cute love stories!