By Izumi Tsubaki. Released in Japan by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by Viz.

In my review of the first volume, I noted that while I enjoyed it, Tsubaki-san still had the same issues of the plot and story being very messy in general, an issue that carried over from The Magic Touch. Luckily, this second volume is much stronger in that regard. Even better, it’s hysterical, being one of the funniest shoujo manga I’ve read in months.

There’s so many hysterical moments that it’s really hard to narrow it down. Mafuyu and Hayasaka ‘escaping’ from Takaomi suggesting a club; Mafuyu’s realization that she was the ‘Bancho’ of her old school; the entire Morse Code sequence; Mafuyu’s cosplay outfits (I agree with Takaomi, she does have great legs); the letters by pigeon; Hayasaka getting convinced that an actual rabbit turns into Super Bun, and Mafuyu’s reaction; and possibly best of all, Takaomi simply knocking Mafuyu out with a punch to the back of the head, then lifting her up like a sack of potatoes. Tsubaki-san has noted that she’s better at comedy than romance, and she certainly proves it here. This is just plain funny.

Which is not to say that there aren’t sweet or serious moments. Romance is still on the back burner here, and one of the best examples of that is in the final scene, where Hayasaka has realized that she is Super Bun, and is starting to treat her as an incredibly fighting legend. Which… depresses the hell out of her. She doesn’t want to be worshipped, she wants a friend. It’s a good reminder that Mafuyu is the type who has lots of followers but no close friends, and it pulls at the heartstrings (earlier on, she gets very excited at the idea that Hayasaka has similar issues, which pisses him off). There’s also a nice scene with Takaomi where she realizes why she took his abuse for so long: so that she could get his praise.

By the way, those looking for a contrast with Ai Ore! could do worse than to try looking here. Not only is the tone of the manga completely different, but we also have a much more likeable jerk in Takaomi, and Mafuyu proves that she can kick ass better than any of the main cast. Seeing her take out the bancho mid-way through the volume was incredible. More women in shoujo manga who can throw a punch like that, please.

In this sort of series, the characters are not deep – in fact, trying to analyze them might be a mistake. Mafuyu and Hayasaka are both the sorts whose thought processes are both very simple, direct, and on the surface – this is even lampshaded later on, as Mafuyu realizes that Hayasaka is the type that unconsciously makes bad situations worse. But that’s all for the better, as it leads to pure silly. Hopefully Volume 3 will have more fun – and more Super Bun!