(This isn't all of the things that were covered in the volume, just the things I managed to write down.) Nozaki attempts to find inspiration for a special horror issue of his manga. Miyako's male classmate and one-time date totally misunderstands her relationship with Nozaki. Chiyo (or Sakura - I'm totally inconsistent about the name I use for her, sorry) misses Nozaki when he goes home for a bit. Nozaki pretends to be a female basketball coach. The editors at Nozaki's magazine pick a theme for a special edition. Mikoto needs a fake girlfriend to get a girl who likes him to go away. Mayu, Nozaki's 15-year-old brother, is forced to text Mikoto for hours - both of them think the other is a girl.

This was a really refreshing read. I had forgotten how enjoyable this series could be. The artwork was great, and the humor usually worked for me.

Nozaki, as usual, was entertainingly dense, and I was amused at the realization that, by this point, Chiyo probably wouldn't believe him if he flat-out told her he was in love with her and wanted to go out with her.

Hori and Kashima are my favorite possible couple, even though Kashima would probably give Hori an ulcer. I enjoy Hori's relative normality and the moments when he and Kashima almost click as a possible couple. Of them all, he's the least over-the-top character.

The part of the volume where Mayu texted Mikoto for hours was funny but seemed a bit out of character for Mayu. I couldn't believe that a guy who's generally pretty lazy wouldn't somehow find a way to bow out of a never-ending texting session.

The one part of the volume that had me going WTF was the revelation that Nozaki once wrote a pedophile romance in an effort to push the envelope in a "love with an age gap" special manga. You'd think even Nozaki would have realized that that was going to far.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) ( )