You and Me
Hiroshi Aro's comics have been a staple in some of the finest manga anthologies including top-selling Shonen Jump. His sex-farce Futaba-kun Change! is presently being published in the U.S. by Studio Ironcat, and he has recently been sighted at several U.S. anime conventions. But the series that is perhaps his most famous work in Japan, Yu & Mii, is still unknown to American audiences. Although the series produced 8 compiled comic volumes, an image album of background music, and a drama disc starring some of Japan's best voice-actors, the lack of an animated version has kept this delightful, pun-filled story in undeserved obscurity.
Yu Aimu (or if pronounced as the Japanese do, "I'm You") is the type of high-school student to whom you wouldn't gibe a second thought. He moved to Tokyo from the country to live on his own, attend high school, and study for his college-entrance exams. (Since Tokyo has the largest number of colleges in the country, this is not an uncommon practice.) He has found a cheap room in the Yaninari-so (which means"this looks bad") apartment building where the rent is cheap because the room is rumored to be haunted. But once he arrives, he only finds a pleasant young girl, Mii, to greet him. Yu thinks Mii might be the landlord's daughter until she drops a bomb - she's his new roommate. This bomb does not prepare him for the second bomb - she's a ghost!
In fact, the Yaninari-so is inhabited by a wide variety of weird tenants. The landlord and his family wear full suits of armor. The next-door neighbor is constantly suicidal. Another tenant, Buraide Mari (Bloody Mary) seems like a pretty girl just out of college, but she is also a pro wrestler. Maiko Ayamachi, or My-chan for short, is a high-school student who looks and thinks like a grade schooler. Karuma Gota (who looks like Cousin It) is a 20-year-old entrance-exam ronin. That would be normal, except Mr. Gota is still trying to pass his exams to get into middle school. Masculine and musclebound, An Ogura pays his rent working as a shojo manga artist, and he and his editor play an exotic game of ninja-style cat and mouse. These are the major players, but minor characters abound including Yu's weird family (you know he had to have one), a clueless, spoiled-child yakuza boss, and the goddess of death.
As in most enssemble-cast manga comedies, there are many girls who fall in love with Yu, but the love triangle centers around Yu, Mii, and the landlord's daughter Ai. (Ai has super strenght, but that is explainable due to the fact that she has worn a full suit of armor for most of her life.) Since Mii is a ghost, she can never touch Yu unless she possesses somebody, and she's far too nice a person to do that too often. Ai loves Yu, but she gets frustrated by all the attention he gets, and Yu's stubborn refusal to stop being a nice guy to the other girls.
In the tradition of Urusei Yatsura, Yu & Mii is episodic, visual and hilarious, even for those with no understanding of Japanese. Aro is a master of manga comedy and storytelling, and he uses all of his best tools in You & Mii. Keep your eye on the background because Aro is a big anime fan, and cameos are everywhere. Many readers may already be familiar with Aro through Futaba-kun Change!, but pick up any volume of this inventive series for a good belly laugh!