You and Me
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As you may expect (and as you may know, if you've visited Hiroshi Aro's profile :p), Aro-san has done a number of other series besides Futaba-kun Change!, only one other of which has been translated into English. This work is You and Me, and is truly a manga classic. While most other series pages won't provide specific info on one other series the author has done, I felt that since because there's so little info about it I might as well talk about it here. Who knows, this may turn into another series page after I finish up with Futaba-kun Change!, but for now it just serves to inform you about this series. If you glean anything from this page, just know that I'm pleased that this series is being translated :P
You can read in the articles I provided the comments made about other reviewers, and one I thought particularly described this series well: It's a parody of absolutely everything. After reading only the first two issues, I can safely say I have never, EVER seen even half as many gags crammed into that small a space. The translation is heavily annotated so that the English-speaking audience understands it, and it is very nicely done. The basic premise is that a student named Yuu Aimu (his name, a pun just like everyone else's in this manga, is the English phrase "I'm you" when said in the Japanese tradition of family name first: Aimu Yuu) has moved into Tokyo to study for exams so he can get into a good college, a common practice. The building he boards in is called "Yaninarisou," also a pun, meaning "this looks bad." It lives up to its name, as there are a host of some of the strangest characters EVER living in its walls, some of whom have profiles below. The most important of these characters is the one he shares a room with, a ghost named Mii (a pun, of course, on the English "me", and the source of the title "You and Me"). Mii is by no definition of the word "shy," and she openly hangs around and hits on Yuu. Yuu gradually gets used to this and grows fond of Mii. Of course, there is another love interest, the landlord's daughter :p Yes, there's a standard love triangle in this story, as well as the jokes with all the puns and... well, everything else! This one's even more over-the-top than Futaba-kun Change! in my opinion, but not in the naked sight gags category. FKC will always reign surpreme in that area. I suppose my favorite scene so far would have to be this creepy one where Mii possesses a mannequin in a department store and chases after Yuu shouting at him to buy the clothes for her. It's the creepiest/funniest thing ever ^_^ A parallel can be drawn to Rumiko Takahashi's Maison Ikkoku, much the same way one can be drawn to Ranma 1/2 from Futaba-kun Change! (although Aro has cited another work as the inspiration for FKC!) However... Maison Ikkoku can never, EVER hope to be as funny as You and Me :p Well, I've given the best VERY general summary I could, what's left are the character profiles (Ironcat's text, I would make them far too long if I tried to do it myself... plus they'd suck as bad as the ones already on this site), some articles out of Animerica and Animerica Extra I typed up for your reading pleasure, and some scanned goody samples for you. Please enjoy, and buy this series! It's hilarious! You won't regret it! |
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| YUU AIMU: Transfer student from the countryside | MII: Yuu's ghostly roommate. She loves to have fun at his expense and will stay with him until she finds eternal peace. | TERUAKI HINATA: Creepy resident of the Yaninarisou building, likes to hide in odd places... | MISS MARI: Career woman but used to be a female pro wrestler. Fellow Yaninarisou resident. | THE LANDLORD: Never seen without his armor, the Landlord is in constant persuit of rent from his tenants. | AN OGURA: Fellow resident of the Yaninarisou building. He's a shoujo manga artist. Really. | MR. GOUDA: Hairy resident of the Yaninarisou building. He hasn't cut his hair in eight years. |
