Manga One-Shot Dump #1

My 1/3 Boyfriend

You know what's a nice change of pace in this one-shot's environment?  Everyone in high school is wearing NORMAL CLOTHES like the students over in the U.S (at least).  Why does this warrant a color change?  Because at least in the U.S, it's common for lots of public schools to have students wear their own clothes instead of a uniform.  99% of the time, I see the manga's environments take place in a school full of uniformed students, not that I actually have a problem with the clothes.  The flip-side is that everyone looks like they should be in college, even though they're all featured to be in their final year... in high school...  Ok, you know what?  Back to the main point of this one-shot which is that Fukuda Rei, our hapless romantic heroine, openly declares that she's the only one who probably doesn't have a boyfriend (not that having a boyfriend matters in high school... seriously it doesn't 95% of the time because COLLEGE).  Suddenly, a guy named Kogure Yuuya takes a liking to Rei and asks for her picture.  Then blackmails Rei into meeting Yuuya because her skirt was caught up with her arms carrying a box, revealing the holy teddy bear undies wholly loved in shoujo manga.  The reason why I would feature this one-shot is the pacing that leads up to a twist I didn't see coming because I anticipated the other way around.

Puri * Puri

If this was rated R, Bodyguard Puri would be missing a chunk of his head and none of this would be cute.

Simply put, it's a one-shot about the tried and true (Student Council President x Lower Ranking Student) formula with the Lower Ranking Student being the Vice Prez instead of a lowly peasant student.  As you can see, VP loves reading a manga about Prince and Princess Pudding anywhere at any time and the President hates that.  I say I like this one-shot because of the hilarity the male lead emits over his princess pudding obsession.

Shuko's Snack

This is  the most vanilla of all the one-shots, as the romance isn't gushing out at your eyes every other page.  Kenji is a delinquent out of a neglected childhood and Shuko is the complete opposite.  Yet, Kenji can't figure out why Shuko keeps bringing him sweets because he hates sweets.

Kami Sonata

I love, love, LOVE the amount of detail Ichinose Kaoru, the author and artist, put into her stories.  Mishounen Produce was sweet, but lacked some substance in some places aaaaaand that's a different discussion for another post.  Ichinose seems to be better at taming her stories in one-shots.  Aside from the art, Kami Sonata begins with Shouko who was trapped inside a church and died out of giving up on life because of bullying.  10 years later, Kei shows up at the same spot and doesn't take well to seeing Shouko's spirit showing up again.  Shouko thinks the violin is meant to be soothing and fun, but Kei thinks it's a weapon to destroy those who harm him.  Both of them have been bullied, but will Kei make the same mistake as Shouko?  The climax hit me in the feels and that's all I gotta say for this one-shot.

Soleil

Another tried and true shipping formula is the Mistress x Butler (points at InuxBoku SS...).  The story takes place in 18th century France where the heroine decides to sell her body.  Yes, you heard it here ladies and gentlemen, she decides to enter PROSTITUTION.  Nah, I'm just kidding... somewhat.  Well it's more like she will marry the guy who bids the most for her title so it's kinda like that one part in "TAKEN".  Anywho, she sold off everything but the house and land of her family, the Bartleys, so she tries to get by with selling paper flowers which she fails at.  Meanwhile, her only butler, Jack, is still around making inventions and helping his mistress get by.  It's a typical shoujo one-shot (until the end) and I liked it because of the art.  I forgot to mention the artist seems to have a neck problem of sorts... since the heroines sometimes look like their heads are too big.

Koi no Akashingou

The manga-ka sure took the liberty of taking nosebleeds to great heights with this one-shot.  The heroine avoids a particular boy like the plague because every time he's nearby she gets massive nosebleeds.  Now both of them are in high school, the boy thinks she sees him as a freak, and he's annoyed with that.  I busted my gut reading the climax of the story because of how over-the-top the nosebleed was taken.

13

13 is just a name the main hero, Mondo, picked up after becoming the king yankee.  Mondo had a crush on Izayo, but after trying to befriend her by giving her a sour candy, Izayo barfs a la Hideaki Sorachi style followed by Mondo barfing on her.  After much humiliation, Izayo vows to kill Mondo for the humiliation.  She gets her wish when both of them go to high school and Mondo transformed from a plain ol' boy into a yankee with his sidekick he beat to a pulp over erasing his game saves (Life lesson:  Don't intentionally erase someone's game saves, the owner will be out for your blood).  There's a love story thrown in there, but if you like Gintama's wackiness you'll like this one-shot.