Welcome back to Waiting on the Trade, a monthly comics book club for people who don’t have time for monthly comics!

In this episode, guest host Callum Smith introduces us to “the perfect series,” as we discuss Kazune Kawahara and Aruko’s My Love Story!! Vol. 1.

This episode’s explanations, observations, and links of note include:

• A lot of this episode’s links will be definitions of Japanese terms. And while I don’t think you need a definition of the word manga, its etymology is super interesting.
• Shōjo, on the other hand, I will define. I couldn’t find a link to back up those shōjo publication stats Cal dropped in the episode, but I believe him.
• If you like horror comics and haven’t checked out Junji Ito’s manga, I recommend starting with “The Enigma of Amigara Fault.”
• Most of the manga I’ve read prior to this originated in Shōnen Jump … which set me up for some wonderfully subverted expectations while reading My Love Story!!.
• We all loved that Suna is not a typical tsundere, and that he quickly showed his considerate side.
• Y’all, Jack Kirby’s romance comics look bonkers as heck.
• And finally, if you want to get to know someone, you can do better than approaching them kabedon style.
• P.S. – We still don’t talk about “One More Day.”

Follow-Up Recommendations

If you liked My Love Story!!, we think you might also like:

• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl.
• Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku.
• Twisted Romance.
• Tokyo Tarareba Girls.

If you enjoyed Cal’s time on the podcast, be sure to check him out on Twitter as @betsyinferno. And be sure to join us here next month, when we discuss Green Lantern: Circle of Fire (provided we can track down a few copies).

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New to the show? Waiting on the Trade is a monthly comics podcast, run by two gents who don’t have time for monthly comics. If you’d like to get in touch with us, you can email us at WaitingOnTheTrade@gmail.com.

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As always, thanks for listening!