Pastel 1

God damn I wish life was like this. You get so sucked into their lives, and their surroundings, that you just forget about your own. It's like the time I found World of Warcraft, just killed my social life :( Best light romance manga out there!

The romance is sweet, the story is nice but if you buy this it should be for the art. The female characters are lovingly drawn, and you'll never get tired of the beauty of this volume.

This first volume of "Pastel" sets up the standard formula for a boy's romance manga. A high school boy, Mugi, is freshly heartbroken when his girlfriend moves away. Trying to get his mind off of her, he joins his roguish friend Kazuki working at a restaurant over the summer. One day, while taking empty bottles out to the back for recycling, he happens across a beautiful girl changing into her bikini. He is caught peeping. Hijinks ensue. Rather than playing it for laughs, "Love Hina" -style, "Pastel" is incredibly sweet and all of the characters are honestly likable. Mugi is no tongue-tied loser, and the girl, Yu, is no brash-mouthed stereotype. More in the vein of "Ai yori Aoshi," these are two characters who you really want to see get together, in their own time. Yu's little sister Tsukasa adds spice to the mix, and looks to be even more fun as the series progresses. If you like the genre, chances are you are going to like "Pastel." The character designs are great, especially Yu, and author Toshihiko Kobayashi makes sure you get to see her to full advantage, as Mugi seems to have a habit on walking in on her changing clothes and taking baths. The background scenery is lovely, and very authentic of a rural Japanese island lifestyle. There are a few surprises, which I will leave for you to discover. I know I will be picking up the next volume.