Okay, so here’s a mood. You like a creator, so when they announce a new book or series, you’re cautiously optimistic at the least. You know it might not be as good as the last thing you saw or read, but you have hope. And then you read or watch the thing….

This is a choose your own adventure and we will be walking down several possible paths together in the immediate future. ^_^ Today we are going down Path #1… You liked the creator’s last work you read and Volume 1 was very good.  And then Volume 2 is fantastic. Yay! Sasamekikoto creator, Ikeda Takashi’s Futari ha Daitai Konna Kanji, Volume 2 (ふたりはだいたいこんなかんじ) is really good. SO much better than I hoped. With one exception.

Volume 1 introduced us to Sakuma, a script writer who seems to be best known for porn, and her lover Wako (called “Wanko” for her puppy-like qualities,) a young voice actress getting her start. They live together, have careers and are generally happy people. Spending time with them is…nice.

Volume 2 is more of the same. They start the volume off by getting ready for a flower-viewing party in the spring. When they arrive, no one is there, and they wonder if they got it wrong. but no…they are there in time to see everyone else arrive. And they have a lovely time.

Wako gets a job with two other women for an on-going series and her personality is perfect for the hyper younger sister she plays. The two other voice actresses tease her a little, but ultimately ask her if they can talk with her. After work, they tell her, in confidence, that they are actually lovers and want to to start a “Yuri” entertainment company with Yuri Drama CDs and the like… There is a laugh-out-loud moment as Wako enthusiastically explains that she’s *also* got a girlfriend and heck yeah, she wants in. The next panel is a night scene of the street, with words coming from the bottom corner, “Seriously?” It completely slayed me. Even crazier, Sakuma is a script writer…and, it turns out, one of the seiyuu has worked as a voice for one of her scripts!

We follow one of their friends who is quite gay. A person working on Wako’s new series remembers her from school and Sakuma’s birthday is coming up… . Sadly, the final chapter is that godawful “surprise birthday party” plot that I want to see burned with fire and the ashes locked away forever as forbidden.

Ratings:

Art – 9 Loose, light where it needs to be, realistic and well-formed where it needs to be
Characters – 9 I’d have them over for lunch anytime ^_^
Story – 8 Slice of not-my-life. 1 point off for the surprise party
Service – 5 Nudity and acknowledgement of sex, but not more. It’s more just like, knowing an adult couple as friends.
Lesbian – 10 and then sure, Yuri – 10

Overall – 9 Fun, relatable and way better than I anticipated, but that one point off for that goddamned awful surprise birthday party plot.

With the exception of causing trauma in order to create a surprise, which I just hate in real life and fiction equally, this was a fun, sincere and funny manga – especially when Ikeda let’s his characters be goofy. For my money, that’s when his work is at its best.

Also excellent is the running leitmotif of Wako, then Sakuma, having stress dreams about Wako being an idol. That felt way real.