In a review of Spy Classroom: A Glint In Monika’s Eye, Sean Gaffney said, “Generally speaking a large chunk of fiction, especially fiction written for drama and starring teenagers, revolves around one major problem: the entire plot would not happen if only the characters would communicate with each other.”
To which I replied to the universe at large as I began reading Cheerful Amnesia, Volume 2, “Not just teenagers.”
In Volume 1, we met Arisa, a woman newly aware after amnesia and her long-time love Mari, who is struggling with this new, oddly clueless girlfriend. In Volume 2 of Cheerful Amnesia, by Tamamushi Oku (also creator of I Don’t Know Which Is Love), the struggle continues, getting ever stupider and needing more and more imagining ridiculous complications by all parties to make it make any sense.
Dear readers, it never makes any sense.
It’s so senseless in fact that I considered just stopping midway this volume, as two adult women who share a home and a bed and mealtimes and all non-working hours of the day who just *cannot* find time to discuss their relationship after one of them had amnesia, was impossible to accept. It did prompt me to promise my wife of 41 years that if ever either of us had amnesia to just start from the beginning and not be like Mari.
Arisa I can kind of, almost forgive. In some ways she is a child again, relearning some things about life. There is no excuse for Mari, though. Imagining insane complicated nonsense instead of just asking “what are you doing?” is not funny. It’s deranged.
What is meant to be comedic but I found intolerable, was that they both want each other. They already live together and are lovers. There was literally nothing standing in their way, except a tortured plot device that screamed for help from every panel.
Thankfully, before this volume ended they have a fucking conversation. But they still don’t have sex. How hilarious. Will a conversation be enough to save the story? I guess we’ll find out as a copy of Volume 3 has landed on my doorstep and awaits reading. ^_^;
Ratings:
Art – 7 Noticably better than the first volume
Story – Maybe it will be better next volume
Characters – They are adults who need to grow up already
Service – Nudity should not be gasp-making, but amnesia, so it is
Yuri – 9
Overall – 7
If pointlessly unresolved sexual tension as comedy is your thing, then this series ought to tickle you pink. Jen McKeon’s translation does good work with Arisa’s endless cheerful cluelessness and Mari’s unshakable ability to guess wrong about mostly everything. Chiho Christie’s letter manages to retouch as often as possible, and uses a lot of bold, as Arisa….heavy sigh…shouts…almost every other page.
Fingers crossed that next volume moves forward a bit.
I am returned from a much-needed vacation in which I managed to do everything I wanted to – including meeting some Okazu staff and friends in London! We had a blast, thanks Ashley and Luce, Adam and Roo for coming in to chat. It was a delight to see you all. ^_^
