|| Afuresou na Pool ||

As the Pool Floods with Water
6 volumes
BL
Publisher: BeXBoy Comics
Mangaka: ISHIHARA Satoru

Other manga on this site by Satoru Ishihara: 38 Dousen, Charisma, Shounen wa Asu o Kurosu, Tokyo Boogie-Woogie, Watashi no Kakurega e Douzo, Yarouze!

Plot:
IRIYA Tetsuo was the nice, quiet kid that everybody knows. Until well-meant prodding on the part of HANADA Satoshi made him chose the 'easy' way out. He purposely failed the entrance exam to a good school, and picked fights so that he wouldn't have to be around Hanada anymore.

The last thing he expected or wanted was for strong-willed KIZU Ryouji to show any interest in him. The sparks fly between the two, while Iriya's best friend KASUGA Ryouta watches jealously....

What I Thought:
I like the art style, I like the characters, and the dialogue is easy for me to follow. It's a day-to-day kind of setup, so there's no strange, rare kanji or terminology. And all the Japanese Web Pages I've visited have given it high marks, so I'm not misinterpreting. Six volumes is her longest series, which is good because it didn't have the sudden-stop, unfinished feeling that some of her one or two volume works have.

I like Ishihara's stuff, because the ukes aren't complete wimps; they have backbone. Take IRIYA Tetsuo (seen in pic) -- he looks rather wimpy, but the manga opens with him taking on three guys, and winning by a laaaarge margin.

Characters :: Drama CD Info

Somewhat Detailed Summary:
Vol. 1 & 2 :: Vol. 3 & 4 :: Vol. 5 & 6

Translation:
Hikone Side Story
A 64-page short story on Hikone's past. We finally see behind his jokester exterior, and into his private life. In middle school he was on a reckless path to self-destruction, toying with the biker teams (gangs). And one day, he attacked the wrong team. Now their leader Takasu will teach Hikone a lesson he will never forget.
[Text translation]