After only a few weeks between volumes, I have forgotten who most of the characters are and their relationships. It didn't really matter though, since nothing happened to really make progress in anything that could be called a plot. This volume just seemed to rework the same gags from previous volumes. The creator is just going to live in the status quo, I suppose. ( )

Sakura tries to be more appealing to Nozaki but just ends up behaving worrisomely. Kashima loses her voice and has others read her words for her, Mayu (Nozaki's little brother, who, judging by a quick image search, everyone ships with Mikoshiba) tries to depict judo moves using cute/hot girls from Mikoshiba's manga collection, Nozaki has to try to come up with something cute to put on merchandise for his series, Wakamatsu thinks Kashima is Seo's hot boyfriend (and maybe two-timing Sakura), everybody goes to the beach and all the guys lose their swim trunks because of Seo, and then there's a bit about manga cover illustration. Oh, and we get a flashback to Sakura's love for Nozaki before the start of the manga, plus how they met.

Eh, it was okay. The swim trunks bit really made me laugh, though. "I based Mamiko's expressions on Mikoshiba's. It was the perfect mix of despair!" Oh, Nozaki. Anything and everything is fodder for his manga.

I also really liked the bit about manga cover illustration. This series is really at its best when the humor is directly related to manga creation. I felt a bit bad for Mamiko, who was stuck putting tanuki on her covers even though Maeno isn't her editor for those, just because people thought she's the one who likes them.

The bit about Mayu trying to illustrate judo moves made me wonder if he might get added to Nozaki's roster of assistants. Probably not, since he's so utterly lazy, but he seemed to have enough talent to be useful.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) ( )