In the past, you've heard me share all sorts of strange, mostly unknown anime or manga. I admit, my tastes in the mediums are extremely particular, and often enough I am alone in liking what I do. This time, I'll be talking at length about my absolute favorite manga (and its less than stellar anime adaptation): Mahoraba!

Before we dive into it all, in the spirit of this holiday season, I'd like to give out best wishes and blessings beforehand. My goal with this entry is not only to give you an entertaining reading experience, but also inform you of Mahoraba and touch upon practically every major (and many minor) plot points in both versions. If you do not wish to experience this wondrous manga in this fashion, do not read beyond the marked passage up ahead. I'll give fair warning before I start touching on the plot points proper.

I discovered Mahoraba a few years ago, some time after coming across the highly addicting TV Tropes website. Upon entering the Panty Shot page (don't you go judging, now), you're treated to a screen capture from Mahoraba's anime adaptation. Ever curious, I followed the link to the manga/anime's page. I only had to read the short concept blurb to know this was something to check out.

(Regardless of this photo, there is no blatant fanservice in this manga.)

Mahoraba, created by Akira Kojima (a personal role model of mine as a writer), is a story centered on two primary characters, their budding relationship and romance, and the inevitable happy ending to follow. What one never expects going into this tale is the sheer amount of heartache that one must endure before that happy ending. Never before had I been so moved to tears when reading or watching something.

Originally serialized in Square-Enix's Monthly Gangan WING between Janurary 2000 and July 2006, this is a pretty old series. I almost regret not having discovered it sooner. The anime adaptation started in January 2005, and ended in July of that same year. As is expected, the anime's ending is somewhat different from that of the manga. I'll touch on the differences and how they both worked and didn't by comparison at the very end of this blog.

Mahoraba's tale focuses on Shiratori Ryushi, a young man who moves into an apartment in the heart of Tokyo as he attends art school. His dream is to become a children's book author; in an effort to both strike out on his own and be closer to his school, he decides to move out of his parents' home. The decision is abrupt, but fortunately his mother knew of a place he could stay at. The apartment is actually owned by a second cousin of his, a teenage beauty by the name Aoba Kozue. Smitten from day one, Shiratori is instantly optimistic about his new life in Narutakisou (the apartment's name).

Right off the bat, I will say that, as far as main characters go, Shiratori is quite possibly one of the oddest choices. It's not that he's a poorly written character, or is out of place; far from it. He fits the typical male protagonist of Japanese situational pieces almost to a T. However, compared to the rest of the cast, he is by and far the most normal, and ultimately the most boring of the cast. The reasoning for this is made clear much later in the tale, however.

Our leading lady, on the other hand, is the true star of this show. Kind-hearted, well-mannered, beautiful, though a little ditzy; Kozue embodies perfection for Shiratori. However, from the first pages of the manga, it is hinted that Kozue is ill in some manner. This is quickly revealed to be MPD, multiple personality disorder. Emotional shocks tend to cause the sudden shift in personalities, which is usually played for laughs. Her personalities are all unique characters in and of themselves, so they'll be described as they show up in the tale. The cause for this disorder is the ultimate mystery of the tale, and isn't revealed until the very end.

Shiratori and Kozue aren't the only residents of Narutakisou, though. A large and colorful cast of characters also reside within the walls of the old complex. While at first glance they all seem to fit the typical tropes and roles, trust me when I say no one (aside from Shiratori) is as shallow as they appear. Even the most minor characters outside the Narutakisou residents get some level of development normally reserved for main characters.

The first resident Shiratori meets with is Momono Megumi. A bespectacled beauty with a bit of a drinking obsession, Momono's actual occupation isn't ever actually revealed throughout the course of either version (leading one to question how she makes enough money to support her habit). Momono is a huge fan of cheesy horro, and is always the first to come up with Narutakisou's totally random activities. It's also her fault that poor Shiratori fails to get any sleep his first few nights in Narutakisou, thanks to her wild parties in his very room.

Chanohata Tamami, Kozue's best friend and next door neighbor to Shiratori, is a far greater threat to our weak-willed protagonist. If Momono is the first to come up with any random scheme, Tamami is there to make it all happen; by force, if necessary. Despite being of smaller stature than most of the other residents, Tamami possesses incredible strength, agility, and intelligence. And she puts all of this to use in the most unproductive of tasks, typically to make Shiratori's life a little more miserable. Being Kozue's best friend, she is overly protective of her, and doesn't take kindly to Shiratori at first.

The Kurosaki family, consisting of the mother Sayoko and daughter Asami, live across from Shiratori on the other end of the courtyard. These two are broke beyond belief, and while Sayoko is consistently attempting suicide to escape from it all, Asami is always cheerful and optimistic. Their room is filled with nothing but cardboard boxes, which they use for everything (from beds to bedding, tables to closets). A notable difference in the anime adaptation is Sayoko's behavior. While in the manga she makes several attempts to hang herself, in the anime this was removed entirely (for pretty obvious reasons).

The final resident of Narutakisou is Haibara Yukio. A silent writer, he spends most of his time out in the courtyard fishing (despite the pond not actually having any fish). To communicate with the rest of the world, Haibara makes use of a dog hand puppet named Ryuusei Johnny. Through ventriloquism, "Johnny" speaks for Haibara, oftentimes referring to Haibara as the prop. His reasons for doing all this aren't even questioned throughout either adaptation, but are eventually explained.

(From this point on, we delve into later characters and plot points. Spoilers abound from here on out, so continue at your own risk!)

On Shiratori's very first day in Narutakisou, he had the distinct fortune (be it good or bad) of witnessing Kozue shift personalities before his very eyes. The first of these personalities is Akasaka Saki, a tough-as-nails brawler possessing immense strength. Her first encounter with Shiratori isn't under ideal conditions (thanks in part to delightful misunderstandings so common in Japanese storytelling), but she quickly warms up to him. Despite her attitude and gruff nature, she cannot hold her liquor at all, and has an irrational fear of butterflies.

The very next day, Shiratori has the pleasure of meeting Kozue's second personality after a spring wind blows up her skirt in front of the lucky Shiratori. This next personality is Kanazawa Nanako, a cheerful and curious six-year old. This new personality comes with her share of troubles for Shiratori; where Saki constantly threatened him, Nanako only wishes to play with him. Most of the other residents normally don't mind keeping her company, but even they have things to do and can't always tend to the needy personality.

The childlike innocence in Kozue's body is a dangerous mix for the fidgety Shiratori, though.

Early on, we are also introduced to even more characters from Shiratori's school life. The most prominent of these characters is Shirogane Miyabi, Shiratori's teacher. A personal favorite character of mine, Shirogane has a perpetual smile on her face, and with it she constantly strikes fear in the hearts of her students. Her running gag is the mysterious punishment closet, where she takes any student that has the gall to not complete homework assignments. What happens in the closet is never revealed, but characters always seem to come out stunned stupid. Use your imagination as to what happens in there... it's what I do.

Amane Mizuho (red hair) and Aizawa Risona (glasses) are Shiratori's female school friends. The characters' names aren't ever given in the manga or anime, and are referred to as Nail bat and Homo-suki, respectively. Aizawa aspires to become a children's book author as well as Shiratori, but her artistic strength lies in more provocative imagery. She also has a fascination with homosexual fantasies. Amane, on the other hand, gets her nickname from the weapon she carries (a nail bat for the manga, toned down to a megaphone for the anime). Like her friends, she aspires to become a children's book author, but seems to lack the artistic ability.

Shiratori's last friend from school is Yamabuki Tsubasa, otherwise known as Erofreak. Similar to Aizawa, he might just be in the wrong course, as his desire is to draw hentai, which as you might guess, isn't appropriate for children. His tendency to turn in such obvious material to Shirogane-sensei often gets him the closet treatment. Tsubasa gets the most prominent development and spotlight out of Shiratori's school life group, typing in with a gag in a future chapter.

With the major players and some of the minor ones introduced to the reader, Mahoraba gets right to work with the setting. Before this chapter, Narutakisou, the very apartment where the tale unfolds, has been something of a labyrinth making sense only to the characters living within. Momono decides to play a game of Hide & Seek, and makes Shiratori it to help him get acquainted with the residence. The game allows both Shiratori and the reader to become familiar with Narutakisou, though I won't spoil the outcome of the game.

During an outing with Shiratori, Kozue changes personality again to Saki, leading to more hijinks and pain for the frail-yet-resilient Shiratori. During this event, we see a softer side of Saki, one that cares deeply for others despite the embarrasment attached to it. While on the surface you could write it off as "jerk with a heart of gold", I see it more as Kozue's own personality shining through the Saki exterior. This is also the point where we learn of Saki's butterfly phobia (which has a name, I'm sure), and is the trigger for Kozue's persona to return to the surface.

Now earlier I mentioned how every character, both major and minor, get various levels of development. The first character to receive this treatment is Asami, Sayoko's twelve-year old daughter. During a stressful day (and multiple attempts at committing suicide by Sayoko), Asami confides in Shiratori that she's actually Sayoko's adoptive daughter.

She was the daughter of Sayoko's husband, and had no blood relation to her adoptive mother. Their time together as a family was brief, as an accident claimed the father's life. Alone with Asami, Sayoko was forced to endure years of unmatched labor and hardship to support them. Feeling somewhat responsible for everything Sayoko had to go through, Asami begins questioning her mother's love for her.

Shiratori pulls through and snaps Asami out of her funk. He reassures her, and reminds Asami that regardless of Sayoko's childish antics, the two rely on each other immensely to get by. To wrap up, Shiratori recommends Asami bring these concerns to Sayoko instead. From afar, the rest of the Narutakisou residents watch, and begin to trust Shiratori even further. We see at last why Shiratori isn't going to be given any heavy backstory; he is there to help the other characters overcome their own demons.

Later that night, Sayoko approaches Asami. She had also overheard them talking, and tells Asami that she is definitely not to blame for everything that has happened. The girl is overcome with a mixture of joy and tears.

Kozue's third personality finally makes an appearance at this point, the shy-but-talented Konno Natsume. In all the time Kozue's had her MPD, no one has gotten Natsume to open up, or so much as speak. Therefore, leave it to Shiratori to finally be the one to get the shy girl talking! Much like Saki's mysterious strength, Natsume's unique talent is her magic; she is somehow a magician capable of producing boquets out of thin air and also teleporting at will in a puff of smoke. Once the other residents find out they can speak with Natsume, they wildly jump at the opportunity. The shy girl doesn't take kindly to this at first, but with Shiratori's help, gets to know the other residents.

Seeing how Shiratori is capable of relating to anyone so easily, Momono decides to make use of Narutakisou's newest toy. She invites him on a date, which naturally gets Shiratori all jittery. She takes him out to lunch, to see a movie, and just hang out for the day together. Momono even goes the extra mile to look her best for the date, which would leave you to believe she's fallen for Shiratori.

However, at the end, we finally learn that the entire date was a test not for Shiratori, but Momono. She was testing her own dedication to her boyfriend, who is currently living in Europe. Were she not truly in love, she'd have fallen for Shiratori in a heartbeat.

While Tamami's life pretty much revolves around Kozue (implicationed be darned), there is one other person that torments her existence at school. The Occult Research Club President, believed name to be Erika Vermillion, is a frequently recurring character and another one of my favorites. She is a girl with some strange issues plaguing her, from her odd speech patterns to her blank, lifeless eyes, and her masochistic streak. One day, she stops by Narutakisou to indulge in some tarot reading for the residents, which acts as foreshadowing for the events to come.

Click here for Part II!