Times Two by Shouko Akira is a 200-page long graphic novel containing five short stories about high school romance and the complications involved. This book was first published in Japan by Shogakukan, Inc. in 2002 by the title of Kakeru Ni. Times Two was released in the United States on March 8, 2005 by VIZ Media, LLC.
My Review:
Times Two is seriously one of the best manga I've ever read. It's sweet, simple, and made me want to read it over again and again. What about it made it so great? I'd have to say that it was the way Shouko Akira was able to write such great stories in less than 40 pages each.
My favorite stories were Love at First Touch, Second Impression, and Baby Universe.
Times Two has one of the most perfect blends of high school romance, without being too serious or too unrealistic. This book is definitely worth buying and reading multiple times.
Review from Amazon.com:
5 Stars for 5 Sweet Stories
Reviewer: Kristen DiCaprio "manga enthusiast"
Times Two is a collection of stories about high school students falling in love. It's very sweet, fluffy, and innocent without being overly sappy.
The titles of the stories are Love at First Touch, Expiration Date 2001, Second Impression, Frequency, and Baby Universe.
My favorite of the five is Frequency. It's about a straight-forward girl named Kaori who one day wakes up with the ablility to hear the thoughts of Morihiro, the class representative and model student. She realizes that the real Morihiro is very different from the perfect boy he pretends to be.
I really liked this manga's stories, but the art is nice as well. It's not amazing, but the details are simple and clean. There were, however, a few panels that wowed me. Overall: short, sweet, and worth the $10 I paid for it.
