Soichiro Yamamoto

This mild but cute slice-of-life middle school battle of wits will probably appeal to fans of My Neighbor Seki. Each short chapter focuses on a new way for Takagi to tease her classmate Nishikata. There is gentle humor and hints of innocent romance as Nishikata is angered and embarrassed by by his failure to ever come out on top and confused by the other feelings he has stirring inside.

While still enjoyable enough in the moment, this is not the sort of series that I would really miss if the library stops buying new volumes. Each chapter is just a variation on the same theme. Nicely done, but highly repetitive. If a new one shows up, I'll pick it up, but I bet I'll need to check Goodreads first to make sure it isn't one of the ones I have already read.

Another gently humorous entry in this middle school battle of the wits/romance. This book is heavy on its status quo with each chapter being a complete gag that does little to advance the overall story.

I'm finding this series really cute. I love when stoic characters fall in love. Things are a bit repetitive, but you can see actual small progress.