Nerdlings! It was not my fault. Lest you think I don't have any accountability for Lovefool, Inc, I have gotten a few emails from Mr. BFF gently inquiring as to the whereabouts of this column and each one has made me purse my lips slightly and feel a little guilty. Because we've been a little spotty this summer, haven't we? It's just...I mean, I was writing a comic and doing stuff out there in the world and JG,FE has been in pursuit of higher learning, but we should be back in business from here on out.

 

But, you know, if I'm being honest, it might be a smiiiiiiiidge my fault because I'm convinced that JG,FE is the only person in the world who can get this every week and parse it into something that both resembles what I've turned in, which is pretty much like having a beer or four and a chat about feels with me, but also won't embarrass anybody. Technically, at least. There have been several times I've gone back and read what I've posted and winced. But I imagine doing those two things is a little more difficult than I acknowledge, since they require definitive knowledge of both me and Webster's rules. In fact, if I stop to think about it, between being the second set of eyes on this every single week and all the drinks I've had with him and Team Squishykins, JG,FE is probably one of my dearest friends.

 

And I'm sure part of that is because there's a certain amount of trust that goes into a longstanding partnership, which is what JG,FE and I have at this point. Lovefool, while not always like clockwork, has been going on for years now. Every week or so, he cheerleads and adds commas. He gives me recommendations. He applies just the right amount of guilt when I'm clearly screwing around and not writing. And he will occasionally give me a solid nudge outside of my comfort zone. Getting out of your comfort zone is considerably easier when it's something you maybe want to do, though. And the eponymous heroine of Nao Yazawa's Mizuki has far tighter borders than I do. I generally just need a bit of a nudge. To be fair, though, I just have to spill my guts. Mizuki turns into what her classmates charminly label a "monster."

 

Mizuki is the teenaged scion of a family of human-looking demonic supernatural police, forever intertwined with another family. Yazawa has covered some supernatural ground in the past with her long-running Wedding Peach, but Mizuki is a little more down-to-Earth. Sekito is Mizuki's partner, or will be, once she decides that this is something she actually wants to do. She's reluctant largely because, let's face it, teenage girls always have a crush on someone and it seems like turning into a demon may not necessarily be attractive to most dudes. At least that's what Mizuki thinks, and she's proven right, despite the fact that she's more a Sailor Moon-ish demon and a little less of a Bosch one.

 

Tch. Teenage boys.

 

Sekito, however, manages to talk Mizuki into doing her thing, despite it being social suicide. Her thing is getting supremely pissed off and channeling that into transforming into a super-badass demon so end up saving some teachers and the day. I couldn't help being a little impressed—this has a bit of a feminist twist. Sure, it's a little bite of a book so who knows what the future brings, but I was pleased to see Mizuki decide that she doesn't give a toss what her idiot classmates think, despite having a massive crush on one of them, and goes off to save her admittedly attractive partner from a nasty spider demon. And, goodness, does she do it with style and sass. I like Mizuki the character and Mizuki the book, despite the fact that we're kind of thrown into the action. The romance, to be fair, is kept to a minimum but is still an integral part of the story, which is deftly done. I mean, seriously, who needs dumb teenage boys?

 

The answer, of course, is “teenage girls” and, hey, look at that – Sekito is a teenage boy! We'll keep an eye on that. In the meantime, I'll keep wishing that I could do something useful, like turn into a demon, when I get irritated instead of just whining. And everyone I know will continue to be grateful that I can't. | Erin Jameson

 

For a free preview of Mizuki, visit https://www.emanga.com/reader?itemid=387&type=1#/page/1