Yankee JK Kazuhana-chan is a series I started reading earlier this year, and I’ve been taking it slow, just a few volumes here and there when I have the time. It’s your classic romcom with ecchi elements, following Hodaka Saotome, the only male student enrolled at Motoshiro Prefectural School, who ends up getting bullied by various girls during his first few days there.

Each time things go bad, he’s saved by Hanako Kuzuryuu, a beautiful blonde “delinquent” girl with a surprisingly kind and gentle heart beneath her tough exterior. As the story progresses, Hodaka gradually gets to know more of the girls at the school, and as they grow closer, the series fills up with plenty of lighthearted, funny, and occasionally ecchi moments.

What’s that? You’ve heard this kind of setup before? Yeah, it’s definitely extremely commonplace in both anime and manga. It’s the kind of formula that’s been around forever, but when it’s done right, it still works. And in this case, it’s executed really well. 

Yankee JK Kazuhana-chan is the kind of manga that doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, it just wants to give you some fun, feel-good entertainment after a long day, and it absolutely succeeds at that.

Hanako makes for a great main heroine, and it’s pretty obvious she’s the one destined to “win” in the end. Still, I actually find myself drawn more to some of the minor heroines. Kasumi Takae gets surprisingly interesting as the story goes on, but my favorite so far is probably Madoka Tsuruhashi, there’s just something about her personality that stands out.

What really surprised me, though, is how long the series has been running. It’s already up to 28 volumes and still ongoing in Japan. That’s quite a feat for a romcom series of this kind, so the author must be doing something right to keep readers hooked for that long.

Anyway I'll keep reading this and probably make another post or two if I find some volumes particularly interesting.