well *that’s* confusing!

Today I was in the back room at the bookstore rewrapping dvds and admiring the new manga we got in for next week.  And, um, flipping through the new manga hard at work familiarizing myself with store product to better serve my customers.

One title I dismissed in the pile was Gatcha Gacha #1, since it came out ages ago and I didn’t really like it much.  Later the other manga girl at the store came by after doing her own perusing and told me she was going to buy it, much to my surprise.  Even more surprising?  It was actually a different book with a very similar title.  So, for the record:

Gacha Gacha by Hiroyuki Tamakoshi – Del Rey – Kouhei learns that his friend Kurara has multiple personalities.  Sometimes she’s sweet and wholesome, other times she’s sexy and pushy.  Kouhei helps Kurara keep her personalities secret from their classmates while fending off her advances, even though he finds himself falling for her.  More personalities appear as time goes on.  This is the one that I didn’t like.  Too many cheesecake poses and pouting and the plot seemed to be comprised of Kurara stripping and trying to seduce Kouhei then beating the crap out of him when she switches back to her other personality.  I’m not sure where the series is going, but I’m not planning on getting any more volumes.  My comic store friend thought it was cute, though. 

Gatcha Gacha by Yutaka Tachibana – Tokyopop – See the difference?  It’s a “T.”  I probably would have caught on that it was a different book if I had been looking at the cover instead of the spine, though.  The art isn’t really that similar.  I haven’t read this yet, but here’s the blurb on the back:  “Yuri has a big crush on Yabe, but Yabe has decided the only girl he will ever seriously date is Motoko.  So what’s the problem?  Yuri and Motoko are friends, and Motoko doesn’t want to have anything to do with Yabe!  But is she secretly harboring a crush on him, too?  Will they ever get this mess straightened out?  Only time will tell if love will tear these best friends apart in this hilarious love triangle – that may get another member!”

Weird Tokyopop note:  On their page they have “Gacchagacha,” “Gotcha Gotcha” and “Gatcha Gacha.”  Oi.  The last one is what’s actually printed on the book.

Edited to add the rest of the cover blurb, since it’s the only mention the poor Prez gets.