Happy Cafe, Vol. 1 [Paperback]

Kou Matsuzuki (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 29, 2009

Romance and happiness blossoms at the Happy Cafe! Uru takes her mother's remarriage as an opportunity to work part time at the Happy Cafe. There, she befriends Ichirou and Shindou, two of the most unsociable guys she's ever met! To make matters worse, it turns out that Uru is not exactly meant for the waitressing world, as she's a huge clutz. But as this hilarious shojo tale unfolds, true happiness - and even true love - lurk just around the corner.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: TokyoPop (December 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1427817308
• ISBN-13: 978-1427817303
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #921,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The place to be happy, December 31, 2009

By 

Zack Davisson "japanreviewed" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Happy Cafe, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

I once heard an anecdote where director Frank Capra (It's a Wonderful Life) was accused by a critic of only making simple feel-good movies. Capra's response was something along the lines of "What's so bad about just making people happy?"

That's pretty much the same answer I have for enjoying "Happy Café" (Japanese title "Shiawase Kissa San-chome" or "Happy Café in the 3rd District." This is not a ground breaking series, or terribly original or well done, but somehow reading it...makes me happy. And what's so bad about that?

The series starts off with the spunky gal Uru heading to the door of the Café Bonheur. Uru is sixteen years old, and recently left her home to try and live by herself due to her mother getting re-married to a twenty-nine year old man. Uru wants her mother to be happy and thinks she will be getting in the way at home. Answering a local flyer, Uru is hunting for a job at the Café Bonheur, and hopefully some happiness to go along with it. In the café, she meets the two other employees. Shindo is a cold and somewhat harsh guy, but whose skill at preparing the dainty sweets of the shop reveal another side to him. Ichiro is much more open and lively but has his own quirks as well.

In fact, "quirks" go along way in creating the atmosphere for "Happy Café." Aside from the simple story, all of the characters are odd in their own little way. Uru is a small girl, who everyone mistakes for an elementary school kid, but she is freakishly strong. Uru has a hard time working in the café because she keeps breaking everything she touches. Ichiro only stays awake so long as he has food in his stomach, and keeping him fed is a running joke. Shindo likes to keep an aura of mystery about himself, but his small attacks of kindness show what lies between the surface.

In this first volume, some of the plots get resolved, like Uru and her step-father, as well as a new character being introduced in the form of Mitsuka, a girl so beautiful that Uru is blinded by her and keeps humming the theme to Cutie Honey whenever she comes by. A bit of romantic feelings start to blossom between Uru and Shindo, but just enough to give you a taste of things to come.

Like the story, the art in "Happy Café" is simple, but perfect to the story. Shindo and Ichiro are pretty much twins except for their hairstyles, and the backgrounds are almost non-existent. Uru is really cute, and shifts from realistic to cartoony as the situation calls for it. Everything is kept light and happy, which is suited by the art style. The only thing I can really think of to compare it to is Yotsuba&! although "Happy Café" is different in style.

If you are looking for a comic that is just fun to read and makes you feel good, then "Happy Café" is going to do you good. Just don't expect depth, angst or any other clouds on a sunny day.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Parent's Review, For Tweens and Under, March 26, 2010

By 

E. A. Montgomery (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Happy Cafe, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

(What's this?)

My manga experience is limited to previewing titles for my 6 & 10 year old Manga fanatics. I'm not a fan of the genre for itself, so this review would be from a parent's perspective.

While the rating on this book is 13 and up, I think that the content is more appropriate to the reading interests of an 8 to 10 year old. There is mild suggested violence, but it's not even on the level of a Pokemon episode. There are teenagers living outside the home and a few flirtatious sentences. I think that only the most rigid parent of the pre-tween could object to anything in the book. The female lead has moved out at 16 and is trying to be self reliant, perhaps overly so. She's (of course) drawn to the moody loner at her job with a genial slacker serving as the counterpoint. If I had to pull a theme for the book it might be 'talk to your parents' as each problem seems to resolve around lack of communication and is solved or mitigated by the character speaking openly about how they feel.

I found it slight and forgettable, but my 10 year old did ask for further volumes in the series. I don't know if the age rating kicks in later, but my experience with the manga world is that they can be confusing and conservative in their rating system. She reads several other 13 and up series that have no objectionable content to my eyes. This is no Yotsuba, but it's a harmless diversion for a manga crazed youth.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much cuter than I thought it would be!, January 4, 2010

By 

ChibiNeko "Sooo many books, so little time!" (Whereever I go, here I am.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Happy Cafe, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

I admit it. When I first read the synopsis of this manga I rolled my eyes & thought "another stereotypical 'let's get the boy' manga". As some of my other reviews can testify, sometimes I'm proven wrong about my first initial impression of something. This manga was adorable. I'm not going to bother giving a manga synopsis as there's already another review here that does that quite well. I'm just going to jump to my review.

Frankly, I really enjoyed this manga. There were parts of it that made me smile and others that made me laugh out loud at how cute & silly they were. (Which got me a few odd stares in the bookstore.) I absolutely adored the main character Uru, who is a rather tomboyish & insanely strong young girl. Uru lives on her own due to her mother remarrying & thinking that she's bothersome to her mom & new father. The whole "on my own" thing isn't new & moving out under such circumstances isn't either, but somehow Uru just brings a whole new flavor to it.

I also liked the two male characters, Shindo (the main love interest) & Ichiro (eating machine). Now normally in many manga of this type, the fated relationship (& it's obvious that they're destined for each other) seems a little forced & "meet cute". The love building seems more natural in this book, although it still does fall under the "meet cute" category in many ways. Still, I like how Uru is willing to call Shindo out on many things rather than sit around & fret like so many other manga heroines do.

If you like cute, get this manga. It's one of the better romance comedy mangas I've read lately & it's something I believe I'll be buying within a week of each volume's release.