cover image Anne Happy, Vol. 1

Anne Happy, Vol. 1

Cotoji. Yen, $13 trade paper (176p) ISBN 978-0-316-27217-9

Anne Happy, pronounced "unhappy," is a morbid yet lighthearted spoof of the "high school days" genre, a dark frolic that's a cross between Yotsuba&! and Assassination Classroom. Ruri Hibarigaoka has been placed into a high school classroom that focuses on its students finding happiness%E2%80%94because they've got such bad luck that they'll never make it in society. But Ruri is convinced she doesn't belong; she simply has a crush on a fictional character. She's forced to run a gauntlet of zany challenges to increase her luck, and her teammates, Anne (a walking catastrophe and eternal optimist) and Botan (an easily broken wreck), make Ruri's life just that much harder. But the power of friendship slowly starts to turn Ruri from disaster into a girl who can overcome her denial and fit in with real people. A larger plot introduced at the end will entice readers to look for future volumes. (May)