Mod Note: This review was initially posted for the one-shot, Koi no Kamisama, and was subsequently merged into Koi no Kamisama.

Many people will be familiar with Komi Naoshi, as his series [i]Double Arts[/i] has proven to be highly popular. However, the mangaka has received far more critical acclaim for his various one-shot manga, the most famous of which is [i]Island[/i]. That said, it should be noted that his other one-shots are also extremely good, especially as Komi is able to bring a certain... uniqueness, to his stories.

Koi no Kami-sama is a good example of this.

The story is about Tsuchibe Taichi, a boy who is [i]obsessed[/i] with shoujo manga and love. However his quest for love has proven fruitless so far, especially as he has confessed to over 50 girls in his school, and been refused [i]every time[/i].

Enter Kinokura Yasuko, a pretty young girl who transfers into Taichi's class. Upon seeing her Tsuchibe immediately asks her to go out with him, and thus the battle (and I mean that quite literally), begins.

You see, Taichi has a rival for Yasuko's love, and that rival is the most fearsome of all....

The artwork for Koi no Kami-sama is fairly plain compared to Komi's Double Arts series, however as this is a one shot it works fairly well. The simplistic style for characters and backgrounds is definitely more suited to the comedy element in Koi no Kami-sama.

As this is a one-shot, there isn't really much in the way of character growth, however I [i]did[/i] find myself rooting for Taichi - a testament to the strength of the story. All of the character are rather simple on the whole, and there isn't any real depth to them (maybe a veneer here and there), however this is pretty much irrelevant on the whole as the manga is only 49 pages long.

I have to admit that I enjoyed this one-shot immensely. The idea behind it ranks right up there with the "what if my right hand [i]was[/i] actually my girlfriend" concept for Inoue Kazurou's [i]Midori no Hibi[/i], and the comedy is a great mixture of slapstick and visual gags.

I'd recommend this to any fan of Komi's work, as it's shows another side to the mangaka's talents. I'd also recommend this to any fan of shounen comedy, or shoujo manga, as it makes a nice change from the typical fare available today.

Koi no Kami-sama is a very good attempt to bridge the shounen-shoujo divide, and is a great way to spend a few spare minutes of your day.