▪	RELEASED BY:		DEL REY
		▪	AUTHOR / ART:		AI MORINAGA
		▪	FORMAT:		JAPANESE / BW
		▪	PAGES:		206
		▪	RATING:		T
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		05/29/2007
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		06/25/2007
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		SCOTT CAMPBELL

Hana Suzuki loves only two things in life: eating and sleeping. So when her classmate Izumi Oda (he’s rich and handsome) asks Hana – his major crush – to join the school hockey club, persuading her proves a difficult task. True, the Grand Hockey Club is full of good-looking boys (and one that looks like a girl…) – but given a choice, Hana prefers a sizzling steak to any date with a male. Izumi is persistent though, and mentions the field trips to fancy resorts. With that information entering her understanding, Hana can’t wait for the first away game, with the promise of delicious food and luxurious relaxation. What she may not have taken into account though is the getting up early, working hard, and playing well with a bunch of oddball boys. My Heavenly Hockey Club is the humorous story of Hana coming to terms with her new club and the antics they get into as a group. There’s also some romantic possibilities here too – all sure to play out later in the series!

It should be mentioned that this revolves around field hockey – not ice hockey. Although, despite the club being sports oriented, little time is spent on the sport in comparison to the laughs and the traveling to various resorts and such. In a way the club is nothing but a front for a group of students who want to hang out, enjoy the good life, and spend their time doing something – they seem like the “bored and rich” type. This is all very good for Hana as she gets to enjoy it too – but every now and then they do decide to get down to it and practice what field hockey is supposed to be all about. There are some very funny parts involving “team building” exercises from an instructional book – not to be missed!

This manga is one part comedy, one part romance, one part “sports manga”, and even throws in a little “coming of age/growing up” twist to it. It’s a good story with a lot of laughs – the interactions between the very different kinds of characters are so funny because in most normal circumstances none of these people would get along all that well. Hana wants to sleep and relax, while these guys want her up early to attempt to play field hockey and decide what hot springs to travel too - half of them are clueless by the way!

The art is good, though nothing revolutionary. It follows a good clean setup, appearing like a lot of shojo type books, having a lot of wispy lines, hearts and flowers, and “pretty boys” galore. Not to say that a boy couldn’t read this – don’t forget about the wonders of humour, as laughter is universal! The art really shines when it comes to the characters themselves, all being well designed, and their facial expressions can get the point across every time. Hana’s expressions are especially funny – she spends plently of time expressing how much sleep she is losing when she lays her head on her desk, drooling, wishing she was home in bed! All the text is highly readable, and it’s nice to have the sound effects all translated right there on the page. Visually the manga is good – no real complaints there to speak of.

The end of the book includes an in-depth collection of translation notes and a preview of the next volume. It’s always an added bonus to have some revealing answers at the end of the book – especially explanations of some of the Japanese cultural jokes that may fly over most of our heads.

IN SUMMARY: 
This first volume of My Heavenly Hockey Club shows a lot of potential to be a good comedy, and maybe even a great story about relationships and romance. Fans of Ouran Host Club and other books of that nature should especially check this one out – it may be your next favorite series.