▪	RELEASED BY:		DEL REY
		▪	AUTHOR / ART:		AI MORINAGA
		▪	FORMAT:		JAPANESE / B&W
		▪	PAGES:		181
		▪	RATING:		T
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		08/28/2007
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		10/06/2007
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		SCOTT CAMPBELL

Hana Suzuki has it good: She’s the only girl in the Grand Hockey Club, and all the other members are super-hot guys. My Heavenly Hockey Club is the humourous story of Hana coming to terms with her new club and the antics they get into as a group. But the dream may be over. If the Hockey Club doesn’t win its next match, the school will disband it! Hana and the boys are pretty much the worst hockey players ever. Can they get their act together in time to save the club? Hopefully, because otherwise there won’t be a next volume!

If you didn’t already know, it’s important to note that this story 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. With the way things are going now, it’s about time they whip out that instruction manual and get really serious. What may have started out as a front for this group just having a good time and traveling to hot springs and the like is about to become a serious field hockey team, or no field hockey team at all.

The humour of this series is still very much alive, even if the situation the club is in is getting a bit more serious. There’s no need to overcome high school troubles without a multitude of laughs to ease the pain of it all. The art continues to be very good – lots of crazy stuff, and details that add to the visual comedy. The density of the art really sticks out as being unique – each page has layer upon layer of characters, background, and general craziness. It’s very enjoyable to look at as you read along – every manga should be this way!

The end of the book again 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. And there are plenty of jokes flying in this series – so it’s extra nice to be able to read about the intricacies of them in a translation notes section. Good thinking Del Rey! This series has been a lot of fun so far – hopefully the next book is just as good (and doesn’t take too long to get here!).

IN SUMMARY: 
My Heavenly Hockey Club looks like just another sports/comedy manga on the outside, but once you get into it you’ll see it offers so much more than you’d think. This book is funny! It brings on so many inherently hilarious situations, it’s impossible not to get a laugh or two out of it.