Suki   Japanese title すき。だからすき Manga-ka/Author 猫井椿 Tsubaki (Mick) Nekoi (CLAMP) Genre drama, mystery, shoujo Volumes: 3 Distributor: Tokyopop Classification: U Originally serialised in Asuka Mystery DX Rating   Introduction to the story   Hinata (Hina) Asahi is a rather strange young girl. She's an academic genius, having been put forward into the first year of high school. She's also good at sports and cheerful, but she has one problem - she's incredibly naive. For an unknown reason, she also lives by herself with only her two teddy bears for companionship. All this is about to change, however, when a handsome stranger, Shiro Asou, moves in next door, and just happens to be Hina's new homeroom teacher. Right from the word go, Hina is completely smitten with Asou-sensei, but being so naive, she doesn't know what it is she's feeling. Hina's best friends Touko and Emi become worried when Asou-sensei appears to take more than a casual interest in Hina, visiting her house and walking her home from school. The mystery deepens when Hina meets 21 year old Tomoaki Namiya (an 'unsavoury acquaintance' of Asou-sensei) and the secretive Kizu who always accompanies him; both of whom seem to know more about Hina than they should. Overjoyed with her friendship with Asou-sensei, Hina is completely oblivious to his ulterior motives, and to the danger looming on the horizon.   My thoughts   Suki (also known as Suki Dakara Suki; I Like You, That's Why I Like You) is an incredibly cute and innocent series about the joys of young love and friendship, with an intriguing mystery story as an undercurrent. The style of this series may appear quite odd at first, and until the story comes to a culmination you're pretty much left in the dark with a lot of things, including as Asou-sensei's identity (a major plot point). However this is a very entertaining series and a quality offering by CLAMP's Tsubaki (Mick) Nekoi; and should appeal to all CLAMP fans.   Where to find it   Manga Suki has been released in full in English in three volumes. These are reasonably easy to find in most large bookshops (however, they are out-of-print!). Some Suki illustrations also appear in the CLAMP: South Side artbook.   Anime There is no Suki anime as of yet.   Related web sites   If you are interested in Suki, check these web sites out. http://www.tokyopop.com/S-1231 Suki at Tokyopop http://kamui_kun.tripod.com/Suki/sindex.htm A good Suki fan site http://like.subaru-kun.org The AnimeFanlistings.org approved fanlisting for Suki