by Alison L. Roberts

Although he is new to the city, student Yuu Aimu knows there has to be a catch when he manages to find a boarding house with unusually cheap rent.

He soon discovers the affordable rent has less to do with the Yaninarisou building's architectural and maintenance issues and more to do with its unusual tenants — an assortment of very friendly, ghostly and human eccentrics.

Before he became known for Futaba-kun Change, Hiroshi Aro made a splash with You & Me, a supernatural comedy about a seemingly normal student who finds his life complicated by neighborhood busybodies … one of whom just happens to have otherworldly attributes.

A very attractive, female ghost named Mii leads the apartment house's welcoming committee and decides, in short order, the slightly nerdy Yuu would make the perfect roommate. From there, she proceeds to alternately terrify him and play pranks on him.

This is no surprise to the house's other inhabitants, who frequently serve as Mii's accomplices. Teruaki Hinata is a very gloomy character whose name means "overflowing with sunshine." A very tough-looking, masculine man, An Ogura, is actually a shoujo (girls') comic artist. Gouda, a perpetual student who has been trying to get into a prestigious junior high school (for eight years!), resembles "Cousin It" from TV's The Addams Family. Sales clerk Mari is actually a retired women's wrestler who went by the stage name "Bloody Mari." And their landlord has a curious habit of wearing medieval body armor during his continual quest to actually collect rent from his tenants.

Aro's slapstick humor — which offers occasional bits of "fan service" for male readers — is of a gentle, almost innocent variety. (After all, the protagonist is a teenager who freaks out, instead of leering, when he walks in on his "roommate" while she is changing.) Although the comedy of the first three comic issues has a situation feel, I get the impression that, as the story continues through the remaining five volumes, it will become more character driven, as readers discover the backgrounds and histories of Yuu and his ghostly companion.

If you're in the mood for high-spirited highjinks — or if you're a fan of Aro's other works — you'll want to take a look at You & Me.