My Heavenly Hockey Club Vol. #03

By Matthew Alexander     March 24, 2008
Release Date: November 27, 2007



Creative Talent
Writer/Artist:Ai Morinaga
Translated by:Athena & Alethea Nibley
Adapted by:Athena & Alethea Nibley

What They Say
During the hockey club's camping trip, Hana and Takashi find themselves lost in the jungle. Being alone in the wilderness with a hot guy should be a good thing, but this handsome boy is Hana's worst enemy! Can the two of them stop fighting long enough to survive?

The Review
Just in case you haven't figured it out yet, this series is about food, not hockey. Even with the lack of hockey, I'm still enjoying this series and volume three is better than the last. Sure some of the gags are classic standbys, but funny all the same.

The club is still in Okinawa, where they continue to ignore hockey and focus on BBQ's and soaking in the sun. Until Izumi gets the bright idea to go in search of the iriomote wildcat (we'll ignore the fact they're nocturnal). The search turns into an all out expedition with plans to camp in the woods. Not surprisingly, Hana hates the idea and complains the whole time. She even manages to get herself and Takashi separated from the rest of the group. This turns into a good section for character development as the focus shifts away from Izumi. Up till now, Takashi has seemed more like Izumi's sidekick/servant than his friend. It has also been difficult to determine how Takashi feels about Hana. However, their adventure seems to open his eyes to Hana's unique personality and perhaps soften her image a little. Then again, she did make him eat snake, so maybe he still sees her as a nuisance.

The group dynamics are shaken up a bit when Izumi's cousin, who loves him to death, shows up for a visit. Hana is forced to act as Izumi's fiancé, which leads to her dressing up in finery and learning proper etiquette. These things don't work to well with Hana's personality, resulting in plenty of comedic moments. However, the best chapter is the club trip to a decrepit mountain inn. The place is run by an elderly couple who quickly realize the boys of the club can be quite useful when it comes to the female clientele. So with a little bit of blackmail, the boys are forced to work as servants for the inn. Of course the women visiting the inn can't get enough of the bishies. Add a quick website for the inn with pictures of the boys in half dress and the inn swells with customers. Admittedly, this seems like a good thing from a hetero males point of view, but that quickly changes when the older women out compete the younger girls for the boys close attention. I shudder at the memory of the bath scene.

My Heavenly Hockey Club continues to be a worthwhile read with good art, an interesting story premise, and a goalie bag full of comedy. I enjoyed the chapter focused on Izumi and Hana, and I hope to see more chances for character development in the other club members. My one complaint is the use of 'meow' in the dialogue translation when the club is searching for the wildcat. I think fans are familiar enough with anime and manga to know the Japanese say 'nyah' and not 'meow',