Swweeet

susumu hayashi, his twin brother tsutomu and sakura toyama are childhood friends. tsutomu disappeared when he was ten years old. then two years later, he reappeared—this time only in front of susumu. and what’s more, from inside a mirror! now, events that no one has ever experienced take place in this bizarre love triangle!! aoyama’s love story starts off with a twist: the twin brothers susumu and tsutomu have been friends with the girl sakura since they were kids. but when tsutomu mysteriously disappears at the age of ten, susumu and sakura begin to drift apart. what sakura doesn’t know: tsutomu has returned, not as a person, but as the mirror image of susumu. that is, whenever susumu looks in a mirror, he sees his brother who talks to him. thus begins a bizarre love triangle between sakura, who torments the poor susumu as much as she is being tormented by her peers, susumu, who keeps thinking he has to save sakura because he likes her, and tsutomu, who despite being stuck in a mirror pulls everyone’s strings. aoyama’s lively narrative and her beautifully rich artwork lend this strange story a surprisingly charming touch. considering that swweeet is her first series, it’s amazing how well she did her job. from the paneling to the layout to the pacing, everything is excellently executed. if you like unusual and exotic youth love stories, you should definitely give swweeet a try.