We Never Learn Volume One

In a futile attempt to broaden my diminishing horizons, I thought I'd read something I've never read before: a romance manga. Leave the classics to another day.

Written and drawn by Taishi Tsutsui, We Never Learn tells the story of high schooler Nariyuki Yuiga who is working desperately to win a scholarship because his family is poor, courtesy of a dead yet still inspirational parent. His principal agrees to give the desperate Yuiga the nomination for this salvational scholarship on the condition that he tutor first two, then three, other students.  Of course it isn't that easy, because these students are all superstars in their own fields but have terrible blind spots that Yuiga must overcome with his power of super-tutoring.

His charges include Fumino Furahashi, a wistful ace in humanities and creative writing who wants to study the sciences but freaks out over anything math related; Rizu Ogata, who is compared to a calculator because of her speed in finishing math problems, but of course wants a future in the arts field because she is perplexed by the one problem she can't solve: human emotions; and finally, Uruka Takemoto, who is maybe the best swimmer in the universe but has the attention span of a gnat.

This volume introduces each character and shows Yuiga's attempts to find a way to help them. We learn about their little quirks and peculiarities, from Fumino's belief that her dead mother is perhaps a star in the sky, Rizu's sad habit of playing games by herself, and Uruka having a crush on Yuiga,and her selfish desire to be liked by Yuiga more than he likes the others.

Uruka takes up most of the active romance angle here, since the others seem too wrapped up in themselves to even notice Yuiga as something other than yet another tutor. There are brief glimpses of  romantic insight as both Fumino and Rizu notice how kind Yuiga is, but their dedication to school soon eclipses that. In fact, other than Uruka, the only one who seems generally interested in Yuiga is his own sister, who freaks out at these new girls in her brother's life. Maybe it's a cultural thing.

In lieu of romance, though, we get quite a few jokes, most of which either centre around misunderstandings, (Yuiga tackles Uruka because of reasons,  which the others see as a rather forceful make out session)  mistakes that are interpreted as inappropriate (Uruka mistakenly sends Yuiga one of her swimsuits as a gift , which could be interpreted as a possible fantasy aid, since she is forever waltzing around in her Speedo,)  and/or boobs. To this end, there is helpful gradation of cup sizes for comedic purposes, with Fumino being the smallest, Uruka being larger and Rizu being so large that Yuiga's siblings take note and shout out how large her breasts are when they first meet her. Maybe it's a cultural thing.

(Or it's just an attempt to win over shonen readers who find this romance manga in their beloved Jump. A little from column A, a little from column B.)

We Never Learn is oddly enjoyable, with each chapter either highlighting a character insight with Deep Emotion or climaxing in yet another blushworthy inappropriate comment or unexpected physical entanglement. There are also actual study aids thrown into the mix, so a reader might actually learn something, when they aren't waiting for another full panel of Uruka's backside as she dives into yet another pool, or Rizu putting on a tight bathing suit, or Fumino taking a bath, or....