The shoujo standard.

There’s really nothing remarkable about the artwork or presentation of Monkey High volume 2. It has a simplistic art style that focuses more on the emotive aspect of the story rather than heavy uses of detailed backgrounds and other panels. This means a lot more attention is given to the characters and their dialogue rather than anything else, which isn’t necessarily bad. It’s artistic style does remind me of other manga, such as Hana Yori Dango (“Boys Over Flowers”) and Mars. I will say this, the creator Shouko Akira did give more detail into character designs and clothing than most manga creators (in general) do. I think—as the creator explains in the biographical extra comics she inserts—that this is because at this point Akira didn’t think she had a popular series on her hands. Popular mangas tend to be more simplistic than even this, due to having to meet frequent and tight deadlines. I think this actually helps Monkey High in that you can almost feel the effort going into it as you read. I also like that she’s added in a small side-story featuring Masaru’s sister Misato. In fact, it may have been just as enjoyable as the primary story, if not moreso. And, as I mentioned before, the creator always puts in quick autobiographical comics at the end of each book, just for some added humor and insight into the book’s creative process (or its stresses, as the case may be).

Mr. Tally Man, tally me bananas.

Overall, Monkey High is a series that’s starting to grow on me. Volume 2 is an improvement over the first, because it seems to slow the story’s pace down slightly so that you can have more insight into the characters. I also really enjoyed the side-story about Misato at the end, and it left me wondering if maybe she (Misato) shouldn’t have her own series. But regardless, Monkey High is an average shoujo manga, and good for some light reading on a rainy day. It’s definitely worth looking into and adding to your collection. It’s a charming account of high school classmates getting to know one another, and cute story of a girl trying to figure out how the heck she fell for a monkey like Masaru.