Dance Till Tomorrow (あさってDANCE) is an ecchi romantic comedy manga by Yamamoto Naoki. The series was compiled into 7 tankoubon and originally published between 1989 and 1990.
Terauchi Suekichi wakes up the day after his great grandfathers wake to a raging hangover and an unknown woman in his apartment. Before he can figure out who she is and piece together how he got home he has to throw up. When he returns from the bathroom the woman is gone. He continues on with his day, wondering who she was. A college student, working part time and part of a struggling theater troupe, Suekichi is hard up for money and is being pulled in multiple directions. When he returns home he finds the woman and an older gentleman waiting for him. The man identifies himself as Tachimi and informs Suekichi his great grandfather left him an inheritance of four and a half million dollars. He has to meet a few requirements set by his late great grandfather first though; finish college, get a job and get married...then its all his.
The biggest problem, aside from meeting all of the requirements, is the mystery woman. Identifying herself as Hibino Aya her sudden and unexpected appearance could only mean she is after the inheritance. Tachimi doesn't trust her and urges Suekichi to stay away from her. Unfortunately for him she's taken a liking to him and continues to show up on his door step, seducing him with her body and keeping her true identity a mystery to him. Unable to get rid of her and succumbing to his carnal instincts he can't really shake her off. He doesn't trust her, believing Tachimi's fears about her motives. But is that all there really is to Aya? On top of all the requirements to inherit the money he has to negotiate through life with the mysterious woman who drops her clothes at the drop of a hat.
This series was a turning point for me when it came to romantic comedies. I had previously gotten to enjoy more action based stories like Ranma 1/2, but this was the first slice of life romantic comedy that got me hooked...and it wasn't all for the sex scenes, which there are a lot of. The way the characters were written kept me coming back for more. Suekichi is one of those characters designed to fulfill the readers desires. He's young, ends up in what is ultimately idyllic situation and has a hot girl throwing herself at him; the kind of thing guys want. Yet at the same time he's apprehensive, suspicious and just plain can't get his act together. Half of his problems stem from Aya and her mischief, but the other half stems from him being unable to focus and commit to anything.
This is a fantastic story with some great characters and at times some good artwork...other times the artwork is a little weird, but for the late 80's its pretty good. The story is free of all the baggage romantic comedies are full of today. He's not some inexperienced high school kids surrounded by a gaggle of formulaic female interests. There aren't any rote story arcs or passe plot holes. It's a light hearted and at times serious story about some flawed people, some of which like to fuck...a lot. The ecchi isn't over bearing either, even if some chapters are pretty gratuitous, its not over done. I may be biased as I have been a fan of this manga for a loooooong time, but most of the romantic comedies, ecchi or otherwise, don't hold a candle to this story in terms of characters, plot and exposition.
It was originally released in North America as part of Viz's manga magazine Pulp. They also released all of it in tankoubon format.
Terauchi Suekichi wakes up the day after his great grandfathers wake to a raging hangover and an unknown woman in his apartment. Before he can figure out who she is and piece together how he got home he has to throw up. When he returns from the bathroom the woman is gone. He continues on with his day, wondering who she was. A college student, working part time and part of a struggling theater troupe, Suekichi is hard up for money and is being pulled in multiple directions. When he returns home he finds the woman and an older gentleman waiting for him. The man identifies himself as Tachimi and informs Suekichi his great grandfather left him an inheritance of four and a half million dollars. He has to meet a few requirements set by his late great grandfather first though; finish college, get a job and get married...then its all his.
The biggest problem, aside from meeting all of the requirements, is the mystery woman. Identifying herself as Hibino Aya her sudden and unexpected appearance could only mean she is after the inheritance. Tachimi doesn't trust her and urges Suekichi to stay away from her. Unfortunately for him she's taken a liking to him and continues to show up on his door step, seducing him with her body and keeping her true identity a mystery to him. Unable to get rid of her and succumbing to his carnal instincts he can't really shake her off. He doesn't trust her, believing Tachimi's fears about her motives. But is that all there really is to Aya? On top of all the requirements to inherit the money he has to negotiate through life with the mysterious woman who drops her clothes at the drop of a hat.
This series was a turning point for me when it came to romantic comedies. I had previously gotten to enjoy more action based stories like Ranma 1/2, but this was the first slice of life romantic comedy that got me hooked...and it wasn't all for the sex scenes, which there are a lot of. The way the characters were written kept me coming back for more. Suekichi is one of those characters designed to fulfill the readers desires. He's young, ends up in what is ultimately idyllic situation and has a hot girl throwing herself at him; the kind of thing guys want. Yet at the same time he's apprehensive, suspicious and just plain can't get his act together. Half of his problems stem from Aya and her mischief, but the other half stems from him being unable to focus and commit to anything.
This is a fantastic story with some great characters and at times some good artwork...other times the artwork is a little weird, but for the late 80's its pretty good. The story is free of all the baggage romantic comedies are full of today. He's not some inexperienced high school kids surrounded by a gaggle of formulaic female interests. There aren't any rote story arcs or passe plot holes. It's a light hearted and at times serious story about some flawed people, some of which like to fuck...a lot. The ecchi isn't over bearing either, even if some chapters are pretty gratuitous, its not over done. I may be biased as I have been a fan of this manga for a loooooong time, but most of the romantic comedies, ecchi or otherwise, don't hold a candle to this story in terms of characters, plot and exposition.
It was originally released in North America as part of Viz's manga magazine Pulp. They also released all of it in tankoubon format.
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