Monkey High Volume Three by Shouko Akira

Haruna Aizawa had a scornful view of the cliques in High School, comparing them to monkeys on a mountain, jockeying for position, each monkey wanting to be the one on top. So when her politician father took a tumble from his high position by being indicted in a corruption scandal, her life was shattered, and to save some face, she transferred to her new school. Little did she know that her new school had a boy who actually resembled a baby monkey! His name was Macharu, and Haruna found herself charmed by his energy and honesty and good-heartedness, and she ended up becoming his girlfriend.

Now it's Valentine's Day, and of course, Macharu's friend Atsu, the class Prince, gets bombarded with chocolates, but when Haruna says she didn't bring any for Macharu, Macharu gets ribbed by his fellow classmates for not measuring up to Haruna's high standards, or even being good enough to get chocolate! But when a heart-shaped box of chocolates is found in Macharu's desk, everyone at first assumes that Haruna lied and the chocolates came from her. But when she continues to deny it, everyone wonders who else would give a boy who looks like a baby monkey chocolates.

But when the class student council's chocolates, bought as a snack, disappear, now the class has two questions to answer: who gave Macharu Chocolate, and who stole the Council's chocolates. Can the class track down the culprit or culprits responsible for the chocolates appearing and disappearing, and who will they be?

And at the end of the school year, Haruna and Macharu must deal with the fact that they may not be in the same class next year. Will they be able to maintain their relationship if they aren't in each other's company so much? And the elections for a new student council comes up and the class wants Haruna to be the President. But if she becomes President, she'll have even less time to spend with Macharu. But who else in the class would be perfect for just such a position?

This is a fun series, and because the stories are longer, the stories themselves stay fresh. Macharu and Haruna are opposites in so many ways, but the way they are able to admire so much in each other is just a joy to read. With new ways to tear them apart and keep them together coming up in each volume, this is head and shoulders above other Shoujo Manga. Oh, and another thing that sets it apart is that it is usually the girl who is the more enthusiastic and emotional and the boy more reserved, and here, that formula is reversed, to great effect.

If you haven't yet tried this series, you should.