This is a novel written by a different author than the original manga author, as I mentioned in the novel 3 listing. Also, as I mentioned there, I read the last volume (3) before the first two.
I actually read most of this book a while back. I still have not finished it, however, even though I actually finished reading volume 2 already. The problem is the last chapter. It's tedious and boring. Since I was going to list volume 2, I'd figured I might as well list them all.
Excluding prologue and epilogue, there are four chapters in this volume. First chapter, "tomodachi no tsukuri-kata," "How to Make Friends," is about Kotarou's troubled times right after his mother's death. With help of Koboshi and Takashi (Ten-chan), Kotarou pulls himself out of a downward spiral of a life. Along the way, Koboshi's feelings toward Kotarou from the early days are explained. Also, Kotarou and Koboshi's first meeting with Ten-chan is described.
Second chapter, "tenkai de no warai-kata," "How to Laugh in the Heavens," is about Misha's ordeal after she causes (original) Kotarou's death, or at least she think that anyway. Apparently, she was practically a lost cause. Sasha literally forces her to go through some kind of a trial to gain a second chance. This is where she meets Usagi-tenshi. I found this chapter to be not all that interesting.
Third chapter, "ningenkai de no deai-kata," "How to meet in human world," is about Shia's encounter with a family of five--father, eldest sister, and three brothers. The family, without mother, was in an unhappy, but balanced state. Shia moves in temporarily as a helper and causes the balance to collapse. Of course, it's not Shia's intention to do harm. In the end, what she ended up doing was to bring the family to a much stronger and wider platform instead of barely balancing on top of a needle. That's all figurative talk, of course. I found it to be interesting.
Fourth chapter, "Rival no taoshi-kata," "How to defeat a Rival," is about Hiroshi (Dai-chan) training in order to defeat his rival, namely Takashi (Ten-chan). I found it to be unrealistic, boring, and even a bit annoying, which is why I have not finished reading it.
Unlike the third volume of the novel, which was a great work all around, I only liked chapters one and three in this book. 50% is still not too bad, I guess. Besides, books are CHEAP compared to DVDs.
