Brash and boyish with uncontrollable hair, Hanabi is not your typical shojo heroine. Yasuki, the cool and handsome love interest, conforms a little more to his stereotype, but his awkward avoidance and mistrust of girls makes an interesting contrast to Hanabi's dedication to standing up to the boys on behalf of her female classmates. Despite this role reversal, they share a fiery stubborn streak that keeps them on equal footing with one another and provides plenty of conflict and chemistry to fuel the plot.

Compared to most high school romances, Hanabi and Yasuki get together relatively quickly, already being comfortable with one another at the end of the first volume. The plot instead focuses on them developing their relationship and learning more about one another. The supporting characters provide further intrigue and spice to the story, and though they occasionally attempt to interfere with the romance from time to time, the honesty and trust between the two main characters always prevails. That's not to say this is a fairytale romance; both characters are reassuringly flawed -- Hanabi sometimes takes her role as protector of the girls too far, Yasuki can be cool to the point of cold dismissal, while both can be quick to jump to conclusions. Refreshingly, misunderstandings and disagreements are quickly and satisfyingly resolved thanks to the vocal nature of both characters, rather than being dragged out to the point of ridiculousness, and at only five volumes, it doesn't look like this series will get a chance to stagnate.

If you're looking for a fast-paced teenage romance with attitude, you can't go far wrong with Happy Hustle High.