Japanese Title: Ameiro Kouchakan Kandan

 

Genre: Yuri Comedy

Length: 2 volumes

 

Positives:

• Sweet, feel-good story.
• Side character Hinoka is funny.

Negatives:

• Needed more tension to hold attention.
• The art makes all the characters look like kids.

Seriho’s dream has always been to run a fancy teashop, but recent financial hardships threaten to close her teashop. With the help of her friends and most loyal customers, they work to save the teashop. Part-time employee Sarasa also has feelings for Seriho, but doesn’t know how to tell her.

Chatting at the Amber Teahouse is a simple, feel-good story for those interested in a manga as sweet as four teaspoons of sugar in a cup of Lipton. When revamping the teashop, the side character Hinoka is particularly funny with her psychotic fervour to improve the place. It’s a shame that the plot lacks tension. After the bankruptcy setup, the campaign to save the teashop vanishes into the background, replaced by the romance, which is pleasant, but I don’t know why they couldn’t have had both.

That said, I still enjoyed Chatting at the Amber Teahouse and wished there was more.

Art – Medium

The art is cute, but having all the mid-twenties characters appear in their early teens looks strange, especially when so similar to the chibi artwork. Without the character bios on the first page, I wouldn’t have known that Seriho is twenty-five, for she looks fifteen due to the art.

Story – Medium

A pleasant enough manga about running a fancy teashop, though it lacks tension.

Recommendation: Try it. With its short length and feel-good story, Chatting at the Amber Teahouse is worth a look.

(Find out more about the manga recommendation system here.)