I's

Vol. 1-2
— by Keith Rhee

When 16-year-old Yoshizuki Iori poses for a swimsuit photoshoot, she becomes the focus of the guys' attention at her high school (yes, that kind of attention). Her fellow classmate Ichitaka feels that Iori is close, and yet her modeling stint makes her seem so distant. Soon, Ichitaka finds himself fighting an internal struggle—though attracted to Iori for her looks, Ichitaka wishes he wouldn't keep thinking of Iori as a sex object. His shy nature prevents him from coming forth with his feelings towards Iori despite several opportunities. And so Ichitaka stumbles from one situation into another, with his street-smart friend Yazumaza offering him plenty of advice and often coming to Ichitaka's rescue...

Rather than employing the far-fetched premise of a girl popping out of our protagonist's TV screen, Katsura's latest features what could be considered "normal" ingredients for a love story. Despite its share of exaggerated situations and Katsura's trademark panty shots, I'S (pronounced "eyes") is more firmly grounded in reality than VIDEO GIRL AI.
The story falls a little flat at first glance. The characterizations seem rather typical—Ichitaka as the shy boy with trouble expressing his feelings; Iori as the cute, softspoken love interest; and Yasumaza as the savvy, loyal sidekick. Our protagonist Ichitaka does have one redeeming quality, in that he tries very hard not to think of Iori "in that kind of way" despite the occasional wild fantasy, but volume 1 of the story spends a lot of time covering the relationship between Iori and Ichitaka without covering a lot of ground.
Thankfully, the story finally picks up in volume 2; we are introduced to Ichitaka's childhood sweetheart Itsuki, who returns from the USA and moves into Ichitaka's home. The best word to describe Itsuki is "lively"—brash, playful, and outspoken, she is quite the opposite of Iori (in fact, she reminds the reader of an all-too-well-known female character in one of

Katsura's previous works). Despite the uncanny resemblance to the video girl Ai, Itsuki's appearance gives the relationship—and thus the story—the much needed spark, building the love triangle and even getting the otherwise detached Yasumaza emotionally involved.
With sharp lines, vivid contrast and clean ziptone, Katsura's visuals are as well-drawn as ever, with nicely done (and dare I say, perky) character designs. There are plenty of girls in risque poses—it honestly wouldn't be a Katsura manga without them—and I'm sure there are plenty of people who will snap this up for the panty shots no matter what this review says.
But is the story is worth it? I'll give I'S a cautious "yes." It's not quite up to the standard of VIDEO GIRL AI, and the slow-paced volume 1 almost led me to believe that Katsura was trying to sell this story for the cheesecake alone. But there is a definite change of pace in volume 2, enough to justify continuing to follow the series.