"The Spendthrift" Genki Girl Momo Yamada and "The Economist" Stoic Madoka Suzuki are both saving money for their dreams — their very different dreams.
Momo wants to save up 10,000 (uh, we mean 100,000) yen to get a scooter and a motorcycle license and go to various places with Madoka riding in the back (whoops, we meant buy a bike). Okay, so Momo constantly changes her "dream", but she's horrible at being frugal. Meanwhile, Madoka wants to save 1,000,000 yen in order to go see her grandfather in Germany.
Will they be able to achieve their dreams?
This series provides examples of:
- Abhorrent Admirer:
The porn neighbor. Madoka tends to treat Kazuma like this, personality-wise. - Accidental Pervert: Touya, who often finds himself in compromising situations with Momo and ends up having Nosebleeds.
- Arranged Marriage: Kazuma and Madoka. It's a Perfectly Arranged Marriage for Kazuma. However, for Madoka... Not so much. Well, maybe.
- Butt-Monkey: Madoka, Chouko, Kazuma, and Touya get their share of this.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: It's played with Kazuma, who turns out to be just a crouching moron (albeit with good intentions).
- Declaration of Protection: Kazuma towards Madoka. He does a horrible job at it, getting knocked out in one hit while his assistant Touya beats Momo's and Madoka's harassing porn neighbor up. But Madoka does thank Kazuma for the effort, but hilariously gets taken away by the police, who mistake Kazuma for the porn neighbor.
- Fish out of Water: Kyouka, who is unaccustomed and unfamiliar with the "commoner" and "poor" life.
- G-Rated Drug: Momo getting drunk off of oolong tea in Chapter 9.
- Green-Eyed Monster: When Madoka apologizes to Kyouka for thinking she was "like any other rich person," Chise suggests that maybe Madoka was jealous of Kyouka because of her friendship with Momo. Madoka hastily denies it.
- He Is Not My Fiancé: Madoka makes this very clear, in spite of her (extremely slow) warming up to Kazuma.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Momo and Madoka; Kazuma and Touya.
- Irony:
- After eating somen for three days, Momo and Madoka (and the rest of the gang) enter a swinsuit contest — turns out to be a "Best Housewife Contest." Momo and Madoka are runner-ups in the end and their prize were... a month's supply of somen each.
- Kazuma and Touya move into the apartment next to Momo and Madoka.
- In spite of always being a spendthrift (and at one point had to survive on 1,000 yen for it), Momo beats Madoka in saving enough money for her dream. Justified in that Momo's money goal was much less than Madoka's, but Madoka was ahead of Momo from the start and is much more frugal than her.
- Love Triangle: Averted, interesting enough from an Ema Toyama manga. Unless you count the Chouko's slight jealousy over Momo's closeness with Touya ("Let's hurry home and get in the futon, Black Person!") from Chapter 9.
- My Friends... and Zoidberg: Chouko inverts this. She's often counted as a part of the group and will be offended by it. Played straight whenever she's ignored.
- The Nicknamer: Momo's taken to calling Toya "Black Person" because of his dark clothes.
- No Guy Wants to Be Chased: Gender-flipped with Madoka and Kazuma. Madoka is generally put off by her absolutely smitten fiancé Kazuma, more because of it being an arranged marriage set up by her parents and less because of Kazuma himself (though she does find him very annoying). She gradually thinks of him better after he attempts to protect her, but continues to find him annoying.
- Nosebleed: Touya, of all people, when he is often exposed to Momo's... figure. And again when Kazuma and he can overhear the girls from their side of the public open bath, and their conversations get so steamy that Touya makes a "bloodbath" in the male public bath. It gets worse when Touya gets another eye view of Momo's breasts when she's following Madoka out of the public bath, and Madoka loses her towel which Kazuma sees, and Kazuma and Touya end up hospitalized for "severe blood loss." Ah well, at least Kazuma is happy.
- Oblivious to Love: Chouko develops a crush on Touya, but he doesn't notice her.
- Odd Friendship: Momo and Madoka; Kazuma and Touya; Momo and Touya.
- Ojou:
- Kyouka Gosanji is treated like one, but she's really a sweet person and Nice Gal. She even returned a one hundred yen she found on the ground to the police.
- Chouko acts like this and a Rich Bitch, but it's indicated she's worked part-time jobs to get the money she wants to buy things.
- Opposites Attract: Nice Guy Keet Kazuma is attracted to the The Stoic Deadpan Snarker Madoka.
- Poor Communication Kills: In the most hilarious way possible. Chouko's attempt to relieve Kyouka's anxiety in the public bath via writing "ochi-tsuke" ("calm down") as a pass along to each person turns hilarious when Momo gropes Kyouka, thinking that's what Chouko was passing along, mistaking "ochi-tsuke" for "chichi-mome" ("grope her boobs"). As it turns out, everyone got Chouko's message wrong. It's still endearing because Kyouka manages to ease up and the gang ends up having fun.
- Potty Emergency: Madoka has one in a flashback in Chapter 1.
- Rescue Romance:
- Kazuma attempts this when Momo's and Madoka's porn neighbor is harassing Madoka, but fails. Luckily, Touya is there to beat him up.
- Before Kazuma's family became rich, they lived a poor, homeless life. When Kazuma was getting bullied in elementary school, it was Madoka who defended him — or rather, defended his homelessness, anyway. Afterwards, Madoka took the time to hang out with Kazuma, leaving Kazuma thankful for her kindness in spite of his circumstances. Unfortunately for him, Madoka doesn't remember any of it.
- The Rival: Chouko Nakata towards Madoka, but she's more of an Unknown Rival because Madoka tends to ignore her.
- Romance Ensues: Momo takes Touya (who she's taken to call "Black Person" because of his dark clothes) and they leave so that they can let Kazuma and Madoka have their "emotional reunion." However, nothing comes of it, as Madoka has no recollection of having a Rescue Romance with Kazuma.
- The Runaway: Madoka, having ran from home following a fight with her parents.
- Running Gag:
- Momo constantly changing her dream, her tendency to completely miss the point, exposing herself, and wasting her money.
- Madoka getting tsundere when it comes to Momo (and later Kazuma).
- Madoka and Chouko's lack of chests.
- Touya's nosebleeds.
- Serious Business: Saving money, which is the whole concept of the story.
- Shout-Out: For video game fans, "Plasta" (PlayStation), Final Fantasy, and Dragon Quest were mentioned.
- Kazuma is a gender-flipped example, fawning over an irritated Madoka.
- A little played straight with Chouko, who has a big crush on Touya.
- Sprouting Ears: Madoka doesn't have technically have sprouting animal ears, but her hairstyle does resemble cat ears.
- Stalker with a Crush:
- Kazuma. Lampshaded by their class when he mentions transferring to Madoka's class to find her, spending a month looking for her, and spending three hours looking at the mirrors merely because he get to see her.
- Momo's and Madoka's porn neighbor is a literal one for Madoka, eavesdropping on her conversations and even breaks into their room to play with... Madoka's "unmentionables." Naturally, Momo and Madoka are squicked out. He later gets arrested.
- Take That!: At Shōjo mangas (Hilarious in Hindsight, considering that's Ema Toyama's usual manga genre).[After Kazuma's and Touya's introduction with roses in the background]Girl #1: Doesn't he look kind of cool?Girl #2: The roses are annoying, though.
