Short-Tempered Melancholic (Japanese title: Kanshaku-dama no Yuutsu) is a one-volume shoujo manga anthology by Arina Tanemura that collects four of her one-shot stories. Each story was first featured in Ribon magazine, and the volume with all four was published in 1998.
Short-Tempered Melancholic is a two-chapter story about the female ninja Kajika, who attempts to live a normal life and impress her crush, all while keeping her being a ninja a secret, with varying success. A rivalry with the Hayato ninjas leads to Kajika getting her heart broken, only for her to begin feeling nervous around her childhood friend Yuga.
This Love is Non-Fiction about Karin and her friend Yuri, with a whirlwind romance starting, when Karin poses as Yuri when meeting a pen-pal.
Rainy Days Are for Romantic Heroines revolves around Minori, who uses rainy weather as an excuse to share an umbrella with her major crush, Takato. Then she finds out that he actually hates girls, so why was he so nice to her?
The Style of the Second Love is a reprint of Arina's debut work. Mana has a crush on her best friend's boyfriend, all while being accosted by the school's resident playboy Nakamura.
The manga is licensed in English by Viz Media under their Shojo Beat imprint, and in German by Egmont Manga under the title Squib Feeling Blue.
The stories contain examples of:
- The Cameo: Romance Heroine in the Rainy Afternoon takes place at the school that Miyako Todaiji's sister Sayuri attends. Sayuri herself has a minorly important role in the chapter.
- Defeat Means Love: The Hayato leader falls in love with Kajika, after she defeats his group.
- Does Not Like Men: Minori used to be super shy around boys, to the point of being afraid of them.
- Establishing Character Moment: Kajika leaves for school, then sees a child about to be run over by a car. She leaps across the street with all her ninja skils and rescues the girl, twirling the girl's ball on her finger. She's a ninja, who helps people in danger.
- The First Cut Is the Deepest: Takato's first rejection hurt so much, he began to hate women.
- Formerly Fat: Yuri used to be 'as fat as a pig', which is why she sent Karin's picture, when her pen-pal wanted one.
- He-Man Woman Hater: Takato apparently hates women, because a girl rejected him pretty badly during middleschool. That girl was Minori and she was too shy and embarrassed to answer at all, so she ran away and he merely thought she rejected him.
- Improbable Weapon User: Kajika's clan has a secret weapon: Kureha... a hair tie. Though it's mentioned that using it properly requires intense training.
- The Lady's Favour: Kajika gives Yuga Kureha, just before he leaves to duel Fujisaki.
- Only Six Faces: As is typical for Arina's artstyle.
- Prank Date: Fujisaki asks Kajika to meet him at the river, but it's merely a ruse, so that his ninja clan can attack her home and try to steal her clan's secret weapon.
- The Reveal: Fujisaki is the leader of the Hayato group.
- Second Love: Nakamura for Mana, in response to the story's title.
- Those Two Girls: Kajika's two friends Tomoka and Hitomi.
- Throwing Down the Gauntlet: When Fujisaki and Yuga both admit that they love Kajika, Yuga yells that he wants a duel against Fujisaki, to determine who is right for her.
- Umbrella of Togetherness: The entire point of Romance Heroine in the rainy Afternoon. Minori forgot her umbrella on a rainy day once and Takato offered to share his for the way home. Ever since, Minori purposefully 'forgets' her umbrella and always shares one with Takato on rainy days.
- Victorious Childhood Friend: Yuga for Kajika, though it took her a while to figure out her own feelings. Yuri and Atsushi, given their background as pen-pals.
