In her own mind, Hiyo Kurumiya is a lively, expressive girl who dazzles the world with her radiant smile. In reality, her face is stuck in permanent deadpan mode, making her seem stiff and lifeless. Because of this, she adores the vivacious Wu-tuber "Ayamorin", a cheerful and outgoing girl who shares humorous videos about her life and emotes the way Hiyo wishes she could.
One day, as she's looking forward to a handshake event with Ayamorin, Hiyo's teacher introduces a new student to the class: Aya Kotomori. The popular Wu-tuber Hiyo idolizes is now her neighbor, both at her desk and at her house. It should be a dream come true, and yet Hiyo's complete inability to make facial expressions causes Ayamorin to think Hiyo doesn't like her and her brand of humor.
Hiyo and Vivid! is a yonkoma by Yutoriinu, which has been running in Manga Time Kirara Carat since 2022.
Hiyo and Vivid! contains examples of the following tropes:
- Bland-Name Product: Ayamorin uploads on Wu-tube, an obvious riff on Youtube.
- Friendly Scheming: In chapter 4, Aya films a react video where she reacts to a prank. This leads Hiyo to come up with a convoluted practical joke where she lugs around bottles of motor oil and spare parts and claim she doesn't show any emotion because she's an android. Aya totally buys it, even bringing the issue up in a livestream where she ponders android discrimination. When Hiyo finally reveals the truth, Aya is so incensed she angrily chases after Hiyo.
- Frozen Face: To Hiyo's annoyance, her face is stuck in a cold, deadpan glare no matter how much she thinks she's smiling.
- Ham and Deadpan Duo: Ayamorin is an outgoing, cheerful girl who tries to make Hiyo smile, while Hiyo is physically incapable of smiling despite being Ayamorin's biggest fan.
- Japanese School Club: When Aya wants to form a Wu-tube Club, her teacher encourages her to recruit the sole member of the Photography Club (it's Hiyo, naturally) and merge both into the Video Club. Since Hiyo is Aya's biggest fan, she is enthused at the idea of helping Aya plan and edit videos.
- Robotic Reveal: Invoked. Hiyo fakes a robotic reveal in chapter 4 to "explain" why she doesn't smile and to give Ayamorin fodder for content.
- When She Smiles: Invoked. Giving Aya a warm, reassuring smile is something Hiyo strives to do, but she just can't make her face follow through on it.
- Wunza Plot: One's a Wu-tuber who is nothing but smiles, one's a deadpan girl who is incapable of smiling.
