Naoko-sensei included a little liner note with the manga that says some really sweet things, and gives her fans a hint of her personality. (Her handwriting is, in my humble opinion, atrocious, so I have to give full credit to Alex Glover for his wonderful translation. Without his translation, I would never have been able to puzzle through it. I personally can't read a word she writes.)
Like Boku no Pierce Girl, July Marmalade Birthday is another work of art that Naoko-sensei created fresh from graduating college. (Boy, do I wish I could learn such things at college... or have such talent upon graduating...) Right, and she loves lemon marmalade. She reveals that the model for Amari-kun was a boy she had a crush on during junior high and high school. Like Amari and Miina, Naoko-sensei and her crush argued a lot. (She's so sweet! I have to say this in her own words - or rather in Alex-san's translated words:) "We didn't communicate very well, and it always made my heart pound. I would get dressed up, and stealthily go to watch his tennis matches." Is that cute or what? ^_^ It's definitely a story worthy of a shoujo mangaka. Hey, you're supposed to write what you know, right?
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