Aimu Yuu is an ordinary student--or at least he thinks he is. All he wants is an ordinary life as he moves into his new apartment house. However, when he enters his new room, he realizes that he is not alone. First he is annoyed to learn that he has a roommate. Then he is embarrassed when he realizes that his roommate is female. But there is still more to add to this bizarre relationship. Finally, Yuu is shocked when he realizes that his new female roommate, Mi, is also a ghost.
Thus begins an eight-volume adventure by Aro Hiroshi. Yuu must struggle with going to school, his new roommate (who insists that she stay), and his other eccentric neighbors. The supporting cast is great. There is a very tough-looking guy, Ogura An, who makes his living as a shoujo manga artist. He looks like a thug, but he is always drawing romance stories. Kouda Komura is basically covered in hair. If Cousin Itt from THE ADDAMS FAMILY family has any relatives in Japan, this is the guy. Since his main purpose is comedy relief, Komura is constantly being thrown, punted, run over, etc., for the requisite sight gags. Hinada Teruaki is another one of Yuu's neighbors; he has a strange, almost ghostly face. Rounding out the tenants are Buraide Mari, the masked female pro wrestler, and Ooya Ai, who tromps around the building in a medieval European suit of armor.
But Yuu is not what he seems, either. After school some bullies start beating him up, but when Mi arrives on the scene, Yuu is unconscious and the bullies are thoroughly thrashed. Neither Yuu nor Mi knows what happened. Later, Mi discovers that when Yuu's glasses are taken off, he turns into a brutish monster. He reverts to his normal, introverted self when his glasses are put back on. Thus, even Yuu isn't "normal."
The story lines are innovative and interesting. I expected a comedic romance along the lines of MAISON IKKOKU, and while there is some of that, there are also a lot of bizarre adventure stories. Almost anything goes in a YUU & MI story, it seems. The art, is good, if somewhat standard manga fare. One of the nice things about this series, though, is that it is almost impossible to confuse the main characters. I mean, if you are unable to distinguish a suit of armor from a lady wrestler (even though she does wear a mask) or a large hairball, then maybe manga is not your thing.
Pervasive in this series is a subtle and sometimes bizarre sense of humor. The title is an obvious pun (on the phrase "you and me") while the main character's name, Aimu Yuu ("I'm you") is another pun. This, combined with the bizarre events that seem to happen around and (more often than not) to Yuu, provides the series with a unique feeling. The author also has a sense of humor about his work and manga in general. For example, when he draws one of the female characters changing clothes, in tiny lettering in between the panels is simply, "reader service." The creativity and humor in this series is what makes it a gem.
YUU & MI may be relatively unknown to even most die-hard manga collectors. And there's a reason for that--it is not an easy thing to find. I had to have a friend in Japan hunt volumes 2 through 8 down for me after another friend gave me volume one several years ago. Part of the problem is that it is eleven years old; the other part of the problem is that Aro Hiroshi did not go on to become a superstar manga artist. Still, you may be able to order it through your local Japanese bookstore. Or get a friend in Japan to hunt through the stacks at a used manga shop. However you acquire it, though, I think it will be worth it.

YUU & MI
BY ARO HIROSHI
JUMP COMICS
8 VOLUMES
JC852561 (VOLUME 1)
¥360