Kotobuki is a cheerful outgoing 14 year old girl. She's a young lady with good fashion sense and her favorite pass-time includes browsing through specialty shops,gift shops,and clothing stores. Her favorite store is "Galopine Et Galopin", a clothing store run by a young fashion designer named Hodaka-san. Hodaka is a handsome, quiet, reserved young man who's designs are making him very popular in the fashion world.
One day, while Kotobuki is sitting at one of the tables in the plaza, who should ask to sit at her table than Hodaka and his two assistants? Kotobuki is glad to oblige, but takes acception to one of the assistants calling her a child. She claims to be older than she really is, and gets an offer to come back to the store. She gladly accepts, of course.
Kotobuki's warmth & sincerity impress Hodaka, and bring new business into his store. He agrees to meet her for lunch one day at Kotobuki's insistence. He doesn't really mind, though, because he's never been around anyone so outgoing, so emotional, and so sincere in her appreciation of his work. Here for the first time Kotobuki sees Hodaka laugh. This delights her and she encouraged him to smile more often since it looks so good on him.
One day Kotobuki finds the store closed. Going in through the back door, she finds Hodaka-san hard at work designing a new dress; his assistants are not there to help him. She asks if she can PLEASE stay and watch him work; she won't bother him at all, and will be very quite. He reluctantly agrees, and begins to create his new design. Kotobuki is aglow watching him; the beautiful dress seems to take shape as if by magic. When Hodaka finishes, he looks around only to find Kotobuki gone, with a note left where she was sitting thanking him for letting her stay. He decides to create another design especially for Kotobuki as a way of thanking her for her help - and maybe for her inspiration.
A few days later, Hodaka finds a young man waiting for him; his name is Kazoumi, and he wants part-time employment at the shop . Hodaka agrees. While the crew is arranging the details of an upcoming photo shoot at the ocean, Hodaka asks Kotobuki to join them and help out. He gives her the new dress he has designed for her; she's speechless - this is a dream come true for her! While she and Kazomi are talking during the shooting, the director notices them, and turns the camera on them. He asks Hodaka if they can model for him. Hodaka has reservations about this, but agrees to it after the director assures him that they have the perfect "fresh" look. Kotobuki's head is in a whirl as she's being made up for the shoot - she's nervous but it's not due to stage fright. Rather it's a combination of Hodaka's watchful eyes and the realization that she has fallen in love...Kazuomi senses that Kotobuki is distracted and demands she plays her role as his lover convincingly for the cameras. Kotobuki appologize and complies. Is Kazuomi simply trying to get the job done right or is this a sign of jealousy?
This is the basic outline of the OAV which is based on the first volume of the manga. Except for a few differences the OAV and the first manga volume are pretty similar.
The only gripe I had with the OAV was with it's brevity! By the end of the tape, I was left wanting to know more about the characters and the direction the story would take. Watching Kotobuki's first crush turn into true love was a delightful treat. However, I wondered how it would end considering the large age gap b/w her and Hodaka-san (keep in mind she's 14 and he is 26!) Is this a simple case of Lolita complex? I don't thinks so! Hodaka had some reservation about the age difference after he found out she lied about her age...However, Kotobuki's vibrant enthusiasm and genuine feelings towards him captivated his heart. Needless to say he found himself reciprocating her affection despite his initial hesitation. Like any Shoujo manga the road to happiness has a few stumbling blocks. However, there are not as many angst ,love triangles/rivals as other series such as Marmalade Boy or Fushigi Yuugi.
If you haven't guessed by now the focus of this shrine is on the manga version considering the OAV was only 30 min long (However, I highly recommend it to Shoujo anime/manga fans; most fansub distributors carry this title).
