Abenobashi Mahou☆Shoutengai

I was pleasantly surprised by this manga (I'm not calling it a series, since it's only two volumes long). The humor is somewhat absurd but translates well nonetheless, and its plot doesn't get too bogged down (except just before the ending for a bit). To be honest, there's nothing particularly exceptional about it: the characters are colorful (a few are annoyingly so) but fairly normal, and the premise is quite common. Still, it manages to achieve good results overall, and the ending, while a tad sudden, is satisfying. The manga actually seems to benefit from its brevity. Had it been longer, I imagine things would have gotten diluted and derivative. Instead, being only two volumes long, there's a frenetically crowded atmosphere that lends itself to quick reading and rereading. Not the deepest of manga (unless you appreciate fanservice, both trivial and ecchi), it accomplishes what it sets out to do successfully, certainly more so than many of its peers.