It's making me die. With struggling (since it's full of juvenile slang) but also, or rather, mostly, with laughing. If what you like in Nana is the way emotions directly pass from characters faces to reader's heart, if you love Ai Yazawa's sense of humour, then start asking Planet Manga to release this title (this is meant for Italian readers :).

Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai is a bubbly school comedy. The protagonist is a girl who can draw and has a lot of sense of humour, even self-humour, which is definitely not bad. This manga starts as she runs for school committee, and, of course, "he" is in it too :D along with others, anyway.

This title is older than Gokinjo Monogatari and of course you can tell if you look at the art, but art style is already indipendent and confident in itself (Ai Yazawa's very first work are in fact difficult to recognize if you are used to her current style). Art is expressive and clean (non so full of details as it will be in Nana); backgrounds are simple, generally just suggested, yet characters never seem "hanging in void space". The most important characteristic in Yazawa's style of drawing is strong face expressivity, which points out characters emotions, evident with just one look.

Script timing is quick, with a lot of humour scenes. I sometimes have trouble with Japanese sense of humour, but I love Yazawa sensei's way ^^^ Of course we do get also the emotional problems of Japanese students, but much better than other mangakas (who said Katsura?). Ai Yazawa's characters sound more grown up than average manga (and, well, it's not just manga, they are really that way!)

This comic was on Ribon and, like Nana, it's an everyday story, but about high school students. That does not stop it from being simply wonderful (ok, I'm just at issue #2 of 8, but #1 was really a bang, and this second one is no less interesting). Anyway Adachi writes about high school students too and we love him for it, don't we? In Japan Tenshi nanka ja nai was recently reprinted and the reprinting must not have poor sales, since it's rather exoensive ("deluxe") and you find it pretty anywhere.

That said, I recommend this title to everyone. To those who love everyday stories (especially those who love high school comedies); and also to those who do not exactly love the genre, because I think Tenshi can let you have fun all the same.