Love is in the Bag

Genevieve Van Heusen"

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Love is in the Bag is a weird Slice of Life comedy Manga about a girl named Kate Menella, who has a crush on local hottie Calvin Jacobs. It would be somewhat typical if it weren't for the fact that she turns into a bag everytime she gets excited. With the help of her best friend, Kara Francesco, Kate gets over her shyness and is able to get together with Calvin. Except for all the things standing in her way, such as basketball tournaments and a girl claiming to be Calvin's previous girlfriend.

Lots and lots of awkward situations ensue due to the antics of Kara and her friends, Chloe and Lorelei, in trying to get Kate and Calvin together.

Written by Ace Vitangcol and produced by Studio Studio, it is a Filipino comic drawn in a manga style.

Love is in the Bag is at its fifth and final volume, but Word of God says they are planning spin-offs. There are currently no scans over the internet, but there is apparently an iPhone app that provides the manga. The comic's Facebook page can be found here, while the author's blog can be found here.

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Tropes employed in this series:

• Accidental Pervert: Calvin. Although some members of the cast have their moments.
• And I Must Scream: The fate of Kate's father, and possibly Kate.
• Anticlimax: The revelation of Louis's last name in Chapter 4.
• Art Evolution: Discussed by the author here.
• Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny:

Chloe: Ooh, a unicorn!

• Baleful Polymorph: Happened to Kate's father, and it is implied that it will happen to Kate eventually.
• Beach Episode: In Volume 1.
• Beat Panel
• Berserk Button: DO NOT insult Calvin or Mark in front of Chloe EVER.
• Big No: Chloe does this twice in Book 4 when the official couples are finally established. Doubles as a Crowning Moment of Funny
  • The boys also do this in Book 1 when Kara tells Lorelei instead of the H-Girl to ride with the boys in the Beach Episode Arc.

Kara: Guys, she's with me. Louis: NOOOOOOO!!!! Lorelei: *Waves at Kara nervously* Kara: Guess there's no choice. Lorelei, you ride with the guys. Lorelei: Consider yourselves lucky to be in my presence! Calvin, Mark and Louis: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Kara: Shut it you meanies!

• Bishonen: Calvin and Mark.
• Bland-Name Product
• Brick Joke: The unicorn at the end of Volume 2 returns at the beginning of Volume 3, and it's with Chloe.
• Butt Monkey: Both Louis and the Mysterious Mystery Gang.
• Cannot Spit It Out
• Catgirl: Not literally, but Kara is often compared to one. She even pulls out cat ears from hammerspace!
• Cerebus Syndrome/Drama Bomb: The last few chapters of Volume 3 start this, with the revelation of the nature of Kate's "condition". Played with, since there are still a couple of hilarious moments in the fourth volume.
• Cliff Hanger: Volume 4 ends with Kate turned into a bag, which, for the entire volume, was hinted at to be permanent.
• Chaste Hero: Calvin Jacobs. He doesn't even get the meaning of "date".
• The Chew Toy: Louis V, due to Lorelei and Chloe's shenanigans.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Chloe. Between her Genki Girl status and her tendency for Imagine Spots, this is really the way to describe her.
• Cooking Duel: In Volume 3, as a way of determining who gets Calvin's affection.
• Covert Pervert: Mark Spencer. His eyes turn into "Mark Scope 2.0" when he checks out the cup sizes of girls...
• Eyes Always Shut: Lulu Menella
• Food Porn: The authors took pictures of actual dishes made out of instant noodles and used it in the comic. Needless to say, it looks delicious.
• Genki Girl: Chloe.
• Hot Mom: Kate's mom.
• Imagine Spot
• Incredibly Lame Pun: Used mercilessly in chapter titles.
• Informed Ability: Lorelei being a genius. Lampshaded multiple times.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: When Genevieve lost to Kate, she immediately puts on this front.
• Lampshade Hanging: Lots, used along with Fun with Subtitles.
• Meganekko: Lorelei
• Mood Whiplash: After all the angst in Volume Three and the start of Volume Four, the mood shifts from comedic to heartwarming to angsty all too easily.
• Mistaken for Gay: Mark, by Louis, because he thought that Mark was peeping at Calvin. Even more so by Volume 4, where Louis misunderstood what Calvin said about Mark coming out of the closet.
• Ms. Fanservice: The Japanese transfer student. Lampshaded multiple times by her classmates and friends.
• No Name Given: The Japanese transfer student. The only thing we know about her name is that it starts with an H. Eventually subverted by Louis Vee.
• Medium Awareness: The series delves into this occasionally, but Fourth Wall Guy takes the cake for this.
• Meta Guy: There's a random guy that appears every now and then, and he's quite Genre Savvy and aware of the situation at all times.
• Puff of Logic: Fourth Wall Guy tells Chloe that unicorns don't exist, prompting the unicorn she caught to vanish.
• Punch Clock Villain: The Mysterious Mystery Gang, who apparently want Kate so that they can find out the secret to her transforming.
  • Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain
• The Ojou: Genevieve Van Heusen
• Relationship Upgrade: Kate and Calvin in Volume 3, Kara and Mark in Volume 4
• Running Gag: There's a guy that appears in Volume Two onwards who gets something falling on him everytime. Before the thing in question hits him, he says "What the - ". It's a Homage to a friend of the author.
  • There's also Mark being Mistaken for Gay.
• Rich Bitch: Genevieve Van Heusen. Eventually subverted.
• Rickroll: In Volume 3.
• Serious Business: Basketball.
• Shirtless Scene
• Shout-Out: Channel |B| or CH|B|, as a shout out to a certain image board.
  • A poster in Calvin's room says Suramu Danku!
  • The box that Kara carries says Pani Poni.
  • Ruthlessly done in Volume 3, where Chloe does a chain of shout outs to Batman while trying to squeeze Louis's secret out of him. Even lampshaded by Fourth Wall Guy.

Fourth Wall Guy: We're thiiiis close to getting sued.

• • The Cooking Duel in Volume 3 is a ruthless parody of Iron Chef.
• Shrinking Violet: Kate, but she more or less gets over it after Calvin finally notices her.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: Done by Kara when it comes to her relationship with Mark.
• Teen Genius: NOT Lorelei, instead, the title goes to Mara Spencer, who actually teaches Mechanical Engineering at the local university. And she's only thirteen!
• Theme Naming: The foreigners' names are taken from the names of clothing companies, such as Mark Spencer and Genevieve Van Heusen. Subverted by Louis Vee, which was supposed to be Louis Vuitton.
• Tsundere: Kara, especially when it comes to Mark.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The relationship between Kate and Kara.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Donuts for Chloe.
• Wall of Text: Lampshaded in Volume Two.

Warning: Basketball content.

• Weirdness Censor: Played with; everyone except the transfer students from London knows about Kate's condition, and it takes Calvin until near the end of Volume 1 (despite it happening in front of him) and Mara, Mark and Genevieve until Volume 3 to finally notice.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Calvin is afraid of doctors, which is why he refused to have his injury checked.
• Wrench Wench: Mark's sister, Mara.
• Yaoi Fan: Chloe, who fantasizes about Mark and Calvin. A lot.
• Yandere: There is a possibility that Chloe is one, but she's too ditzy to follow up on her tendencies.
• Yonkoma: At the end of Volume 4.
• You Gotta Have Blue Hair: H-girl (Pink) and Lorelei (Purplish), possibly Kara, since it may be set in the Philippines. Justified with Genevieve, Mark and Mara, since they are transfer students from London.