Sweet Paprika vol. 2

All Paprika wanted was to gain a little experience in the ways of romance to impress Za’atar, the big-shot movie producer who’s making the massively successful book she edited, “Spice it Up,” into a movie.  The problem is that the person she decided to let help her with this, grade-A himbo delivery boy Dill, has turned out to be a really nice guy.  So nice that Paprika is starting to think that he may be the one for her after all.  Unfortunately for this driven book editor there are forces (read:  people) who aren’t that interested in seeing the two hook up.  Paprika’s ex, Burnet, is one of them as he’s still nursing a grudge at her for leaving him at the altar.  Then there’s Dill’s dad, Pickle, who is terrified that his son may finally meet someone and leave him all alone at home.  That all this is happening as the PR machine for the “Spice it Up” movie is kicking off is the last thing Paprika needs, but she’s determined to fight for what she wants.  Even if she’s not all that concerned about who may get hurt in the process.

“Sweet Paprika” wraps up the story it started in vol. 1 and winds up being a solid romantic comedy in the process.  Creator Mirka Andolfo delivers some wonderfully expressive and caricaturic art as she digs into Paprika’s mindset and shows us how the woman’s mindset evolves over the course of the volume.  It all leads up to an ending that feels earned, but isn’t without a few caveats.  The first of which being that the story does wind up feeling too long at the end.  You can feel the momentum start to flag even as things march towards the resolution and I’m wondering if that would’ve been the case if the length of this maxiseries had been reduced by a third, or even half.  Then there’s the angelic/demonic look to all the characters that, a few nods here and there notwithstanding, remains more window dressing than anything else.  These things leave “Sweet Paprika” remaining an enjoyable rom-com, yet one that’s likely best appreciated by established fans of the genre rather than the general public.