^ Well, yeah ... that's if you accept the manga as canon.
The problem is that the manga contradicts the anime and other elements of "canon" in a lot of ways. For instance, in the manga, Nico's actually "nice". I mean, she's kind of crafty and scheming, but she doesn't have that abrasive personality they gave her in the anime. She's constantly smiling, which jibes much better with her original character design as the consummate idol.
But even more glaring is the fact that in the manga, it's Rin who still believes in Santa Claus, not Maki! Which actually makes a lot more sense if you think about it. Maki's a freakin' genius. No matter how sheltered she might be in her rich girl life, it strains credibility that a girl on a glide path to becoming a doctor still believes in Santa. Rin, on the other hand, is ... well, kinda dumb.
And there are other inconsistencies, too; in the original manga, at least, Eli and Nozomi's personalities are quite different than in the anime. Eli is much less serious, more fun-loving, and less inhibited, while Nozomi comes off at first as a kind of earnest, out of town Kansai hick taken aback by Eli's forwardness. Get this -- when they meet, it's actually Eli who grabs Nozomi's tits!
Unfortunately, the original manga stopped mid-story and looks like it's now a dead letter. A shame.