See, in a lot of ways I think Ino and Deidara would be too much alike. I like contrast in my pairings, visual and personality wise.

Yeah, that's exactly why I feel like it doesn't really work, their personalities are too similar.

It does - there are dramatic scene that that mangaka will make comedic, and it really threw me out of the story.

Balancing humor and drama can be tricky, and I agree that it just wasn't done as well in the manga.