"Learning sign language is time-consuming, but when it comes to someone I want to get to know better, what's more important is the quality of the conversation."
Not QUITE as exciting as previous volumes, and I think a large part of that is because outside of the opening chapter, there wasn't a huge romantic focus.
Definitely a little bit of a bummer, BUT! I think this volume was very critical for Yuki and Itsuomi moving forward in their relationship, and WHOA!
This is the first time I have seen someone be SO active in getting to know the parents of the person they are dating and get their approval of their relationship! I was extremely touched at the natural lengths Itusomi went through to befriend Yuki's dad, but also how he KNEW something was up and that her dad wanted to talk to him about something important. I also say "naturally" because despite that Yuki's dad wanted to go to certain places with Itsuomi, it really did feel like Itsuomi was the one leading. LOL!
I appreciated getting to know more about Yuki's family as a whole because I think for a long time I didn't like them. When you compare Itsuomi learning sign language to Yuki's family never learning for all the years Yuki's been alive, it doesn't give a positive impression.
However, this volume addressed it and while I'm sad to know they will probably never learn sign language, it also felt realistic from a parent's perspective. And what I mean is that while none of my children have disabilities, as a parent you are constantly making so many small and big decisions a day that sometimes you don't know what is the best thing to do. When you feel it is the right thing to do, but don't have the time or energy, it changes things, whether good or bad. So in that sense, I understood Yuki's parents even if as a reader I didn't necessarily agree with their actions.
One thing that was VERY rewarding was seeing Yuki open up and tell people her real feelings! While I loved her opening up to Itsuomi, even more, I loved seeing her open up to her mom and be able to tell her "thank you." <3
Goodness though! It HURT to hear things about Yuki's brother! I was completely taken aback and had no idea what to even say.
Overall, this isn't my favorite volume of the series but I think it was so beautifully written and very much surprised me! My personal rating would be four stars, but I think this deserves nothing less than five because of me reading nothing like this in other manga. So good!