As the saga of Renako and Ajisai’s elopement (not that kind) continues, we have the appearance of Oduka (freakin’) Mai to make things even more awkward, although emotional damage is the real damage this time.
As I frequently opine on this series, harem stories are a dime a dozen, but a yuri harem is far more rare. This really captures that vibe and the DNA is baked into its core, from its hapless hero who lands all the girls, Renako, to obvious final boss and all-rounder Mai.
This volume not only examines Ajisai’s reasons for running away, but she’s forced to grapple with her own feelings for Renako and then deal with Mai’s equally genuine love for Renako on top of all that. It’s a lot of ground.
First? Yukata! And this is a situation where the really great artwork helps makes things both fun to look at and fun period. Renako’s volatile conscience and the disdain that Mai’s assistant has for her makes this first section a hoot.
What we never really see harem manga deal with particularly well is the slew of hurt feelings that get left behind on the way to the OTP. Even though Renako has dismal self-esteem, she’s been quietly breaking hearts with aplomb.
But when Mai and Ajisai have a very frank conversation, Mai shoots perfectly straight and Ajisai realizes that she’s doomed to be runner-up in this race. Whether that is true or not, genre standards aside, it’s perfectly in keeping with Ajisai’s arc to this point as somebody who defers her needs for those of everybody else.
That’s… shockingly strong for something this light. I was genuinely impressed and moved by how the story handled this and it also gives way for Mai to be a little more human than she typically is. Mai is just Mai and not as aloof as she seems.
Even the hopeless Renako can tell something’s wrong, but between juggling her own insecurity and dealing with Mai she’s missing the forest for the trees on this one. I mean, the train section should have given it away, but that’s Renako.
This story has gone all over, but I don’t dislike it and, honestly, I was pretty impressed with how this volume handled the whole romance angle and the reality of having to disappoint somebody here.
Who knows what kind of ending we’ll get, but this dollop of drama combined with the usual sight gags and continued sharpness in the translation (there are some real zingers yet again) makes for a good time.
And it also remembers to be flat-out gay; between Mai’s incessant overtures and Ajisai’s realizations and Renako’s innocently raunchy daydreams there’s already a lot going on. It has a little bit of everything.
4 stars - I think this is actually a fun harem yuri that understands the assignment and sneaks some emotion into the mix. One of its best instalments yet.