No matter how unreasonable the climb is, no matter how absurd it gets, I will never lose. [Umemiya]
Now that Sakura's fight with Endo is finished, the war is almost over. The end result depends now on one person only - on Furin's leader, Hajime Umemiya. All he needs to do is to beat the strongest fighter in Furin's history. Peace of cake, right?
But when Sakura and Endo arrive on the battle scene, Sakura's shocked to see the state his senior is in. It seems like it's no longer Umemiya that he's seeing, but a wild, untamed beast that will destroy everything in his path.
"Did he... Did Umemiya used to be like that?"
"Oh, yes. You've never seen him like this, huh? Yeah. This is him, when he first came to Furin. Those guys in his year, they wouldn't even bat an eye if they saw him now. It's wild to think that those guys still stuck by him. He's more thick-headed than anyone I know. A real rotten, self-centered bastard."
The way the previous volume had ended, it was obvious that Umemiya was furious. I have never seen such wild rage reflected on his face before. Takiishi, as his opponent, had the opportunity to not just see it, but also to feel it through is fists. Umemiya truly seemed like a wild beast that will stop at nothing to make sure that his opponent will be beaten down. It was such a strange sight, a quite terrifying one I must say. It was so different from what we used to see of Umemiya. He was always a funny, kind and gentle soul, a pure goofball of a man that was the happiest when he was taking care for his little plants. It makes me mad that the situation became so serious that this man had to lose himself in negative emotions again to beat down his opponent and win the war 😭
"You look like you're having fun."
"That's because no matter how many times I send you flying, you'll always stand right back up."
"Of course. I can't just sit around while my kohai's watching."
The moment Ume noticed Sakura's presence and smiled wildly at him, I felt tears of relief forming in my eyes. That was the moment when I knew that everything was going to be alright, because the big brother was back and we all know that big brothers never lose 🥰
Can I just use this little opportunity to say how wild it is that Umemiya's radiating Gojo's energy and that both of these characters share the same Japanese VA in the anime? I felt the Gojo vibes from Umemiya the moment he was introduced in the anime and from that moment these vibes became stronger and stronger. I cannot express my love and respect for such beautiful characters! Also, there just cannot be a coincidence that Sakura and Megumi also share the same Japanese VA, right? (I saw a short edit of Ume, Sakura, Gojo and Megumi on TikTok recently and I can't stop thinking about the parallels).
To me, there are only two types of "people," aside from me. People who get in my way, who need to be eliminated. And people who will give me things I like. I don't remember a time that I've ever been interested in any of those people. That's why I can't even remember people's faces and names. [Takiishi]
That's a hell of a crazy mindset, isn't it? I knew that there was something wrong with Takiishi, but damn, that's something truly wild, even I hadn't expected him to have such a small and ignorant worldview. Also, I have to say that his innocent-looking eyes rubbed me the wrong way in every page he was in. He seemed like a wolf in sheep's clothes, ready to strike when you will least expect it. A soul full of violence, who didn't know and didn't care to know anything else. That's why, when Ume came back to himself and he spoke of the need to understand each other, my relief changed into a sour feeling.
Look. I like when the bad guys change for the better. I like to think that people can change for the better in general. But not everybody should get redemption. Some villains should just stay as villains, and I think Takiishi's one of them.
Also, I have to say that the fight between Ume and Takiishi ended up too quickly. We spend so much time with Sakura and Endo, why couldn't Ume and Takiishi get the same treatment? Is it because Sakura's the MC and Ume is not? 😕
Anyways, despite the fact that I wasn't fully satisfied with this volume, I'm glad that the war is already over and everybody's safe again. Ume's back to his silly self like he had never changed, and all the heroes met at the party. It was so nice to see them all interact, and I really liked the little scene with Sako and Hiragi. Their shared history really needed some closure, I'm glad that we got it. But what comes next? Is there anybody who can challenge our heroes now or is the story's end near? I'm really nervous, I don't want it to end 😭