The story marches on with Moriyama still wrangling people into his band like he's auditioning eccentrics for a particularly sentimental circus, and Kanda gingerly peeling back the layers of stage fright that grief left behind.
There are undeniably delightful nuggets here: Kobayashi’s unexpected “gift” to his wife is a hoot, Marin makes her "grand" reappearance, and the band's chaotic first meeting feels like herding cats with electric guitars (Hoshinari’s eye-rolling faces!). But still, some characters seem to have slipped quietly into the background. And the final band member’s recruitment felt rushed, like someone skipped the buildup and jumped straight to the credits.
It does feel like the story is squinting toward its end. Kanda is finally doing more than just staring wistfully at pianos, based on the preview of the next volume. He’s taking real steps to face the music, quite literally. Whether it ends in triumph or a quiet fizzle, I’ll stick around to see where it leads.