Golden Time Vol. 2

Golden Time #2

by Yuyuko Takemiya

Banri Tada is now stuck as Kōko Kaga's friend as she leans heavily after Mitsuo's brutal rejection. He also has to deal with rejection as he confessed to Kōko and was friend zoned. Linda takes on greater prominence in Banri's life. Who is she and why does he have memories of her? If she knew him before, why hasn't she said anything? Meanwhile, Banri helps Kōko adjust not only to life without Mitsuo but also helps her learn to be a person who interacts with others.

Genres: Manga, Romance

180 pages, Paperback

First published September 27, 2012

About the author

Yuyuko Takemiya (竹宮 ゆゆこ Takemiya Yuyuko) is a Japanese writer of light novels. Takemiya debuted in September 2004 with her light novel series Watashitachi no Tamura-kun (Our Tamura-kun) which first appeared in the autumn 2004 issue of Dengeki hp Special, a special edition version of Dengeki hp. That same month, Takemiya worked on the scenario for the bishōjo game Noel by FlyingShine (also known for creating Cross Channel).

Following the completion of Watashitachi no Tamura-kun, Takemiya began her best-known series, Toradora!, which she declared to be complete in April 2010 after ten volumes and three spin-off books. The first book of her next series, Golden Time, was Dengeki Bunko's 2000th published light novel. Takemiya launched the manga series Evergreen with artist Akira Kasukabe on July 19, 2011 in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Daioh Genesis quarterly magazine.

Reviews

[Moriah Venable · Rating 5 out of 5]

I see that Banri finds Kaga-san attractive. Though it shows that he understands her in a way that Mistou doesn't.

She once again tries to win his affections, only for him to reject her hard, causing her to go ot drinking, but also come to terms with how she treated him. Understanding why he doesn't feel any romantic feelings for her.

While I do find her over dramatic at times, I really felt for her during her self reflection.

I got hooked during the last chapter when Banri goes through the year book and sees a familar face from high school that he now sees at college? What were they and do they know the old Banri?

THIS IS GETTING SO GOOD!

[Zian B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mitsuo finally got the (very obvious) hint that her childhood friend didn’t care about her in the way that she thought that she cared about him, although her reaction afterwards was worrying to see. Also, Banri’s amnesia and struggles surrounding it are brought up again.
While things in this volume sorta set the stage for what could be the main conflict for the storyline, it wasn’t interesting enough to keep me going.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Oka-chan, you’re a sweet and cute person. But how can we be sure you aren’t a black-hearted scheming poser on the inside? Oka-chan, how can we be certain that in the depths of the thick, vicious jungle you call a heart there isn’t a huge Cthulhu-like creature with writhing tentacles waiting to Cthulhu the unwary into its murky depths...?”

[Ryan Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is EXACTLY what I wanted from this series. So much character growth happens here and Banri's memory loss plays a much bigger role later on in it. Plus the entire scene where Kaga and Banri are talking about how she treated Mitsuo was so damn good. This singlehandedly showed me why my friend kept recommending this series to me.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

The girl finally gets the hint that the guy she is chasing isn't interested.

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 5 out of 5]

C-3PO-Kouko LOL I’M DEAD.

I want to party with Banri and Kaga!

[Sean O'Hara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume really things up. Whereas the first installment of the series got bogged down with the ridiculous cult plotline, here the story is entirely character driven, focusing on Kouko's neuroses and Banri's personal issues. It still gets melodramatic in places, but in a way that's perfectly believable given the characters' ages.

[Glasdow Teacosy · Rating 3 out of 5]

In volume two, Kouko remains a drama queen. I find her antics amusing, and I'm quite enamored with her character design. Umechazuke has a great command of gesturing, even if the characters, including the boys, tend to be more moe than I care for. The artist puts so much energy and passion into Kouko. You can tell they enjoy illustrating her. Banri is more of a bland Everyman in this volume, but we get a peak into his past, so he remains interesting. I don't enjoy all the drinking in the series, but then I don't drink, so I’m biased. Overall, I continue to enjoy this series.