Volume five of this series just keeps delivering a parade of gloriously screwed-up characters, and honestly, I'm not holding my breath for any major transformations (I mean atleast yet, we still got 3 more volumes). Yuki's attempts to cozy up to Mikako feel so transparently fake, yet Mikako eats it up, finding some twisted sense of security in the charade. But the real bomb drop is Kaito finally stumbling upon Mikako's big secret. That carefully constructed delusion of her being the perfect girl? Shattered. Watching Kaito slowly unravel, retreating back into the anonymity of cross-dressing, was fascinatingly tragic. And of course, Mikako, in her own chaotic way, pushes him further, dragging him on a public date that cranks the weirdness dial all the way up.
Seriously, everyone in this story is just drowning in their past trauma, completely unable to swim to the surface. I actually found myself feeling a pang of sympathy for Mikako during that crying scene, it genuinely hit. But a significant chunk of my brain is now occupied with the delightfully unsettling question of what Yuki's going to do now that she's unlocked a brand new kink.
It's the same blend of messy and bizarre that keeps me utterly hooked. I can't look away from this beautiful train wreck. A 3.5 out of 5.