I thought things were finally progressing nicely in the main relationship, maybe even a little too quickly, when WHACK SMACK there's an ending and this was the final volume??!!??!!
Well, for a mid-level low-key romance like this I suppose it's better to wrap up quickly than to drag on for too long.
Nice and sweet, though the bonus story about a secondary high school character's romantic relationship with a pathetic adult leaves an off-putting last impression.
Llorando lágrimas de sangre AAAAAAAAA QUE VIVAN LAS NOVIAAAAAAAAAS. Las dos parejas fueron BELLISIMAS, Chika y Sakiko son los más llorable y Mina y Hibi son los más cute y bello y maravilloso. AMO TODO, QUE VIVA EL ROMANCE.
After their date… if it could be called that… maybe… Hibiki and Minato are having trouble connecting. But when they finally bridge the gap, it decides to open right up again as Hibiki’s worst character trait finally goes a bit too far… just in time for the series finale.
Yes, it’s Goodbye, Melancholic! this time around as we bid a short and sweet farewell to another little yuri series. But how do we relationship in this final volume? And does everything get where we think it should?
The first section, as Hibiki and Minato both dance around Minato’s declaration of like to her senpai is a ton of fun. I really enjoy the way the story shows them concurrently at loose ends and just unable to do the little bit more.
When this culminates in the actual re-confession, it’s a reminder to Hibiki (and the audience) that Minato goes along with things because it’s easier for her, not because she doesn’t have her own thoughts. And if pressed, she can make her own choices.
Which Hibiki gets to experience again as she goes back to her pushy default that defined her in the first volume and made her a bit less of a sympathetic character. Even framed as ‘for your own good because you’re worth more than you think’, it’s a bad call and it’s clear that the story knows it too.
And no animal gets backed into a corner without lashing out and Minato strikes hard and deep, knowing the absolute worst possible thing to say to wound the girl that she loves. It is the perfect example of a heated moment where words come out that you’ll not only regret, but can’t take back.
That’s a whirlwind of drama that’s pretty decent, especially because Hibiki is ultimately right but not going about it in a way that respects Minato. It’s complicated in its simplicity and the writing is at its strongest during this portion of the story.
However, as much as I love how everything looks and sounds in this story, but I have to admit that it’s just lacking some undefinable something that would make it absolutely perfect for me.
Part of it is, indeed, the fast forward that hits once the argument is finally resolved, as the school year passes in a blink of an eye, to its narrative detriment. It hits a few notes, but, like many other series, it just doesn’t know what to do when the couple get together.
The other part is that the chemistry between our leads is very, very good, but it never quite hits the higher temperatures of a more intense story (even their arguing feels lower wattage than other, similar series). One great moment with Hibiki does not an entire series make.
The ending is quite good and finally gives poor Minato a bit of a glow-up, but not too much, which I appreciated, and spends its time just beforehand ruminating on the troubles of a relationship maintaining itself over a distance. This in particular doesn’t feel like anything new, but it’s got some interesting ideas about worry that I appreciated.
The other bummer is that we don’t get much for the other band members. There’s a bonus chapter for the very popular Emma that is very eyebrow-raising and quite the chapter to go out on. But the duo who got so much time last volume are stuck with some bonus pages that we aren’t going to get (sigh).
4.5 stars - I think that’s fair, especially without nudging it to 5, as this is so very good, but it’s not in my personal pantheon of yuri classics. It does a lot more with its mere three volumes, mind, than most stories and is definitely worth the experience.
The concluding volume. While there was growth with the two main characters, the relationship kind of fell flat for me.
The extra with the reveal of Emma’s relationship with an adult was a huge disappointment. Can we stop promoting gross relationships between young teens and adults?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
everything passed so quickly at the end, wasn’t expecting this to be a trilogy >< i was excited to see emma’s story yet im disappointed w/ how it turned out ://. all in all, these characters were pretty fun to follow, and i like the dynamics between them in their club.
I love their relationship so much! They really supported and cared for one another and even the conflict made sense. Minato was such a great character to see progress and grow. It's a little rushed towards the end but given that the manga only runs for 3 volumes I think it does a good job at filling us in.
If the manga only focused on them this would be 5 stars. I enjoyed the second couple as well, but we never got to see their development after the conflict was introduced so that felt a bit unsatisfying. There was another element introduced in a extra story that made me uncomfortable with a side character that I can't discuss without spoilers, so I'll add that to end of this review.
All in all, the characters were great and I loved that although each of them have different personalities they don't change fundamentally but just learn a little more about themselves as they grow together!
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SPOILERS BELOW
There is a "mystery" person Emma is talking to that is teased throughout the manga. In a side story it is revealed that this is an adult woman. Even if it's a younger woman, I just felt that the set up to their relationship was weird and unnecessary. The sad thing too is that because it's teased throughout the main story I could see it bothering me on a reread.
Minato es una joven extraña que evita el tener que socializar con sus demás compañeras, pero en su intento de pasar por desapercibida es perseguida por una de sus sempais; quien se fijó en ella por llevar consigo un estuche instrumental.
La sempai Hibiki, es parte del club de música, únicamente que este no puede concretarse del todo debido al número de integrantes, en especial por su deseo de querer participar en un festival, es que trata de reclutar a Minato; sin embargo esta cuenta con un trauma al participar en público, debido a su anterior aparición en una orquesta.
Sin embargo, a pesar de su nerviosismo y pánico, es bastante buena al medir los tiempos y adaptar su melodía a los demás, pero especialmente, a Hibiki; su superior nota esto, es en donde decide impulsarla a superar este miedo, sin embargo, en este proceso Hibiki comienza a tener sentimientos por Minato.
Opinión personal:
Es una historia que mezcla la comedia, miedos, sobre todo el pánico escénico o el equivocarse ante los ojos de los demás, el romance es algo que puede verse desarrollar de a poco en poco, es una manera de encontrar tanto romance y comfort, tanto con uno mismo como con una relación, tanto romántico como en general.
An UNSAVORY conclusion to an otherwise-cute series. I was really enjoying Hello, Melancholic - I, too, was a gangly & socially uncomfortable weirdo in high school. However, this volume decided to reveal one of the side-characters' secret girlfriends, and it turns out that she's been dating... an adult woman with a car who picks her up at HIGH SCHOOL. Whyyyyy did pedophilia swoop in at the 11th hour to ruin the day? It is Not Cute to do that "lol you're more mature than ME" thing when an adult with a car and job is dating a like... 15 year old girl. Disgusting, horrible, you hate to see it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
this felt so rushed…honestly a mess. I really enjoyed the first volume but it just went downhill from there. here minato was acting out of character all of a sudden, things were progressing so quickly, and there were random time skips? this volume was especially confusing; I believe that this series could’ve been so much more. emma’s character had potential but that bonus story was really strange and off-putting. it feels like the author just jumbled together all their ideas for this series (and writing in general?) into this volume and then called it the finale.
4 stars. I was proud of Minato for finally standing up to Hibiki because as much as I like Hibiki she tends to be extremely pushy and not listen to Minato. They’re still super cute together though and I liked the character growth that Minato went through. Side note, Emma is such an awesome character and all this mystery surrounding her and her possible love life and she’s dating a grown ass woman? The ick. That bonus chapter gave me the ick. No ma’am.
a bit dramatic and I feel like it could have been a well-developed ending in a few more chapters or volumes!! but overall, very cute series, and I loved how Minato showed great character development.
side note: I'm choosing to ignore the side story at the end, which reveals Emma is in a relationship with a grown-ass woman. that is a NO and was completely unnecessary.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This ended up being such a cute series, loved the relationship and the way they learned to communicate, the way they learned to just see each other. They're dynamic was just so adorable, really, if you've liked K-On and wish it got gayer or enjoy any band stories, I do think this is a perfect series to try!
3.5 Stars. Why did we have to read about an underaged girl having a co-dependant relationship with an adult?! And in an extra bonus chapter? The only reason this is not getting a 4 Stars. Sad the series is over.
My only complaint is that I really wish this series was longer. I feel like there are so many things that were left open and I just want more. The ending felt rushed, but at least we got a real ending.
Overall, it was pretty cure and neither too dramatic nor drearily realistic. I can't say I'm happy about the side couple's ending, but they don't actually seem to be that problematic in their actions despite their words.
Jesus I thought we left the student-adult relationships behind 😭— taking THAT out of the equation, this was a short, fluffy series I enjoyed reading this slow Sunday.