With the school trip over, the girls have returned to their normal school lives…or have they? When Kurokawa runs into a boy she knows from her childhood, things turn interesting fast. Just what does her childhood friend mean when he says he wants to “meet up”?
Post-trip, things seem to be settling do… nope, nope they aren’t. Kurokawa has her friends back, but there’s a little backstory we never knew. Then a boy enters the picture and that has two girls fraying at their emotional edges, but it’s only minimally over him.
It's been far too long, but our dynamic non-duo are back to dance around their feelings for another volume fraught with peril and near-misses and, oh, that other thing too, but you'll have to read the volume to see that part. Suffice to say, there’s a lot left for the final volume but what’s in here was worth the wait.
Ironically, the thing keeping our heroines from being happy is, essentially, themselves. Fujishiro can't admit her feelings to herself and she's also letting her former friends (who are absolute miseries, but in such a tolerable way that I love how they're written) shatter her confidence by reminding her that, for some people, an apology and some basic decency might not be enough to erase hours of bullying.
Then again, said bullying has convinced Kurokawa that she has essentially no attractiveness, despite many, many examples to the contrary, which means she can't even fathom anybody being attracted to her, let alone Fujishiro or, say, the childhood friend who shows up to get his butt handed to him (I'd say spoiler, but you do know what genre this is, right?).
He's a super nice guy, which is a smart touch that even the story acknowledges, as it quickly stomps on the ‘oh, well, it’s just not the right guy’. The storytelling here is wonderfully effective at conveying Kurokawa’s… interest… in Fujishiro (which we learn has been boiling over secretly for years). Watching her go from zero to a hundred discussing her favourite person is great and having it be overheard by said person? Delicious!
This series has always crushed it in the big emotions department and this volume is no different. The girls end up on a not-date that’s absolutely the best and Kurokawa has an epic reminiscence where her own words show her the way forward. For all her handwringing, Fujishiro does love Kurokawa and the misery she’s willing to put herself through confirms it.
Of course, the last chapter is the standout… for reasons… and starts things moving towards the finale. Fujishiro goes through the wringer even more and her struggle, plus the way it’s portrayed, are wrenching right up until one show-stopper of a catharsis.
Not surprisingly, I'm utterly fascinated to see how this will play out in the final volume. I mean, the coupling (possibly couplings, there are three very neat pairs here, just saying) is inevitable, but if this story has shown the audience anything, it's how damned miserable that teenagers can be over the most petty stuff. I'm sure a same-sex pairing, if they dive into it, will go over without issue...
Is there anything especially new here? No, no, there is not. Despite their utterly amazing friendship formed in the first volume especially, this series is hitting some very tried-and-true beats that many a yuri story has trod. Of course, the not-so-secret is that this series is doing it a lot better than most of them by virtue of its incredibly strong writing and it has some of the best art I've ever seen.
5 stars - usual rule applies, ie I love this series and have no objectivity, but it was a great take on the themes of many yuri stories. One of my favourite takes on this style of yuri ever, in fact, and one I’ll likely re-read for years to come.
Very dramatic! While I think outsiders come and go a little too quickly, I like seeing the friend group come to terms with the different ways attachments can manifest. All of them trying to define whether what they feel for the people in their lives is friendship or a deeper love. It's interesting, although, it confuses me that we continue seeing the negative effects of associating beauty with value but no one's combatting the idea just yet. Is this an inadvertent thing? Because if someone had tried getting Kanade to see that she is a great person regardless of what she looks like, I feel like a lot of this could've been avoided.
Fujishiro finally figures things our and the moment that we knew was coming arrives. It was powerful and well delivered. It is pretty clear what will happen with our MCs but I am curious how things will play out for the side characters.
Kuro también tiene secretos para Fujishiro...qué es lo que piensa cuando la ve? Que hasta sus antiguas amigas lo notaban, algo siniestro. Ojala que con estos celos hacia el amigo de Kuro que siente Fujishiro se de cuenta de sus verdaderos sentimientos. Ahí se da cuenta que Kurokawa la sigue viendo como inalcanzable, la admira de lejos...y se da cuenta que tal vez que la vea como amiga no es exactamente lo que desea. Maho si que es calculadora, puso todo para que Fujishiro se de cuenta que tal vez las cosas con Miki y con Kurokawa no son como ella piensa. Kuro va a rechazar la confesión de Aki, pues se la pasó mucho mejor con Fujishiro, aliviandola y haciendola darse cuenta que la ama, confesandoselo al instante y besandola...esto no va a salir bien...encima las vieron Maho y Miki.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
OMG! They finally kiss! Who, you say? Well that would be telling, wouldn't it? Wow, what a way to end the volume. My heart is all pitter-patter. As usual, there's some drama from the gyaru group, but it seems to work itself out. If you have been enjoying this series as much as I have, you MUST read this volume! Ok, that's it for now, my friends! See you on the review pages of many other manga!
A bit dramatic for my tastes, but still really good. Fujishiro's realization was definitely the highlight. It was heartfelt and really cute! I can't wait to read the final volume!
Ooh! I was waiting for this to happen! Fujishiro is my favorite. She's so honest and kind. How she handled Izumi with openness. I hope we get to see Izumi find happiness too! All the characters are so likeable. Ah! Let's go I can't believe the next volume is the final one! I can't wait.