Atsushi’s unquenchable thirst for Rockllusion stands to plunge the entire nation into chaos. As much as they’d like to avoid any association whatsoever, Hitomi, Nitta, and Hina find themselves compelled to act to avert this awful future. Get ready for shocking developments that could turn the tide of time itself―along with all-new laughs―in Volume 17 of Hinamatsuri!
Three volumes to go! In typical nonchalant series' fashion the ongoing story actually picks up on the main arc and puts the rock band that created the Esper future to the fore. The Esper girls realise that they have an option to change the future! Both comedy and ploy feel like they suffer to support the lurch to mainstream storytelling, but the Hitomi corporate world vs Yakuza turned this volume up! Just about a rounded up Four Star, 8 out of 12. 2026 read
This series is sticking to its low-key groove even as the plot enters endgame.
The psychic girls continue to mill about uselessly. Anzu has a sweet chapter reading her self-created picture books to a kindergarten class. Hina plays with a new doll she's made for herself to replace her absent father figure/housekeeper. Mao's enjoying being a celebrity.
It's up to the super-competent Hitomi who is juggling her remote high school classes with her role as CEO of a major corporation to actually kick some butt and get everyone focused on doing something about the looming dystopia.
It's a pleasant and relaxed coast to the conclusion in two volumes.
This was amazing. Now I have to wait for the final two volumes to release.
The manga continues to be funny as before but the mangaka has used the last few volumes to show growth for Hina. It’s subtle, because do it too much, and you lose the sense of Hina’s character altogether. The whole character growth is in her typical weird way and only makes sense in retrospect. In a similar vein, a lot of other characters are in a very different place now than when they first started - the mangaka has done well in moving the plot along with the humor and slice of life stories.
The other interesting thing is that while endgame is approaching, the manga has managed to not get overly intense. The focus is still on the individual characters and their day-to-day adventure. So while the English translations of the last two volumes haven’t released, I’m kind of sad about the wait, but the emotion isn’t out of wanting to know the end game, it’s more about the fact that for the meantime, the story (or the journey) of the whole cast of characters is on a hold. Journey before destination.
I’m not quite sure why this series isn’t as a big a success as, let’s say, One Punch Man or some of the other really popular manga. I say this because this series does pretty much all - action, comedy, drama, some romance, etc and it does all of it really well. This really is peak manga. It might also be one of the favorite series I’ve ever read.