Last Gender, Vol. 3

Last Gender #3

by Rei Taki, Mishima Kitan (Translator)

A never-ending search for who we are.

BAR California is a secluded sex bar that welcomes people of all genders, propensities, and sexual orientations. For some, it’s the only place where they’re free to be themselves. For others, it’s a place for self-discovery.

The mysterious young woman who runs the establishment, Yo, quietly watches over the patrons every evening. No one seems to know much about her. But when a new part-timer accidentally walks into her room, her past—and how the bar came to be—is gradually revealed.

The final installment of Rei Taki’s intricate and deeply moving series. Her words will touch you to the core!

18+

Genres: Manga, LGBT, Queer, Comics

176 pages, Paperback

Published June 13, 2023

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the author's desire to educate and encourage acceptance of others' differences, but the actual stories are just really bad soap opera dreck with a secret twin and other goofy revelations in the closing stretch.


FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Chapter 15. "You're Fired." -- Chapter 16. A Handcrafted Wedding -- Chapter 17. Family Trouble -- Chapter 18. Cherry Blossoms Fall, and Bloom Once Again -- Chapter 19. Yo and Sumi -- Chapter 20. The Beginning -- Chapter 21. When We Are Nameless -- Final Chapter. To All of Us Who Are Nameless

[Toni · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[ℂ ✧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Final bastant agredolç en què no tenim una panoràmica clara de tots els personatges... una llàstima perquè els dos primers volums em semblen potentíssims :( Tot i que al principi tenim una boda preciosa al club i una bona reflexió al voltant dels prejudicis i les aparences, m'ha semblat que ha faltat aprofundir amb uns quants personatges per mostrar realment una progressió (el noi a qui se li va suïcidar la parella, el pansexual i la noia trans, l'asexual de les operacions estètiques...). Fins i tot m'ha faltat més detalls sobre la propietària del bar i l'universitari, que són els protes d'aquest volum, i que, malgrat el salt temporal, no sabem com han evolucionat en el camp del gènere i les relacions amoroses...

[Dee (books.n.botany) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stand by the fact that - as a whole - this series has an amazing concept. But the last volume fell flat, and the ending (although fitted to the circumstances you learn about in this volume) doesn't feel satisfying for such an intense trilogy.

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

The character development goes a lot deeper in this volume and it feels more like an actual story than the first two books. That said, there were quite a few places where I didn't quite understand what the author was trying to say; it got lost.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

The cover of this is equally as stunning as both of the other volumes, I love the typography so so much.

Having a manga series so focused on queer identities and their slice of life stories is so so wonderfully beautiful and it makes such a nice change to only boy love stories.

We delved deeper into the story of the bar employee, Yo. Whilst I was glad we got to see more of her story and her background, I did miss the formatting of volume one where we had more slice of life stories from all different types of people instead of focusing on just one.

All in all, I had an enjoyable time with this manga series and would recommend it to anyone looking for a nice short series focused on queer identities.

[Galatea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am, once again, conflicted.

The story's good, but I feel like it could have been polished much, much more. Without going into spoilers, a couple of returning characters get more development, and Yo, now laid bare on the cover, has her backstory and everything else about her revealed as well. It is super heavy, even by the standards of an already emotionally loaded series, but for what it's worth I think it was handled well.

That being said, I really wish the translation was given more time to shine. Certain sections (p.14, bottom panel, p.158-159) had text laid out rather strangely, where I had to reread the page just to comprehend what was being said and was taken out of the story for a bit. Others (p.91, bottom-left panel, p.138-139) were intelligible, but came across as extremely stilted, and I think rewording those areas could have made the scene really pop.

It's a damn shame that a few emotional beats stumble as one reads through them, but as they are, they are still deeply impactful, as is the series as a whole. Definitely not for everyone, but just as definitely a necessary story for those who care about the turmoil and diversity inherent in having a human identity.

Also idk if this is spoilers but covergirl definitely has Autism. I can tell because I have it and she makes me go :OOO whenever I see how she acts.

[Zian B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

As good as the previous 2 volumes were, I don’t really like how things went about in this volume. Marie’s story ended on a possibly hopeful yet very open-ended route and I wish she would’ve got a more definitive ending revolving around the conflict with their daughter. Also, the massive amount of information about Yo’s backstory and how it connects to 2 other seemingly minor characters was a lot to take in. I feel like it should’ve extended the series another 2 or even 3 volumes; partly due to all of the trauma that got revealed and partly due to forming more concrete endings on Yo’s connections with the 2 seemingly minor characters.
Overall this short manga series was informative, yet emotionally taxing.

[Lexyloowoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am content with all this last book ended. There’s something very peaceful about the closing portion of the series, and for the most part, all of my questions have been answered. I wish there was more flashbacks of characters from the first book, but I’ll except that flaw. I’m not exactly sure if I’ll read this series again. It wasn’t bad and I appreciate that it talked about the LGBTQ plus community that being said everything that I had to share for the most part I already knew. There were a handful of things that open my eyes to, but it’s also a bit of a sad of a series. That being said, I never cried. But I was hoping for a little more happy.

[Ashe Catlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm genuinely surprised on how well this volume did, in not only encompassing what has came previous but actually wrapped up the story. In the first volume we had a multitude of stories, with barely any connective tissues aside from location and the second one introduced a guy who wanted to learn about sexualities. Having this be a final volume, it didn't really feel like it built a narrative due to it's anthology nature.

Choosing two stories that came before, with the guy who liked to dress up and the bartender one was a solid choice and it encompasses everything that came before and actually felt like an ending. Making it able to actual generate an emotion and making it feel final.

[任煦涵 · Rating 5 out of 5]

“We’re all looking for pieces of ourselves. At times, they’re what we want to hide from others. Or they could be what relieves us or protects us. Some pieces might garner heartless revilement from people, while others make us feel proud. Some will hurt us and make us lose hope. And others will help us take a step forward in our lives. Just when I thought, after going through hell, that I found the right words.. they turn out not to be entirely me. However, I won’t give up on the pieces of me that are nameless and I don’t want others to give up on pieces of themselves either”.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt more like a 3 but ended closer to a 3.5. I wish this series had another volume to breathe, but I think it wrapped up well enough for its short run. I think I was just less interested in a non-LGBTQ character coming in to teach Yo/Sumi about themself. There’s something to be said about how we can all learn from each other regardless of gender or sexuality, but it just wasn’t my favorite way to end a series that showcases so many queer characters.

[Shelby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a lovely way to wrap-up this series. In volumes 1 and 2, we learn about a wide variety of very specific labels for gender identity and sexual orientations, but in this volume we learn that it’s okay to not know. It’s okay to be unsure and to question things. It’s okay to be unlabeled and to simply just exist as you are. I think that’s really beautiful.

[Anilea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wasn’t expecting the last volume to pack such intense themes, but it was worth my time and patience.

I enjoyed the series from it beginning and I can happily say that the ending was as cathartic as I hoped it would be.

A highly recommended Queer Manga for us queers and those questioning their identities and those who wants to learn without being too curious or full of bad faith.

[Paulette · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was so much to fit into the last volume of this series to conclude, I wish there could have been at least one more to do it, but nonetheless, the mangaka did a very good job anyway. I ended up enjoying the focus on Sumi’s (albeit tragic) backstory.

[n [larrythelatypus] · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like that we got a glimpse into Yo's story, but if these 3 volumes were truly just the stories of all the ppl who come into the bar I would've been happy with that too.

probably some of the best representation of lgbtqia+ people in manga, ever period

[Aurora · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really don’t like the “found family, but they break up at the end” and that’s what the resolution here felt like.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I liked this volume the least of the three. At least we finally get the story of the enigmatic proprietor, Yo, but it's far-fetched and not very satisfying.

[Mariia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Моя перша квір манга з цікавою кінцівкою :)

[Natsumi · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.7

[Jordan C · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars
beautiful, but also realistic (for the whole series)

[Rebecca Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.