Looove the color plate in this one again. I've bought a few prints and things but would gladly pick up an art book at some point, or just find more ofLooove the color plate in this one again. I've bought a few prints and things but would gladly pick up an art book at some point, or just find more of the color plates that I can plaster over my walls...if only I had room for that...
This is such a wonderful series. I wouldn't say this volume is as great as the last one - there weren't really enough of the Rangers, although I adored the final chapter with Red seeing the General being kind to an old lady on the train.
There was a lot more of the Evil League this time, with new characters being introduced, and a surprise reveal that the General's tail and shoulder claws are actually just some other creature in a symbiotic relationship with him??? That's honestly kind of weird...so he's not actually transforming at all when he's off work, he's just removing his cloak and his coworker. That's uh. Strange.
The cherry blossom girl and wooden bench boy chapter also wasn't as great as the others have been - feels a bit like those ones are running out of material. But it's still overall a really sweet book and I love this series a lot. It does feel like there could be more of an actual plot forming on the Evil League side, although I don't know if that's likely. The bit about "a new leader shaking up the Evil League" on the back cover wasn't true because that didn't happen at all?? Confusing. ...more
I love the covers for this series, I love the overall presentation, I LOVE the color plate in this one in particular, and I just love the story as a wI love the covers for this series, I love the overall presentation, I LOVE the color plate in this one in particular, and I just love the story as a whole. The anime covered all of these volumes (hopefully there will be a second season as more comes out), but it felt just as fresh and healing and wonderful to read it all.
I don't think this is likely to go anywhere in terms of big plots, but it's interesting that there's another planet trying to invade Earth, and potentially being a danger to the General's troops as well. I can dream of a future where he teams up with the Rangers to defend his newly beloved Earth, anyway.
This is a feel-good series, but there are so many quiet messages about family, friendship, loneliness, cherishing daily joys, and finding one's place in the world. The cat robot really tugged on some serious heartstrings here, and the General has finally found a pet/companion.
Love Red, as always. He's so incredibly funny and sweet. The chapter illustration of him fighting the General was fantastic.
More of this series, please please! It's such a joy....more
I love this series so much. It's a silly little concept, and it's incredibly affirmative and healing. Nothing gives you a better portrait of the odd bI love this series so much. It's a silly little concept, and it's incredibly affirmative and healing. Nothing gives you a better portrait of the odd beauty of humanity and our planet than a supervillain who spends his weeks trying to conquer Earth, and his days off enjoying all the little things we take for granted.
Loved every chapter this time around, particularly since we're past the need to open each one with the repetitive intro. The art and character design are wonderful, and there's such a gentle balance of humor and pathos.
There's the continuation of the sad little lovely story between the two trees - one of whom is now a bench, while the other isn't blooming anymore from grief. And some backstory about the Rangers, which honestly is kind of devastating. That final panel, with the Black Ranger's past partners fading into the distance, leaving him behind...
It's a startling reminder that the Rangers die, and as far as I can tell, it wasn't from old age. Was our General the cause of any of it? At what point did he arrive on Earth? How many generations of Rangers have there been, and who have they been fighting?
I love the little Ranger family that forms out of necessity but bonds on its own. Blue and Pink are so cute together. And I continue to adore Red. He's so funny and earnest and good. Loved his dream sequence with "the nice guy from the Evil League," and how it still ended on the General being nice to him. (Giving him a magical map so he'll never get lost again.)
This series was exactly what I needed this week. I adore this genre of calm, peaceful, "work sucks an awful lot but there's still so much room for small joys in life."...more
Wonderful and ridiculous and funny and rather sweet. I'm delighted this is getting an anime...although I'm disappointed Kenjiro Tsuda didn't carry oveWonderful and ridiculous and funny and rather sweet. I'm delighted this is getting an anime...although I'm disappointed Kenjiro Tsuda didn't carry over to the anime from the drama CDs. He would've been perfect for the unnamed evil general, who spends most of each week trying to wipe out all of humanity, and one day avoiding all responsibilities so he can eat good food and look at cute animals.
This is very much a serial joke format, where each chapter starts off the same way and follows a certain formula, so I'm not thinking there's going to be a ton of story or any real explanation of why Mr. Villain's world wants to take over the Earth or what they're actually doing to accomplish that during his work days. All the humans he encounter are definitely not aware that there are evil beings consistently trying to wipe them out, so most of the work must be done behind the scenes. Who knows. I suppose it doesn't matter.
I love Mr. Villain's character design and personality. Utterly perfect. And I like that even when he's in his non-human-blending-in form, with claws and scars and a reptilian tail, he's just as thoughtful and kind. He insists on his subordinates going home when their day is done, even if they haven't finished all their work, and much of his hatred of humanity seems to be focused on things that he thinks make humans the evil ones...like child neglect and animal torment and discontinuing a perfectly delicious ice cream brand with no warning.
The rangers are very interesting too, and I hope we do get to see more of their inner workings and what actually happens when they are fighting each other. But the perpetually lost red ranger is adorable, and I like his budding friendship with the villain.
Great start to the manga. Very excited to read the rest; I hope it won't take long for subsequent volumes to come out in translation. At least I've got the anime to look forward to regardless....more
The Santa Claus episode was random and weird - a holiday special I guess? It didn't really seem to fit witContinues to be adorable and fun and sweet.
The Santa Claus episode was random and weird - a holiday special I guess? It didn't really seem to fit with the rest. The tree spirits also initially caught me off guard, but their story was kind of lovely...a bit odd, too, but bittersweet in a thought-provoking way. And I guess it's not that out of place to have random magical/supernatural beings around, when Mr. Villain is an alien shapeshifter.
Finally realized partway into this one that there won't be any actual worldbuilding or backstory about where Mr. Villain came from or why he's on earth fighting humans, because this is just a fun villain-centric take on Power Rangers. Or, more specifically, the Japanese version, Super Sentai. (I'll be honest, I did not know these shows were still airing, or still popular. I'd thought it was something that'd blown into popularity and then fizzled away when I was little. But I've never watched any of it regardless.)
It fits with the story of the week format, and the fact that they never seem to make any actual progress in defeating the rangers or taking over the planet. So I guess there's not going to be a "conclusion" to this story...I wonder how long it will run.
I enjoy all of Mr. Villain's silly adventures, and how deeply kind and selfless he is. This volume started to dig harder into encounters that taught him about the fragility of life, human and otherwise. I don't think he really has that strong of a desire to wipe out humankind, and I'm guessing that will be less and less of a driving motivation for him over time. There's so much that he likes about earth, its strange customs, and the people he meets and talks with on his days off.
My one disappointment was that there wasn't enough of the red ranger. I'd thought their interactions would be a major recurring part of the story, but they didn't run into each other very much this time....more
Was not expecting this to be a new favorite. I had it mentally set aside on my return shelf, but I figured I'd hurry up and try it out, and it was...dWas not expecting this to be a new favorite. I had it mentally set aside on my return shelf, but I figured I'd hurry up and try it out, and it was...delightful.
We'll see how the rest goes - although it's nice that it's complete in three volumes, so there shouldn't be too much drama dragging out. The preview for the second volume sets up a couple of love triangles and jealousy arcs, but it seems likely those misunderstandings will wrap up quickly.
This may be about the yakuza, but it's so funny and sweet. The art is great, too.
Kashima has been working for the Sawatari "family" (yakuza terms) since the boss picked him up off the streets 16 years earlier. He's not only a loyal captain, but has been in love with his boss for a significant amount of time. Silently, because he knows it's one-sided, and saying anything would obviously ruin his relationship and probably drive him out of his job and his home.
Which means the pining is absolutely delicious. Every chapter has Kashima balancing his job - protecting the boss - with his heart - turning into an emotional mess whenever Sawatari gets too touchy-feely with him. It's definitely on the comedic scene, but it also feels very genuine; Kashima's loyalty and love really come through, along with Sawatari's affection for and trust in him.
One of the running plot lines is that the various other "families" in the area keep trying to take Sawatari out, and Kashima foils their plans - because he's absolutely excellent at his job - usually while brooding about something to do with his unrequited love for Sawatari. Misunderstandings about hostess clubs, a public bath, and even a kiss with the assistant captain Kashima has always hated...there's a lot of "drama" going on, but it's all very light-hearted, and I felt tuned into Kashima's emotions the whole way through.
Too bad about the assistant captain, who turns out to have an unrequited crush on Kashima, but he also went about things in the stupidest and least mature way possible. Not worried about that love triangle going anywhere, although from the preview images, it could be nice if he and Kashima actually become friends over the whole thing - like Sawatari wanted. Even though he's questioning that now, having stumbled across the kiss and now trying to figure out why it bothered him so much.
An absolutely wonderful start to a series. Very much hope I love the rest just as much. ...more
This is a wonderful series. It's gentle and affirming but very thoughtful and firm about how it conveys a ton of important messages.
The author's note This is a wonderful series. It's gentle and affirming but very thoughtful and firm about how it conveys a ton of important messages.
The author's note at the end is so pointed, too. I love that hope that a series like this will be seen as odd and old-fashioned one day; why would Hiroki spend five volumes trying desperately to hide his sexuality? Why would anyone care? Of course any parents would accept their child! Being gay is perfectly normal.
I have seen society getting progressively more open about this just in the time I've been alive, so there are reasons to hope for a nicer, more open and accepting future. Even if society and politics aren't always on a steady forward momentum...just the fact that people talk and write and think about things more means acceptance will gradually come.
The biggest hurdle was Akiyoshi, Hiroki's father. I'm guilty of kind of writing him off early on; in one of my other reviews, I said I didn't understand why Tomoko would've married a guy that close-minded. And that in itself is a pretty closed-off point of view. He just...didn't know. There are some people who will always be hateful to others or solidly stuck in their aggressively limited world views. But there are a lot of people who simply haven't had life experiences or the push to think about new things.
One of the best things about this series was how no one was portrayed as perfect. Tomoko is an absolutely wonderful mom, but she flubs things all the time. Even talking to her husband about their son was a difficult and complicated situation that I bet some readers would rant about: how dare she out her son! What if it'd gone horribly and Akiyoshi had reacted differently? Etc. And she does think and worry about that. Because no matter what decision you make, or how carefully you approach things, there's always the potential of messing up or hurting someone.
And that's being human. That's life.
Tomoko certainly didn't jump into it - it's the title of the series, after all, but she spent the entire series carefully reflecting on things and talking to people and gently prodding her husband to approach some things in new ways. Talking to him about her gay coworker was an important step, and then him meeting that coworker and his partner in a space that felt neutral, where natural conversation could flow. And she saw Akiyoshi shoving his entire foot in his mouth and then feeling bad about it. That was an important turning point that showed how he would react when he was faced with actual gay people in his actual life, instead of people on screens or in the news. It is pretty different when you know someone.
I loved his reaction and teared up with Tomoko when his initial response was complete horror...over how insensitive he'd been around his sons this entire time. And then of course he went overboard in the other direction, hammering Hiroki with non-sequitur comments about acceptance until that accidental coming out slip at the dinner table was part of a natural flow of things getting more comfortable.
This isn't how every family will react, of course. There are still plenty of situations where one or both parents will try to change their children or shut them out for not following the path they've decided is best. But it's a lovely view of a family dynamic that I hope is becoming more and more common.
That scene with Tomoko's friend was rough, and a different layer of realism. I like how Tomoko is a fleshed out character, too: she's not just a loving, accepting mom. She has her own struggles with how people perceive and judge her. It makes her worry that they're right. Is she too much of a doormat? Does she have any opinions of her own? Does she care about other people, if she just lets them do whatever they want, without helping to guide them along what's best for them?
But that's her personality. She's happy when other people are happy. That is her opinion and the way she prefers to live her life. If she truly feels strongly about something, she'll speak up. Otherwise she's happier going along with the flow the majority of the time, and enjoying other people's emotions. It's an interesting perspective and a type of personality that isn't celebrated too much nowadays, since everyone is supposed to be strong and opinionated all the time. (I'm guilty of that too, I suppose.)
It also makes sense that Yuri's been my favorite character this whole time. Love the little bit at the end with him discovering asexuality and then immediately approaching a girl who mentions it at school. He's so brave and direct. I like him a lot, and he's such an important part of their family unit, too.
This is just an excellent series, drawn to a very satisfying conclusion on all fronts....more
This series is kind of hard to read, especially with the long wait times between the short volumes, because it's so similar to the live action show thThis series is kind of hard to read, especially with the long wait times between the short volumes, because it's so similar to the live action show that I keep forgetting which parts I've already read, and which I've just seen. Often in slightly different timelines and settings, which makes it extra confusing.
So a lot of this volume, especially the bits with Adachi finding out about Tsuge being a wizard, and Adachi's coworker being an old friend of Tsuge's new crush, felt strangely repetitive. Didn't we cover that in the last volume or two?? I kept asking myself, going to pull the other books off the shelf to flip through them again.
Setting that aside, everything in this installment was super cute, if perhaps a bit fast-paced. Adachi's struggling with whether to tell Kurosawa about his mind-reading powers - it's something he would hate anyone to hide from him, but he's convinced the mind-reading is helping his relationship, and that Kurosawa might hate him if he finds out Adachi's been tricking him all along. It's a lot easier to keep someone interested in you if you can read their mind and give them exactly what they want!
Fortunately, Kurosawa takes the revelation really well, and oddly takes absolutely no convincing at all - you'd think he would struggle a tiny bit more with the proof side before just accepting that his boyfriend is a magical mind-reading wizard. But I suppose that's how much he loves and trusts Adachi - it doesn't really occur to him that Adachi might lie to him or do or say anything without a solid reason. And it's pretty cute how Kurosawa immediately starts making use of the mind-reading to convey all his thoughts and affections more easily and directly, especially in their workplace.
Now that this issue's been solved, the next volume will be another trope: Adachi being reassigned to a distant office, meaning a separation from Kurosawa, the romantic partner he can't tell his boss about. (His boss chooses Adachi in part because he's unmarried, and therefore easier to relocate.)
It is interesting that a lot of Adachi's success at work at this point seems to be attributed to his mind-reading powers, which he'll eventually lose once he and Kurosawa take a few more steps in their relationship. How will he maintain his confidence and proactivity once he loses his ability to tell what his bosses want? The live action did deal with this a little bit, with the contest (see, now I can't remember if that ever happened in the manga...it gets confusing!), but I think there's a lot more room to explore those kinds of themes. What happens to Adachi once he's no longer a wizard?
Tsuge and Minato was cute, too, and I laughed out loud when Minato thought of Tsuge as "dad-like." Another big hurdle to overcome, with an 8 year age gap that could seem insurmountable. (Although Minato, while younger, has some life experiences Tsuge does not.)
I also liked that Tsuge hesitated over whether to be selfish with Minato, or whether to help him patch up a friendship that could ultimately ruin his chances at ever being anything more than That Supportive Dad-Like Figure, but the fact that he made the right choice is part of what makes Minato feel warm and safe around him. It'll be fun to see that develop more, especially since I wasn't as interested in that couple in the live action.
Also loved this line from Adachi: "Every time I touched your heart...it made mine beat faster..."
What a lovely way to describe his mind-reading powers. I guess that's why Kurosawa didn't take much convincing, when it came to accepting and being appreciative of them....more
Another warm, good-hearted installment. We are getting into some grittier territory now, with prejudices coming to the forefront, and depictions of buAnother warm, good-hearted installment. We are getting into some grittier territory now, with prejudices coming to the forefront, and depictions of bullying. Although not, perhaps surprisingly, of Hiroki - who seems to be generally and genuinely liked by everyone.
Now that Hiroki's mom is pretty settled in her knowledge of her son's sexuality, it's time for her to start thinking through some of the challenges he might face. Unfortunately, a major one is right in their household - although only present a few times a month, since Hiroki's father travels for work and is rarely around.
When he does get a chance to interact with his sons, he goes for the very typical male-bonding scenarios: playing video games, talking about girls, etc. He has a very strong attachment to the idea of popularity, and based on one of his stories - about how he used to think it was "girly" to play the piano - it seems like he'd engaged in some bullying of his own when he was younger, all in a bid to retain his own social standing.
Turns out he'd secretly wanted to play the piano himself, and as an adult kind of regrets not being brave enough to go for it. His wife sees this as a positive bit of growth: if he can realize that pianos are for everyone, not just girls, then maybe he can learn not to be homophobic, too?
I am kind of wondering at this point what she saw in this guy to make her marry him. He's cheerful and energetic and nice (similar to Hiroki in some ways), so I guess maybe that was enough, especially since she met him before she had a reason to start really thinking and caring about more complex topics. But she seems a lot more...thoughtful and intelligent and perceptive, which makes their relationship come across as a bit imbalanced. It'd be nice to spend a little more time with the two of them showing their closeness and what makes them fond of each other - because it kind of feels like they're growing apart.
Hiroki and his mom and little brother are forming a wonderfully supportive little family, with the dad currently on the outside of it. That's probably one of the major arcs of this series - having someone that casually intolerant learn that his son is one of those mythical gay beings he didn't think actually existed in real life.
Hiroki's mom is introducing the topic gradually, and not stirring things up too much with her husband because she doesn't want to out her son before he's ready to talk about it himself. Instead, she tells her husband about the coworker who'd recently come out as gay - although he'd never been hiding it, he explained, he just figured he'd wait until people asked.
Those chapters were interesting, because there actually is a lot of casual prejudice mixed in, even coming from our wonderful narrator mom. She doesn't speak up when her other coworkers are saying things to him she doesn't agree with, but she latches onto him after dinner to ask him questions about how to interact with her gay son. It's sweet, definitely - she's going directly to the only source she has for advice - but as he points out, there isn't a Universal Gay Experience. He's happy to talk to her about his own life and his past, but he's not sure how much help it will be to her and her son - because they're different people in different circumstances.
These are the kind of multilayered narratives that make these thin volumes so thoughtful and nuanced.
Another area where Hiroki's mom is struggling is with stereotypes: she decides to ask her coworker whether all gay men are a little bit effeminate (something her husband said), and then actually asks Hiroki's friend Asumi if he's ever not totally masculine while at school.
Those scenes made me cringe, but I do see the importance of showing the effort it takes for even someone as lovely as Hiroki's mom to unlearn commonly held prejudices and stereotypes. She really is doing her best, and she's learning through her stumbles.
The one part I didn't particularly like was how she responded to Asumi's crush on Hiroki. Her son is gay. She knows her son is gay. She's doing everything she can to quietly support her son being gay. Yet a part of her still really likes that this sweet female neighbor and classmate is head over heels for her son. "You shouldn't say any love is impossible!" she cries, kind of thinking about Hiroki's presumably unrequited crush on his friend Daigo, but responding directly to Hiroki shooting down the idea of Asumi liking him.
I get that she just wants her son to see his value, and all the possibilities in front of him. But...Asumi isn't a romantic possibility. Girls aren't.
It reminded me of a time, years ago, when someone came out as bisexual to me and another friend. That friend paused, then replied: "Well, I hope you end up choosing a woman, then."
I don't remember what I said. I don't think I said anything to refute it, or to tell her that was a messed-up thing to tell him. At that point, I still had patches of conservative views, too. But that exchange did stick with me, and drifted back into my memory while reading about Hiroki's mother, because even if he was interested in both men and women (which it's pretty clear he's not), there's still something so hurtful about leaning on the hope that he'll choose the "normal" option.
She is trying. She'll get there. I hope her husband will, too. In the meantime, Hiroki has a wonderful mom, a really great little brother, an awesomely supportive best friend whom he happens to be in love with, and a whole group of great friends. He's thriving, and it's a really fun journey to accompany him on....more
This series is just so good. In some ways, it's just more of the same: snippets of the family's daily life, where one son happens to be gay, and the mThis series is just so good. In some ways, it's just more of the same: snippets of the family's daily life, where one son happens to be gay, and the mom continually tries to understand him better. But somehow every chapter manages to feel fresh. And always extremely heartwarming.
In an early chapter, we find out that Daigo got a girlfriend - the upperclassman head of their choir - which puts a wrench in Tomoko's hopes that her son's crush will eventually be reciprocated. I'd usually be in that camp. Don't you want to root for love? Isn't the goal for the feelings to be reflected back tenfold, and everyone to live happily ever after?
Except that's not how real life usually is, and it's not actually a bad thing. Tomoko gets some insight on this from her coworker, Tono, who's still struggling with being seen as the gay BFF at work but is good natured and chatty, and does occasionally give pretty good advice. (With the regular reminder that input from one gay man does not apply to every gay person in the world.) Tomoko's doing better at this as well, and mostly just appreciates having someone she can talk openly with.
He tells her a story about the best friend he had a crush on back in school, whom he'd never confessed to. There wasn't really any point. He had no reason to believe his friend would return his feelings, and while a part of him had initially thought he'd regret never saying anything, that hadn't ended up being the case. He's in a happy relationship now, still has a friendship with that guy from school, and has a lot of super positive memories about their youth together. So not everything needs to be dramatic, especially when you're young. A friendship may last a lot longer than a high school romance, anyway.
While the last couple chapters of this volume made me emotional, it does seem like Hiroki and Daigo may end up with a similar story. Daigo's largely absent for most of this volume, and villainized a bit by Asumi, but the one chapter we get from his point of view was the most emotionally impactful for me. He never did stop cherishing Hiroki's friendship. It's just tougher when Hiroki has different kinds of feelings and has to find ways to protect his own heart. Daigo likely doesn't understand the reasons, but it looks like they will be able to maintain at least some kind of friendship, going forward. And maybe Hiroki's feelings will start changing, too.
Tomoko is, as always, such a mom. She puts her foot in her mouth at several points, including when Hiroki snaps at her for always harping on Daigo Daigo Daigo. He has other friends!! His life doesn't revolve around one guy! It's true, and it is nice for him to be not completely hung up on one person for his happiness.
I do sort of wish there'd been more of the school trip, but I suppose we didn't need to see it all to know that he had fun.
I liked Asumi more in this volume; her possible crush on Hiroki didn't really go anywhere, and honestly, I'm not sure whether she does like him in that way. She might just like him as a person; they've known each other forever, and there's a really nice flashback about that friendship, and Hiroki's encouraging positivity when she cuts her hair super short and gets bullied by immature boys over it. There are some nice lessons about gender norms and how "cute" and "cool" shouldn't be girl or guy specific. It actually made me think about some things I've said even in recent years, trying to be supportive of trans friends, and possibly putting my foot in my mouth like Tomoko. Life is always about learning.
The dad is...making some very small progress? I liked the little lecture he went through at work, about single people not being lesser class citizens to the "winning" married couples. Reading this right after I Want to Be a Wall, Vol. 2 really makes me think a lot about societal norms around relationships and families and how stifling it is for everyone to be crammed into the same box. Tomoko says this a lot throughout this volume, but so many things aren't "Thing A is good and Thing B is bad" or flipping the script; it's just about allowing people to make their own choices about what works for them.
She is still pretty disappointed in her husband's homophobia, which currently seems to be restricted to gay men, since he finds lesbian couples brave and admirable. He admits that he knows he isn't supposed to be weirded out by men loving other men, but it still feels distasteful to him. So, not great progress yet, but at least he's thinking about it. And he's been safe enough in his bubble, where he doesn't think he knows anyone who is gay who might change his opinion.
I'm assuming in the final volume there may be some sort of a reveal, but who knows. That doesn't always happen in real life either, and while this series is very sweet and warm and uplifting, it isn't trying to sugarcoat everything.
One of my favorite characters is still Yuri the younger brother. I love all his scenes and find him so interesting. If this was more of a longform, plotty story, he really could've had a nice spinoff. I'd like to see what he does with his life, and where he ends up as an adult.
Every time I start a new volume (and it's been a while since the last one!), I think, "Eh, the art isn't that great," but thenThis series is so cute.
Every time I start a new volume (and it's been a while since the last one!), I think, "Eh, the art isn't that great," but then I get fully sucked into the story. I think it's especially refreshing after reading a few HS setting manga, because even though Adachi is awkward and inexperienced, he's also a mature 30-year-old man who knows how to reflect on his actions and change them as needed.
He and Kurosawa started dating in the previous volume, which means that we spend most of this one on their first date, and the aftermath. Because Kurosawa, being anxious and excited and an overachiever, plans too much and overwhelms Adachi.
The mind-reading thing is almost unnecessary at this point in the narrative and could be an afterthought - which I suppose it will be once the Mature rating finally kicks in - but it's actually used in really thoughtful ways. Touching Kurosawa gives Adachi the ability to quickly calm himself down from his anxiety spirals - he gets caught up in worrying about whether he's ruined things by being an inexperienced, gloomy guy, but every time he hears Kurosawa's thoughts he feels a surge of reassurance and confidence. That support and affection has been actively helping Adachi to grow as a person and to actively try to be more proactive and thoughtful with Kurosawa.
I loved that instead of some drawn out angst-fest after their kind of failed first date, Adachi immediately steps in and takes Kurosawa out on a much quieter date of his own planning - and then explains what he's been thinking and feeling. It's so wonderfully communicative and shows how comfortable and close the two of them are - which is precisely why they work as a couple.
And the mind-reading thing isn't going to drag out too much longer, because Adachi is finally realizing that it maybe isn't okay for him to be intruding on Kurosawa's thoughts like that. It looks like the next volume will deal with him telling Kurosawa about his powers, which is good forward momentum and an important next step in their relationship.
This series is just so sweet and refreshing. I really enjoy it....more
Wow, that moved a lot faster than I was expecting it to, but I really liked it.
The one disappointment for me isn't really a flaw in the manga itself,Wow, that moved a lot faster than I was expecting it to, but I really liked it.
The one disappointment for me isn't really a flaw in the manga itself, so it's not fair to drop the rating - it's just that the live action series improved Fujisaki's character by giving her more screentime, depth, and writing her as aroace rather than simply a fujoshi enjoying the chemistry between her two male coworkers.
In the context of the manga, the latter portrayal works (and is humorous), and helps to drive the story forward. For this format, everything's moving pretty quickly and none of the side characters are getting much attention - including the secondary pairing with Adachi's best friend, which is pretty prevalent in the TV show but simply gets smooshed into a short chapter at the end of every manga volume.
That's not a bad thing. It's just a reason to engage with both forms of the story, because you get something different from each of them. (And, from a little bit of quick research, it looks like Toyota approved the change to Fujisaki's character, so that's nice, too.)
So let's stick to the manga itself, and all the heartwarming things about this volume. Sadly, there isn't a whole lot of Kurosawa and Adachi living together, but there is a fun chapter (plus a funny extra) with their coworker coming over to crash the party and unintentionally make Kurosawa jealous. I like that Kurosawa's jealousy isn't actually portrayed as a good thing. It's not that it's bad, either - he doesn't act on it and doesn't use it to try to control Adachi - it's just presented as a non-glorified, natural impulse that he sometimes has to work hard to contain. And it does actually scare Adachi a little bit, which is interesting to include, too.
This volume is all about Adachi finally facing his developing feelings head-on - and determining whether he actually likes Kurosawa, or whether he's just grateful to be liked. That is a really thoughtful, nuanced view of romance and emotions that I don't see presented a lot - and it's why Fujisaki is brought in as another potential romantic interest. The way their relationship is playing out in the manga, Adachi really needs that final push - and the mistaken conviction that someone else likes him. A pretty, kind, seemingly demure woman who's everything he's supposed to want, and who would be so, so much easier to date.
So, in Adachi's mind, he has two choices. The perfect woman for the ideal, "normal" life. Or an intimidatingly handsome, sometimes a little frightening man who is taller and stronger and more successful than him, who will make things difficult simply by being another man in a society that doesn't still really embrace that type of relationship, and where he'll run into all sorts of obstacles and difficulties.
The choice is obvious. Isn't it?
But...emotions aren't that easy to reason with, and once Adachi has his options presented so clearly, his choice becomes all too apparent.
Ah, I loved the ending. It really could stop here and be satisfying...which is good, because the next two volumes aren't out in English until next year, so it's going to be a horribly long wait. (Although I have, of course, seen much of the rest in the live action.)
For now, until I get to experience the rest, these three volumes were great. A wonderfully sweet, thoughtful, occasionally surprisingly deep story about finding love - and confidence in yourself - in places where you'd least expect it. Wonderfully told, and it really does just get more emotional and satisfying as it goes on....more