Creative Staff
Story/Art: Maki Enjoji
Translation: Tetsuchiro Miyaki
Adaptation: Nancy Thistlethwaite
What They Say
Chiwa Takanashi has married a total stranger – company president Hokuto Mamiya – to get her father out of debt. She receives a letter written to her by Hokuto’s father revealing a secret she can’t tell her husband. But when that secret is revealed to the entire Mamiya clan, it could ruin Chiwa and Hokuto’s marriage…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Though Chiwa is certainly stabbed by the assailant, it fortunately turns out to not be too serious of a wound. Even so, Hokuto is quite shaken by the incident. In the midst of this, a mysterious emergency meeting is called for the Mamiya family. There it’s revealed that Hokuto was never actually related to his father, and thus isn’t biologically a family member. This turns into an argument amongst the family, though Hokuto steps out instead of hearing it through. To make matters worse he gleans that Chiwa knew this secret from her reaction. Surprisingly though, he manages to keep his spirits up and is even able to calm Chiwa down. However, as he wants to root out the culprit behind these cruel attacks without putting her at risk, they agree to temporarily divorce, painful as it may be.
Time passes, and Hokuto completely disappears from the radar in order to dig into the problem. Though Chiwa tries to put on a strong face for those around her, it ends up tearing her apart inside that she’s been “abandoned.” At her wit’s end, she confronts the Mamiya family head on about the murder. Of course she doesn’t have the proof to back it up, and is almost thrown out ranting and raving. Thanks to massive coincidence, though, this is the moment that Hokuto chooses to appear. Though he knows the murderer he tries to keep it from getting out and offers to not reveal anything if the person will simply leave him and Chiwa alone. At this Satoru’s mother admits that she was the culprit, and meant to scare rather than kill Hokuto’s mother.
Despite her outing herself as a terrible person, Hokuto still decides to not file a police report and chooses to distance himself from the Mamiya family.
Will Hokuto be able to withstand the simpler life now that he’s given up his work? And will the couple finally be in for a happy ending when they marry once again?
In Summary
Unfortunately, though it had the cards in place to end with a bang, this volume brings things to a close with a bit more of a whimper. Though the big mastermind is finally revealed, it doesn’t really pack anywhere near the punch one would expect, and isn’t followed up upon in any significant way. And though it’s understandable considering the circumstances, it’s frustrating to see Chiwa come off as so weak and dependant, with Hokuto once more needing to just happen to swoop in and save the day with his calm and cool demeanor. None of this is to say that this is a bad book, but it’s definitely one of the weaker entries in what’s been a rather enjoyable series, which is a rather unfortunate way to bring things to a close.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 18+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: February 3rd, 2015
MSRP: $9.99