Maki decides it’s better to have loved and lost, rather than never having loved at all.
Creative Staff
Art/Story: Kaneyoshi Izumi
Translation: Katherine Schilling
Adaptation: Ysabet MacFarlane
What They Say
Is it written in the stars that girls named Erika will always break Maki’s heart? With betrayal and separation ravaging his relationship, love certainly isn’t easy for this Seiho boy. But as his second year of high school comes to a close, will he still somehow manage to find happiness?
Content (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Thanks for spoiling the contents of the cliffhanger, back-of-book blurb! At the end of the last volume, Fuyuka began to suspect that Kamiki had been cheating on her with Takano. That would mean that Maki was being screwed over as well, and Fuyuka shares her concerns with him. At first he’s dismissive of the claim, but then he panics. The truth lies somewhere between cheating and not. Maki confronts Takano, they have a fight, they both walk away. At that point the damage is done, both realizing there’s a lot that neither shared with each other during the course of their relationship.
As usual, it’s a communication breakdown that causes trouble for the couples. Takano ends up hurting Maki more than was necessary because she won’t open up to him. Fuyuka probably ends up growing the most as a character in this final volume, she actually takes the time to talk to Kamiki and tell him what she was thinking.
I have to hand it to the author for not taking the easy way out of story. While the ending is certainly not a disaster of broken friendships, it isn’t a happily-ever-after either. Most high school relationships don’t last, and Seiho hews close to reality for it’s finale. We don’t see Maki’s senior year of high school or what happens to him after he graduates. The series ends on a wistful note about time spent in high school and the friends you make.
That leaves about a quarter of the book left to fill out. The author and publisher used the extra space to run a stand-alone story unrelated to the series. It’s a story of two broken individuals who find solace in each other at the detriment of everyone around them. The author notes that she was careful to keep the story of Seiho less vulgar and violent than what she expected a boys school was really like. Well, the extra story puts to use all that unchannelled smut and tastelessness into a direct antithesis of what made Seiho compelling reading. At the very least it should make readers of Seiho appreciate it’s characters even more.
The volume closes out with a slightly strange author’s note and a humorous alternate take on the close of the story.
In Summary:
The outcome of Seiho Boys’ High School isn’t what I was expecting. The author doesn’t pull any punches, and while there isn’t a level of melodrama here that is usually seen in titles like this, you do feel for the characters as their school year comes to a close. The closing chapter ties up a few lingering relationship issues in a quiet and reserved way. Seiho Boys’ High School isn’t all that unusual in plot or premise, but the characters feel real in a way that is usually lacking. The art is clean and attractive and the setting is a nice backdrop for the series. Aside from the tacky stand-alone story to fill out the page count, it’s a decent ending to a solid series. Fans of high school romance dramas should check it out.
Content Grade: B +
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: B +
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Viz Media
Released Date: October 4th, 2011
MSRP: $9.99