A book that tugs at the heartstrings.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Kou Yaginuma
Translation/Adaptation: Hiroko Mizuno, Tomoe Tsutsumi, Nicole Dochych
What They Say
Tragedy strikes the TSS. It’s not long since the first class of the astronaut course got to experience great pride when one of their best was selected to join NASA. With those feelings still fresh, the academy is then shaken to its core and one member may not be able to return to her duties now that her guiding light has faded.
The Review!
The volume begins by flashing back to Shu’s training, and quickly getting to his hospitalization. Before long, we learn that Shu’s mother died of symptoms similar to the ones he now has, and see that Shu’s father may have a heart underneath his gruff exterior after all. Shu’s sister Sakura visits him in the hospital, and he tells her to follow her dreams and make lots of friends before sending her off to go get him a drink. Upon returning, she sees him blood-covered in his bed, peacefully holding a picture of the night sky.
Jumping back to the future, we find Asumi, Kei, and Marika helping to set up Shu’s funeral. Sakura is called to play a song at the piano for her brother, and much to everyone’s surprise she chooses the Flea Waltz. As it turns out, Shu had asked her to play it for him when he came back home, his last request to her before he passed away. Meanwhile, Marika goes to look for Fuchiya, only to find him crying profusely over the loss of his friend. Afterwards, Kei remembers that she once asked Shu to play her the Flea Waltz, and flashes back to when she confessed her love to him. She breaks down into tears, and Asumi appears to stay silently by her side.
After a few more scenes relating to Shu’s passing that tug at the heartstrings, we return to the reporter Ichimura who was chasing down the story regarding Marika. Yamaji, the freelancer he had talked to previously, calls him up and asks for his support in bringing Marika’s status as a clone to the public eye, in order to bring her father to justice for his actions and to prevent him from such transgressions in the future. In a short aside, we learn that Shu died from the same illness that Marika has, after which Ichimura asks Yamaji to keep the story private for Marika’s sake. To convince Yamaji that Marika’s father won’t continue to create clones, Ichimura travels a long way to catch him at the grave of the first answer, securing an answer in the process. Finally understanding his position, Yamaji agrees to drop the story and hands over his materials, bringing things to a close and preventing Marika’s life from becoming a media spectacle.
Finally, it comes time for the last special training session. The students are taken to an island, and surprisingly this training seems to be nothing more than a grueling session on a tight schedule. The days go by and everyone becomes increasingly fatigued, and when it comes time for one final set of laps at the end of the session, it looks as though Kei won’t make it. Fortunately, with a lot of guts and a little encouragement from Asumi, she is able to make it to the finish just in time. Before the students can get a breather, however, they are dropped off randomly on the island and told to reach a certain marked point, with absolutely no aiding others. This leads to countless perilous situations, forcing Asumi to decide between helping her friends and continuing on the path to her dream. Fuchiya helps out by sacrificing himself to aid Kei, but Asumi eventually runs across Marika and is unable to leave her, deciding instead to see how close they can get to the goal. No one is able to make it in the end, but they are allowed to continue on in the program regardless.
As the volume comes to a close, we find Fuchiya in a train which soon gets caught in a landslide and buried, leaving his fate a mystery.
In Summary:
This book takes what has always been fantastic about this series and pushes it to new levels. The closing on Shu’s character is touching to such a degree, and is rendered so beautifully, that you can’t help but be deeply affected by it. Seeing the other characters move on with their lives as well is both incredibly painful and inspiring at the same time. Amazingly, the back half of the volume manages to keep up with the fantastic precedent of what comes before, testing both the characters’ determination and the bonds that hold them together harder than ever before. My only complaint in reading this book is that it leaves us on another heart wrenching cliffhanger, making the wait for the next volume a tough one yet again.
Content Grade: A+
Art Grade: A-
Package Rating: A-
Text/Translation Rating: B+
Age Rating: N/A
Released by: Vertical, Inc.
Release Date: January 10th, 2012
MSRP: $13.95
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