Creative Staff
Story/Art: Keiko Suenobu
Translation/Adaptation: Mari Morimoto
What They Say
Cliques and circles tear a class of high school teens apart, so when a traffic accident in the mountains wipes out much of the class, five teens must resort to threats and peer pressure to ensure their survival
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Limit has certainly been a little all over the map to some degree, especially when you consider that everything that happened occurred over the course of five days. The book built up a lot of things as it progressed and as we saw in the previous volume, some of the distrust towards Hinata was certainly well warranted. But as we’ve gotten to know the kids and the twists of fate that have brought them where there are so far, it was not a surprise to see that Konno would do all that she could to save Hinata, since they had lost so much already. Trying to bring them all back becomes a really driven purpose for those that survive and use it as a focus whereas some just give up and retreat into themselves, no longer truly carying. Seeing Konno go the survival route fits into her personality well, especially with the connection she does have to him in their shared past.
With what Hinata has done, her keeping him alive is a double edged sword since there is that element of danger. But what works is that Konno is able to convince him that they need to move forward and survive and to face what’s yet to come in life. That allows her to help him survive, and to even draw Morishige into helping with her heartfelt words, and to put Hinata on the right path for atoning for it as best as possible. Not that there can really be atonement for the deaths he caused, even the accidental one, but it works better than him taking his own life. What’s really interesting though is the way the Konno strikes a deep connection with Morishige through this as she pushes her just as hard to survive as Morishige is intent on staying in the forest and not returning home.
Morishige’s life is a difficult one as we’ve seen because of her family situation, and that’s all drawn back into this final volume as we see her describe more of it. The pain she’s felt also comes from the way her father is so all smiels afterward, atoning for it in his own way, all while she knows that it’s going to happen again. The fear that you can see in her is definitely well done and it makes the situation all the more real and relatable for many. But seeing the way Konno manages to break through that, riding off the high and intensity of pushing Hinata in the right direction, it works very well to see how the metaphorical door opens for Morishige and that something new is coming into her life to change things.
With this being the last volume, they do wrap things up quickly, which does work since this is not a situation that would truly go on long and it would be a mad dash of events as the kids are finally rescued, though not without a little drama between Konno and Kamiya as well that works. The epilogue nature of the book is decent, though too many things are left unanswered overall with how the characters change and are mentally after such an ordeal, but I liked that we had some additional closure with Ichinose and that we got something from what happened with Hinata and his confessions, though I really wanted to see that followed through even more than it was.
In Summary:
Limit is an unusual series overall with what it does, particularly with the way the kids went violent so fast and there was an extended period of time before anyone knew there was a problem with the bus missing, but it dealt with the fallout in an interesting way with the dynamic between various personalities of girls and then throwing in a guy towards the end that added new layers of distrust. It’s definitely more of an ensemble book, even if Konno is the lead, and it plays to some issues where the characters are struggling with the psychological impact of what happened and how itmesses with them. While it left me wanting a bit more closure, I’d love an epilogue book that goes forward a few years and shows the real fallout and changes, what we get here is pretty solid and interesting throughout as it draws to a rapid close. Keiko Suenobu does some good stuff here and it’s generally well paced and well drawn, making it an easy recommendation for those wanting something a little different in the school realm.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Vertical
Release Date: July 23rdt, 2013
MSRP: $10.95
