Creative Staff
Story/Art: Miyoshi Tomori
Translation: JN Productions
English Adaptation: Ysabet MacFarlane
What They Say
Even though Maria wants to be with Shin, Shin fears that getting close to Maria will trigger her traumatic memories. When Maria starts having hallucinations, will they be able to overcome the past together? Or will the struggle only tear them apart?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
After an unusual dream sequence, Maria finds herself wondering how she can make up with Shin. After determining the class project for the school festival, she rushes off to talk to Shin, using the idea of performing together to kick off the conversation. Unfortunately, things quickly go south and they end up in a big fight. To make matters worse, Maria’s memories of what happened with her mother seem to be creeping back slowly but surely, shaking her to her core.
Fortunately, by contemplating Maria’s words and having Yusuke clear up his misinterpretation, Shin is able to come to grips with his feelings. Though Shintaro does his best to interfere, Shin is able to make up with Maria, but her memories continue to flare up. When Shin finally does admit his love and embrace Maria, she starts to break down, which only gets worse when Shin decides to hug her closer. Her emotions take their toll and Shin’s hand is unintentionally injured by a snapped piano wire, causing Maria to finally collapse. As she sleeps we’re treated to a flashback to her painful childhood. Meanwhile, Shin swears to protect her while feeling the crushing weight of guilt and self-deprecation.
Later on, Maria ends up nearly taking her life only for Aya and Tomoyo to sweep in and stop her. Though she once more comes to put a little trust in her friends, she ends up losing her voice from the stress she’s experienced. Even without her voice, though, she’s able to finally grip Shin tightly and get her emotions across. Is this the start of a happy ending, or just the calm before an even worse storm?
In Summary
With a great number of powerful moments that really dig to the core of both Maria and Shin, this may just be the strongest entry into the series yet. With some great imagery and emotion that leaps off the page, it really does a great job of making you feel for the characters. Though it’s definitely a little light on humor, the drama is so top notch that it doesn’t really matter much. The only fault I can think of is that this volume wrapped up such a huge plot point that it’s a question as to how the remainder of the series can have as much of an impact. All around, this is an absolutely fantastic entry into what was already a top notch series.
Content Grade: A
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: August 6th, 2013
MSRP: $9.99
