What does it mean to love?
Creative Staff:
Story/Art: Maki Minami
Translation: Christine Dashiell
Touch-Up Art & Lettering: John Hunt
Design: Yukiko Whitley
Editor: Nancy Thistlethwaite
What They Say:
Komomo, in the throes of first love, doesn’t understand the feelings she’s having for Seto. She asks Natsu about feeling giddy, and he tells her that she’s simply experiencing a head cold. But when Komomo finds out Seto’s heart belongs to another, will Natsu be there to comfort her?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
If the first two volumes of Komomo Confiserie were about making Komomo comfortable in this environment she’s suddenly found herself in (first finding a home, then finding a friend), then this volume is about throwing all that out the window. Life throws you nothing but curveballs, because life is kind of a dick, but it’s about dealing with them, and we’re all Jose Abreu in this situation.
Komomo finds love in this volume. She finds every bit of love and goes through the whole process in the course of a couple days because of the person she fell in love with. The shoemaker, Seto, has taken her heart unexpectedly and unknowingly, but he already has a girlfriend that he loves.
Komomo Confiserie captures everything about love in this one volume. Even when you know you’re in love, you can’t bring yourself to do anything sometimes. You’re lost in a sea of emotions, and that’s only exacerbated by her being 15 or whatever and experiencing her first love. It hurts, it’s confusing, and you don’t feel like yourself. The only comfort you can find is in others, but Komomo doesn’t know this. She’s used to having people wait on her hand and foot, and now Natsu only lets her be independent. Komomo doesn’t realize she that she has friends to lean on now, rather than servants to wait on her. And friends are the best comfort.
In Summary:
Shojo manga is, ostensibly, about the throes of young love. Komomo Confiserie largely hasn’t been about that, but Maki Minami is just as good at capturing it in here as she was in Voice Over and Special A (the other two things I’ve read and watched, respectively, from her). It breaks my heart to see a young girl fall in love, only to have her own heart broken. But it brings hope to my hardened heart to see them overcome it. And they always do. They always can.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: March 1st, 2016
MSRP: $9.99
