Serizawa + Yamaguchi… + Makino
Creative Staff:
Original Story: Mag Hsu
Story and Art: Nao Emoto
Translation: Ko Ransom
Lettering: Evan Hayden
Editing:Ajani Oloye
What They Say
Just friends?
Still carrying the heartbreak of his high school years, Serizawa begins college life. Here, he befriends a quirky classmate named Makino and she sets him on the path to find his very first college girlfriend, Yamaguchi. Supported by Makino, a romance blossoms between Serizawa and Yamaguchi, but is Serizawa’s heart really with her or does it belong to someone else?
The bittersweet tale of romance and regret that inspired the TV drama!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Now fully transitioned from childhood and teenage romances, Serizawa has come a long way when it’s come to refining how he defines love. Keeping in mind his failed past romances, you can see exactly why he is so cautious when it comes to courting women this time around, wanting to make sure that he does everything in his power not to screw up.
With Makino now thoroughly introduced last volume, it’s surprising to see this volume begin while still in the college years of Serizawa’s life—he and Makino enjoying a nice platonic relationship, allowing a clean start for Yamaguchi, who was only briefly introduced previously. The three have become something of an odd trio since we’ve last visited them, with Serizawa and Yamaguchi acting more like the willing chauffeurs to Makino, who continues to balance her endless part-time jobs with her seemingly unyielding cheery disposition. As one-sided as the friendship can be at times, however, you’re given the impression that the three of them at the least enjoy their time together, with any possibility of a love triangle being aired out and eliminated early into the volume.
The main focus this time around is Yamaguchi’s developing crush on Serizawa. While we know fully well of Serizawa’s own cautious mindset he’s come to enter romances with, we still don’t have as firm an understanding of Yamaguchi herself, the reader slowly piecing together her personality alongside Serizawa. Rather than giving her a colorful personality like Makino, Yamaguchi feels more subdued, with no real defining characteristics, which immediately brings Serizawa into second-guessing himself. He finds her attractive, but with nothing else to go on, he questions if he’s even justified to pursue her to begin with—a plain yet incredibly realistic internal struggle.
Meanwhile, Yamaguchi tries to act accordingly, attempting to take the initiative the longer she sees Serizawa clearly taking a step away from her. The two’s seemingly out-of-sync emotional push and pull are the real defining factors of this volume, their shojo misunderstandings feeling far from trite and going as far as making for some solid page-turning moments at times. Sexual tension between the two is built up until the absolute tipping point where Yamaguchi’s intentions and backstory are finally brought up, feeling well deserved and complimentary to the current scene at hand.
Following chapters with the two as an official couple are equally enticing, as their daily routines together feel genuine and pure. With neither being in a real relationship beforehand, the two share similar anxieties that the reader can easily latch on to. Moments like bumping teeth during a particularly overzealous kiss, or holding your breath when kissing are more endearing than they deserve to be, and help the readers cheer their relationship on, even though you know it won’t last (did anyone notice the chapters are still named after Makino and not Yamaguchi..?).
In Summary:
Witnessing Serizawa’s definition of love evolve over time remains as interesting as it’s ever been, especially now that he’s in a relationship he can truly define as well… a relationship. Now well into his college years, the time he spends with Yamaguchi feels just as nostalgic, if not moreso, than the time he’s spent with previous flames—the two coming off as painfully endearing and relatable for anyone that’s been in a relationship at that stage in their life, which only makes it that much more heartbreaking come the volume’s cliffhanger ending.
Content Grade: A+
Art Grade: A+
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: Older Teen
Released By: Kodansha Comics
Release Date: July 12, 2016
MSRP: $10.99