The show must go on.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Yoshiki Nakamura
Translation/Adaptation: Tomo Kimura
What They Say
Kyoko’s time in Guam is coming to an end, and with it her role as Setsu. She’s sad that she won’t have an excuse to be near Ren anymore, but unbeknownst to her, Ren is even more affected by their parting than she is! Facing his demons finally let him believe in the bright future Kyoko represents. But back in Japan, her dark past is rearing its ugly head. Will it get in the way of Kyoko’s hopes of a happily ever after?!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Kyoko’s time with Corn may be over, but now she gets to spend time with her beloved Ren. Straightforward as always, Kyoko cannot help but to blurt out to Ren about her time with Corn and that he kissed her. Of course, since Corn and Ren are the same person, he already knows everything, but indulges Kyoko and lends his ear to her.
Next on their set of their drama, Ren and Kyoko work on the last scenes together. As the drama comes to an end, there are mixed feelings on behalf of many of the people involved, especially Kyoko. She thinks a lot about her goal of becoming a real actress, which means one that will be recognized by Ren. She takes all his little lessons to heart and gets so into character that even off set, she surprises Ren by her acting.
It’s time for Kyoko to go back to Japan with Ren to follow shortly after. Kyoko feels bittersweet about leaving. She concerned about Ren and if he is going to take care of himself properly He assures her he will be fine. As a parting gift, he draws on her hand a stamp that reads, “Great Job” and “I can’t give you enough points”. He promises he’ll give her a real stamp when he returns to Japan, which will before the ink on her hand fades.
A new arc begins upon Kyoko’s return to Japan. There is no rest for the weary and she’s thrust back into work on a new drama. Yashiro gallantly picks her up in a limo to bring her to her next job. She is reunited with Amamiya, who is mentally not in the right place to do any acting.
It’s finally time for Kyoko to return home to her foster family. She is ready to pitch in and help, but is told she has a visitor. Her interested is piqued, but she’s angered that it is Sho. He’s not there for social reasons though. He came to tell Kyoko about her mother.
Kyoko is estranged from her mother and really plans to continue to not have anything to do with her. Sho states that Kyoko’s mother has been in contact with his parents and asking about her. Kyoko remains strong and stays on her course with the declaration of being a top-notch actress. That ends the conversation temporarily.
The final chapter begins with the first day of shooting for Kyoko’s new drama. There’s a big traffic accident and Amamiya and several people related to the drama are involved. Amamiya has relatively minor injuries, but her lack of confidence wants to give into the possibility of postponing the shooting another day or longer. Kyoko convinces her that running away isn’t the best solution. Amamiya decides to follow Kyoko’s advice and takes the plunge to starting shooting the drama despite her injuries.
In Summary
This volume was better than the last one. It had many components of the story mixed in, instead of the off the wall interaction Kyoko had with Corn. Kyoko continues to be an interesting character that is capable and intuitive one moment, and the next moment she’s an airhead with childlike beliefs. At times this huge difference in personality is a irritating to read and enjoy, but it’s the nature of this type or storytelling that makes this shojo more of a comedy or a gag manga, which many people enjoy.
I continue to love Nakamura’s art skills regarding her male characters and the wide of range of expressions she gives to all her characters. What I would like to see less of is all the distracting side comments. I’m crossing my fingers the next volume will be even better.
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
