The heart wants what the heart wants.
Creative Staff
Story: HaccaWorks*
Art: nanao
Translation/Adaptation: Jocelyn Allen
What They Say
Satou declares a change in Tougo’s fate: in order for Mikoto, the master of the ayakashi, to regain her power, Tougo will be sacrificed to the camellia pond. Held prisoner, the unconscious Tougo weeps in his dreams over his mother Akane’s betrayal in running off with the mysterious Yoshiki. Will Abe-san and Company, tasked with Tougo, who is immersed in bleak thoughts, be unable to resist the temptation of a three-star Meal?! The truth looms ever closer…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Picking up where the previous volume left off, Tougo is taken up the mountain, unconscious, by Abe. We’re never given the name for whatever youkai or ghost Abe and Friends is supposed to be (not even in the translation notes,) but his mild temperament completely falls away in the face of having to deliver somebody else’s meal. As he’s about to give in to temptation Kurogitsune arrives to snatch Tsubaki away and carry him back up the mountain to the place where Yue is supposed to have his meal.
The mountain trail itself slowly crosses the divide between the world of man and the world of the supernatural. The tension was already high at this point, but it grows when Kurogitsune once again begs Yue to eat a meal. He doesn’t want to lose the boy he looks after like a younger brother. However, Kuro still won’t fully explain the situation, even when pressed. At this point, it’s just prolonging the drama. How much worse can the situation truly be for Kuro to want to withhold at this point?
The surprise in this episode comes from Tougo’s glimpse into what happened to his mother. It implies that her spiriting away was by her own choice, that the child she was pregnant with wasn’t the younger sister dropped at their doorstep but a boy. That Akane had essentially eloped with her long departed cousin or at least one who wore his skin. The reveal shocks the already unconscious Tougo and further muddies the waters.
The last chapter in this volume, which is supposed to be a gag chapter, is actually an insight into what will happen when the shadow over the town is lifted. The stakes for all of this have been exceedingly vague. We’ve known that Yue’s life is presumably in danger, but beyond that, it’s been hard to say. It appears that human’s and ayakashi are walking in two different worlds that rarely cross. When the shadow begins to lift the humans become invisible to the ayakashi, reverse spirited away. Even if the ayakashi survive the split, there’s a good chance that no human will ever see them again. If Yue returns to being a human his family will likely remain on the other side.
In Summary
This volume slowly inches closer to a conclusion, but it drags it’s feet along the way. The showdown with Abe and Friends feels like a waste of precious time while the real focus should be on Yue and Tsubaki. The twisted web of relationships remains hard to follow as the story never takes a step back to remind or clarify points for the audience. In fact, it only grows more complicated with the reveal about Akane. How everyone is connected becomes hard to remember when volumes are released months apart. I’m still curious to learn if Yue and Akiyoshi will be able to find a solution to saving the town without destroying the ayakashi, and to saving Yue himself. I just wish that so close to the end they would’ve dropped the mystery pretense and get on with it.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: B +
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: September 26th, 2017
MSRP:$10.99
