”What is the essence of a tweet?”
Creative Staff
Story & Art: Ryoko Fukuyama
Translation: Casey Loe
What They Say
I loved you too much.
Nino Arisugawa, a girl who loves to sing, experiences her first heart-wrenching goodbye when her beloved childhood friend, Momo, moves away. And after Nino befriends Yuzu, a music composer, she experiences another sad parting! Luckily, Nino reunites with Momo and Yuzu in high school, but things haven’t played out the way anyone expected…
Yuzu and Nino have been tasked with writing the debut song for a popular fashion-model duo. They manage to complete their first collaboration… but to what end? Meanwhile, Tsukika goes in search for Momo, but will she be able to find him when all she has is a questionable lead?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The problem with an increasing cast in stories is making sure that they each serve a purpose to the story at hand—every page and panel of a character or group of characters must progress the plot at least somewhat or else it just comes off as too meandering. This tends to be a pitfall especially for shojo, which outside of the goal of “main girl chooses a guy to be romantically involved in” tends to be rather aimless as to how that comes about. Because of this, authors tend to instead focus on character-centric moments that while helping the readers get attached to certain characters, never help with the overall story.
Enter Anonymous Noise volume 8.
While previous volumes in the series have been a fair mix of good and bad, volume 8 is absolutely solid from start to finish, beginning with an objective, and carrying it out to completion by volume’s end. We begin with Sui and Juri—obnoxious teen models that main characters Nino and Yuzu are tasked with making music for. The duo’s introduction is strong as we immediately know how we the readers are supposed to feel about them, with author Fukuyama shifting those initial perceptions as the volume continues. From Nino and Yuzu’s perspective, we get to see them adjust to creating music for a purpose outside of their band In No Hurry, while from Sui and Juri’s perspective, we eventually see their jerk facades fade and realize that they’re just as passionate for their craft as any other musician would be.
Meanwhile, Fukuyama is able to take pre-existing threads with other characters and work them into the volume’s main plotline perfectly. Long gone are the awkward asides that never go anywhere, as we see Fukuyama skillfully place her tertiary character’s storylines through Nino and Yuzu’s own narrative. From comedy to drama, everything just flows well this time around, with a plot progression that’s so thoughtfully paced out from start to finish to really make you care about the cast at all times instead of when it matters most. Likewise, there’s a subtle but noticeable improvement in Fukuyama’s art as well. Screentones are a lot more varied, and characters are more consistently detailed. When the plot swells, the art does as well, becoming as in sync with each other as you’d expect a musical harmony.
In Summary:
Anonymous Noise volume 8 works as a solid single-volume arc that works well on its own. On top of Fukuyama’s improved art, we’re treated to a vastly improved sense of story, as various plot threads are tastefully brought up, while others are satisfyingly concluded. Characters serve a purpose, never outstay their welcome, and the all-around sense of improvement overall is a joy to read. Hopefully, Fukuyama is able to bring this amount of quality to all future volumes.
Content Grade: A
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: Teen
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: May 1, 2018
MSRP: $9.99