The kawaii mom power hour
Creative Staff
Story and Art: Yui Hara
Translation/Adaptation: Amanda Haley
What They Say
The girls are headed toward their final year in high school! Whether it’s Alice’s first visit to a Japanese bath house or the fanciest low-key Christmas party ever, the fun never stops. Santa Karen also has the ultimate yuletide present for Alice… but mum’s the word!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Kiniro Mosaic is the type of series that could easily fall into a rut and just coast off the kawaii-ness of its main cast. And yet volume after volume it manages to work in just enough of a twist, or addition to the cast to keep things at least somewhat fresh.
While Karen remains the stand-out among the main group as well as go-to when it comes to inciting incidents that kickstart some kind of sitcommy silliness, it’s worth noting that her time this volume is shared among equally worthy standout characters of Alice’s Mom and Honoka.
Adding Alice’s Mom to the expanding cast of kawaii adult characters adds a certain level of variety to the series. Unlike the teacher characters, Mum is able to add to the backstory of characters like Alice and even Shinobu without having it come off as too much of a retcon. Furthermore, the addition of another English speaker that’s a grown adult and able to still interact with the rest of the Japanese cast seamlessly feels a lot more fresh than it should be. While you do have the English teacher, and even Karen’s mom, neither actually give off a motherly vibe in the way that Alice’s mom does. And even then, she doesn’t come off as one-note either, being able to switch back and forth between being a gal pal to Shinobu’s own mom, and chatting it up with Alice’s friends in the way only a doting mother could.
Likewise, characters like Honoka continue to be utilized sparingly, yet effectively. The fact that she isn’t one of “the gang,” and yet gets brought into their hijinx sooner or later works on a very specific level that other secondary characters can’t make the most out of. She’s so eager to befriend Karen especially, and yet has no idea to properly go about it that you really root for her. She’s the closest you’re gonna get to an introvert in this series, and that’s something I really appreciate. Other secondary characters like the teachers and Youko’s siblings continue to toe the line as well—their own specific brands of humor landing more often than not.
I will say, though, that there is an odd chapter near the end of the volume that stands out for all the wrong reasons. Throughout the chapter, the cast continues to bug Youko about how her character has begun to lost her “straight man” capabilities in the two-man comedy act that is their lives. It’s oddly meta, with none of the characters really being in the position to be able to say anything about the topic without having it come off as uncharacteristic, and the arc ultimately not going anywhere notable. Nonetheless, I will applaud author Hara’s comfort in her own manga in being able to break away from what’s become her norm and do hope that she’s able to better fine-tune those types of chapters come later volumes.
In Summary:
Kinmosa continues to bring the sillies, making good use of its secondary characters to great effect. And while its more off-beat humor doesn’t hit nearly as well in comparison to its go-to humor, I do hope it becomes better honed and continues to sneak its way into later volumes.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: Teen
Released By: Yen press
Release Date: April 24, 2018
MSRP: $17.00
