A stunning finale
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Naoshi Komi
Translation: Camellia Nieh
What They Say
When Chitoge heads to Tenku Meadowland, Raku, Kosaki, Marika, and Tsugumi all show up to look for her. Little by little, they begin to remember the past… Will they finally get to the bottom of the mysterious promise? Between Raku, Kosaki and Chitoge, whose love will be realized in this final volume?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
At last it’s time for the final volume, and that means that everything is moving towards a climax. The setting for this is the Tenku Highland, where everyone shared a past together, and where Chitoge is now. Essentially everyone gathers there to look for her, and along the way pretty much everyone gets some closure on their stories. Be it Yui, Marika, or even Shu and Ruri, they all get to have one last big moment, and they’re all handled well. Plus Tsugumi gets a big battle with Claude on top of that, making her big finale especially amusing.
Meanwhile, the past steadily comes to light, both to the readers and the characters. It’s surprisingly satisfying to see it all fleshed out at this point, as the characters constantly going “oh, I was there too” over the course of the series was probably one of its more ridiculous points… but by only fully showing the full narrative now when it was fully established, it feels at least a little more believable and real. And seeing it all play out, it’s actually a pretty nice little story that weaves really well with the plot in the present day.
The real key of the finale, though, is of course the reveal of who Raku will choose in the end. And I have to say, much as it was kind of an obvious result as to how it all plays out, it’s still handled incredibly well. Not just the “winner” but also the “loser” get some really fantastic, powerful moments before it’s all done. And the use of flashbacks in particular is just amazing, adding perfectly to the scenes. Plus we even get a wonderful aftermath using silent panels to great effect to show the steady passage of time by telling little stories along the way. It’s just a really, really good climax.
Honestly, the only thing that feels just a tad weak here is the epilogue, which feels almost a bit… restrained and underdeveloped. Definitely not the best take I’ve seen on the trope, but it’s certainly not actively bad either, and I’d say I consider the book effectively over before it anyway, so it’s no big deal. If nothing else, the concept of the very last event shown is just goddamn ridiculous though, with their first kiss somehow being just before they’re getting married after a big timeskip. Just like… definitely leaned a bit too heavy on the “oh, they’re so pure” idea there…
In Summary
This finale is almost everything you could ask for from a finale for a series like this. Everyone gets their moment, and they’re all classily handled. The backstory finally fully comes to light, and it’s done in a way that ties well into the present day. And most importantly of all, the climactic decision is handled masterfully in regards to all parties involved. I’m just a bit disappointed in the minutia of the epilogue chapter, but even then, that’s not anywhere near enough to drag down this otherwise perfect ending. This really is an amazing example of how to end a romance series, and is more than deserving of a read. Honestly, it’s just plain the perfect sendoff to the series.
Content Grade: A+
Art Grade: A-
Package Rating: B+
Text/Translation Rating: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released by: Viz Media
Release Date: January 2nd, 2018
MSRP: $9.99
