Creative Staff:
Story/Art: Ume Aoki
Translation: Sheldon Drzka
Lettering: Abigail Blackman
What They Say:
Yuno is thinking so hard about her future prospects, it’s even haunting her dreams! But the cure for a furrowed brow is good friends, and the girls at Hidamari Apartments (including their newest tenant Matsuri!) aren’t about to let Yuno stress out alone. Whether it’s an unexpected encounter on a college visit, a swimsuit shopping adventure, or a school trip to Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka, the days are getting a little more out of the ordinary…and a lot more fun!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
At this point in the series, one can feel that there may be an ending in the offing. That makes perfect sense as the main cast that brought us into this world of high school arts students is almost at the end of their tenure at Yamabuki High. What remains of that main cast that is, as it has already changed from the start. While Yuno continues to be our central focus, the point of view character that provides a feeling of familiarity and continuity, bit by bit we see what has been lost with the departure of Hiro and Sae from the Hidamari Apartments. The central quartet of Yuno, Miyako, Sae, and Hiro was itself a major draw for the series: their natural, easygoing and sometimes goofy interactions being the springboard for humor or odd non-sequiturs. When you remove Sae and Hiro from the frame (literally), it feels as if there is more empty space.
That is not to dismiss or find great fault with the newer tenants, especially our newest tenant Matsuri who has only just entered the building. Nazuna and Nori, already known qualities, were introduced in the previous school year when Sae and Hiro were still around. But there is a gap in this volume that is only partially filled when Yuno and Miyako visit Hiro at her art college (where both of the younger students are thinking about applying to), giving an occasion for a reunion of the original principle members of the cast.
The effect that this has is to make the humor much more dependent on the Miyako-Yuno dynamic, as well as trying to recreate a quartet feeling with two of their same-grade classmates, Mami and Nakayama, with more scenes set in school and especially on the class trip. On occasion, it still can work its charm, but sometimes I feel strongly that something is missing.
More than anything, the series has taken on the atmosphere of an extended epilogue rather than a story moving ever forward on its own. We are having fun but also marking time before Yuno and Miyako graduate. To show how much the work depends entirely upon their continuing presence, I’m not sure at all that the story could survive with Nazuna, Nori, and Matsuri as the main focus with just occasional visits by the original core cast. For fans of the series, this will still provide plenty of oddball humor and fun. But the end of the ride is in sight.
In Summary:
Yuno and Miyako are now in their senior year which means that their charmed life at the Hidamari Apartments will be coming to an end not too long in the future. Future life plans, what college to attend, and entrance exams for those colleges come into view. But it’s not a time to get depressed or start to feel too stressed. There is still enough time for fun things such as the senior class trip. For long time readers of the series, we have some more adventures to enjoy, but it really feels as if the end is in sight in many ways.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: A-
Package Rating: A
Text/Translation: A-
Age Rating: Teen L (13+)
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: September 18th, 2018
MSRP: $17.00
