A stunning finale!
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Naoe
Translation: Leighann Harvey
What They Say
The ultimate showdown between Star White and Toy Gun Gun in the final round of the TGC is underway! Can Matsuoka and his team beat their long-time rivals at last, or will Star White remain the undefeated champions…?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Continuing on from last volume, we jump right back into the heat of battle in the final match between Star White and Toy Gun Gun! And to start with, we focus on the showdown between Haruki and Haruka. And it really doesn’t disappoint, masterfully weaving together their past and present issues, as well as some great action to bring their tale to a fantastic climax! Right after that, we launch right into Yukimura’s past with Matsuoka, which is once again well handled and leads nicely into the present conflict. Yet again, it just feels like a natural development in the course of the battle, and also a great sendoff for the character.
In the aftermath of all that, the battle reaches its climax as it’s down to just Matsuoka, Hotaru, and Midori left! It’s a small touch, but I really do like the fact that the book acknowledges at this point that the “smart” thing to do would be to just run out the time to win, but they decide not to as it’s just not in their characters. Anyway, though I won’t spoil it, the resulting showdown is simply perfectly done and may just be the best the series has ever had. If nothing else, the final move that clenches things is hands down my favorite moment from the books, which is certainly not something I say lightly. It really is just a wonderful finale.
Unsurprisingly, we do get the time skip “here are the characters now!” epilogue to end on, as is often the case. And it may be a little hokey, but even then I’d still say it’s charming enough to pull through and end things on a nice, feel-good note to wrap up the series.
In Summary
This volume really is everything you could want from a finale. All the key cast members get their moment to shine, and it, fortunately, doesn’t feel contrived or forced, instead flowing quite naturally. The action is quite possibly the best it’s ever been, with some truly stunning parts throughout. And to top it all off, it builds wonderfully to a fantastic climax that acts as a perfect capper to the series. I really just plain don’t have any complaints here, and it’s great to see that the series not only found its footing after some slightly shaky bits, but even ended on a real high note.
Content Grade: A+
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: Older Teen
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: August 18th, 2020
MSRP: $12.99
