Haganai: I Don't Have Many Friends (2014)

[僕は友達が少ない]

Volume 10

Author: Yomi Hirasaka
Artist: Itachi
Publisher: Media Factory Comics

Synopsis:
The Neighbors Club comes together to celebrate Kobato's birthday.

Story/Characters:
With the reveal of Kodaka's history with Yozora, he's afraid it's going to impact the group dynamic and is relieved to find things appear stable for the time being. Things then shift as Sena leads the effort to celebrate Kobato's upcoming birthday and the gang ends up going on a shopping trip. Normally something like this wouldn't be that notable, but consider the people we're dealing with. There's a lot going on with their conversation on the train and we see this thread of bubbling tension that carries through the shopping trip. The group splits and Kodaka ends up with Sena. She tries probing his defenses, but he shucks and jives with the best of them. The trip ends in a mild fiasco but not as bad as the waterpark, so, hey, progress.

The party goes surprisingly well and afterward Kate and Maria hang out at Kodaka's place for dinner. It's nice to see Kobato and Maria growing closer despite their vocal protestations to the contrary and I like the dynamic with Kodaka and Kate. It's a super low bar, I admit, but I appreciate how reasonable Kate is when Kodaka accidentally walks in on her when she's getting out of the bath. Besides Kate just being Kate, there's a little more going on there. Don't expect much follow-up on it, though.

With the festivities concluded, the new thing on the menu is the upcoming school festival. Sena proposes that the club gets involved and suggests a maid cafe. Rika dresses up in Yukimura's old maid outfit and subjects Kodaka to a tsundere maid routine when he gets on her nerves (though it's more of a do-S routine and, yes, it's hilarious). Sena's turn comes up next and I do like that when Yukimura sees Kodaka's reaction to a busty, twin-tailed blonde maid in an outfit a few sizes too small for her, the lady butler's response is to drop the F-bomb in perfect deadpan. Sena is clumsy and cute, clearly having an impact, so of course Yozora promptly nixes the maid cafe idea.

Art:
There are plenty of cute moments to be had, particularly around Kobato's birthday party. The "niku" censor makes a return, which makes me wonder if the Takayamas and the Kashiwazakis are related. Both maid variants are pretty good, albeit for different reasons.

Other:
We get a one-page color ensemble piece, a two-page spread of Yozora and Sena in shopping mode, several 4-koma scattered about, a 2-koma with the afterward, and the character commentary.

Conclusion:
This volume makes for a nice interlude before the next major arc of the story, centered around Kobato's birthday. Even though the goings-on are fairly tame, you can see the cracks forming in the status quo. If you're just here for the comedy, then the harbingers of coming drama may be more dreaded than welcome, but this is the course the story is taking. Buckle in, folks, and in the meantime, give this one a read.

Rating:
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