We Never Learn (2021)

[ぼくたちは勉強ができない]

Volume 21

Author/Artist: Taishi Tsutsui
Publisher: Jump Comics

Synopsis:
Yuiga returns to his high school as a teacher and he and Kurisu-sensei struggle to reconcile their feelings for each other.

Story/Characters:
While I've never had any particular issues with Kurisu-sensei, she was at the bottom of my ranking of the five love interests, contrary to the vast majority of the audience if the popularity polls are any indication. I was curious how the author would pursue the romance angle due to the age gap and everything. There are age gap romances that just plow on ahead, but that's not the case here. We have a time skip that removes any legal concerns, but Kurisu-sensei is still very conscious of the divide separating them, not only age but also their status as coworkers. That weird time-travelling episode from back in Volume 14 ends up actually having some basis in reality as this timeline reveals that Kurisu-sensei and Yuiga met back when she was still in high school. Just as Takemoto and Ashumi-senpai's routes benefitted from integrating Yuiga's father into the story, picking up on Kurisu-sensei's already established past with Yuiga's father is a big boost for the emotional resonance of the story. The real payoff for all this is the school festival, but before we get there, we have a few chapters that act as an extension of the couple's usual antics in their new circumstances. We get Kurisu-sensei trying to learn about romance via otome games, a callback to the babysitting episode from Volume 11 with Natsumi now a grade-schooler, a fun school trip, and a "date" with Miharu to shake things up in the aftermath of said trip. The school festival is a two-parter that delivers most of the punch, then we get our climax in the penultimate chapter and have our epilogue to tie it all up. It's nice to see Yuiga cross the finish line in at least one of these endings.

Art:
You know I have nothing but praise for Tsutsui's art. He could ease up on the attention he lavishes on Kurisu-sensei's backside, but I'm sure he's delivering exactly what the core of his audience want. Gratuitous fanservice aside, he pulls off the big emotional beats just as well visually as narratively, as we've already seen executed in the other endings.

Other:
We have a Route 6 bonus chapter which is mostly just an excuse to get the whole cast together one last time, notes from the author about the primary cast, two little two-page gag comics for a Miharu Route and a Mizuki Route, and finally the afterword from the author.

Conclusion:
This is the grand finale for the series and Tsutsui knocks it out of the park. If someone like me who doesn't really care that much about Kurisu-sensei is left so thoroughly satisfied, people on Team Sensei are sure to be overjoyed. Definitely add this one to the collection.

Rating:
Own It