Kaguya-sama: Love is War (2022)
[ใใใๆงใฏๅใใใใ ๏ฝๅคฉๆใใกใฎๆๆ้ ญ่ณๆฆ๏ฝ]
Volume 27
Author/Artist: Aka Akasaka
Publisher: Young Jump Comics
Synopsis:
With the Shinomiya family feud resolved, life returns to normal for Shirogane's last days before he leaves for America.
Story/Characters:
With the fires of my enthusiasm for the series having died down quite a bit, I actually waited to get this until the next volume came out so I could finish the series in one go. On to the story itself, Shirogane's actions have prompted the Shinomiya siblings to hash out a different resolution to the inheritance situation. While Kaguya is still away doing that, we have a game chapter, or it would've been a game chapter if Fujiwara was able to get past the setup phase. It's made bittersweet as Shirogane reflects that things are coming to an end. While Kaguya tries to give the others some space to enjoy what little time remains on the clock, she finds Maki stalking Tsubasa and Kashiwagi, and some verbal sparring ensues. They both get some good hits in, but ultimately it blows up in Kaguya's face (though neither one emerges the winner). The next chapter has Shirogane trying to transition to calling Kaguya by her first name, so she starts thinking about how to do the same for him. Seeing interactions with Kei and Fujiwara, she thinks adding "-chan" will be cute, but little does she realize that being called "Miyuki-chan" is a sore spot with Shirogane (who was teased a lot as a kid because Miyuki is more commonly a girl's name, albeit with different kanji). Kei rushes to warn her, but Shirogane proves to be quite indulgent of his girlfriend. Fujiwara, however, not so much... ^o^
We then have Kaguya wanting to spend some time with Shirogane, only for one person after another chatting him up. The interactions with Ishigami and Iino are particularly nice. On the night before Shirogane flies out, he has a little chat with Unyou about things. There's a clever bit of maneuvering to be had. Meanwhile, Kaguya is so keyed up about tomorrow that she can't sleep. She's got it in her head that Shirogane will propose to her before he leaves. She does end up finally falling asleep but when she does, she oversleeps. What's even better, her phone's battery is dead and all she has to rely on is ace driving skills of J Suzuki. As the clock runs down, everyone else is saying their goodbyes and... Well, I'll leave what follows out so you can find out for yourself because it pretty much made the volume for me. Anyway, modern technology proves that an ocean is a rather short distance as they set up a monitor in the student council office where Shirogane can stay in touch via Skype or whatever video messaging application of choice they're using. We then get to see what life with TeleMiyuki is like as the student council starts talking about their summer plans with Iino trying to find an excuse to spend time with Ishigami. The chapter closes with news that Kaguya's dad has passed and following the funeral, she starts putting effort into her dreams of becoming a photographer, but for someone who's as talented in so many areas, she has a hard time adjusting to something that she's not good at. Next we have Iino getting advice from Terako and Onodera about using Ishigami's love of gaming as a way to get closer (with a good chunk of the chapter taking place in Minecraft). We then close things out with the final entry in the Ramen King saga with Fujiwara facing off against J Suzuki while low-tier ramenites offer commentary. The ending is suitably ironic.
Art:
This isn't a particularly visually ambitious volume, so most of the art pretty much meets the standard you've come to expect thus far. There are some fun faces for when Kaguya and Maki are sniping at each other and Kaguya's bad photos of Ishigami are pretty good too.
Other:
We finish up the commentary that's been going on these past few volumes and we see the winners and runners-up of fanart and photo contests.
Conclusion:
We had our big moment with the helicopter rescue last volume, so we're just winding down at this point. Shirogane's departure from Japan had the best moment in the volume for me and I'm sure many fans are eager to see the last Ramen King chapter, but the rest isn't too terribly compelling. There is something to be said for going out on a chill note, however, and I prefer this to the Shinomiya family drama. Still, we're far from the comedic heights from the early series. This is worth a read at least, but it's not strong enough on its own to warrant a buy for anyone who's not already a committed fan.
Rating:
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