Kaguya-sama: Love is War (2022)
[ใใใๆงใฏๅใใใใ ๏ฝๅคฉๆใใกใฎๆๆ้ ญ่ณๆฆ๏ฝ]
Volume 28
Author/Artist: Aka Akasaka
Publisher: Young Jump Comics
Synopsis:
A series of epilogues for the major characters to wrap up the story.
Story/Characters:
Rather than closing on a single narrative thread, we get separate episodes for several characters before the big finale. We start with Kei, who's grating a bit with her dad's whining in Miyuki's absence. (I have to use his first name here as they're all Shirogane.) Her mother shows up inviting her to come back and stay with her again. You may recall that I had some hopes that there was something deeper going on with her to explain why Mama Shirogane did what she did, but I was disappointed. She's a coldly pragmatic individual who barely seems human. Her logic for favoring Kei was that she only thought she could devote enough attention to one child and chose the one who seemed more promising. Similarly, she left Papa Shirogane because he didn't take the harsh measures she advocated that may have saved his company. It's little surprise that Kei rejects her mother's offer and decides to stick it out with dear old dad, even if she's going to complain about it (and "baka Onii") all along the way.
Next up is the trio of Maki, Nagisa and Tsubasa. (I know I've always referred to Nagisa by her last name, but at this point it feels odd for her to be the only one to stick with a last-name basis.) The goal is to help Maki get over her crush on Tsubasa, but as she's chatting with Shirogane and Ishigami, Nagisa happens to overhear. This prompts her to dump Tsubasa to give Maki the shot she's been wanting, but this doesn't make Maki happy at all. This gives Maki the kick she needs to fully support Nagisa and Tsubasa's relationship, and it's a good thing too if you know anything about the Tanuma family. Fun little bit at the end there. ^_^
After that is Osaragi, whose relationship with Iino has been strained ever since their little dustup a while back. She tries to get Kaguya to take her place giving the speech to support Iino's candidacy for student council president, but Kaguya encourages her to go through with it. The ensuing speech is... interesting, but it ties a nice bow on things between her and Iino. For Hayasaka, we jump several years ahead and get to see the gang as adults meeting up for drinks. For someone who spent so much of her childhood wound up so tight as a maid/spy, it's nice to see Hayasaka enjoying her life, even if there's some concern she may never become a productive member of society again.
We then get a two-parter for Iino and Ishigami playing will they, won't they in the new student council, which strongly parallels the situation with Shirogane and Kaguya at the beginning of the series. It almost plays like the pilot for a sequel. I might actually be game for that if Akasaka is considering it, but I don't think that's the plan. For Fujiwara, we have her considering an offer of engagement, which manages to draw out Kaguya's possessiveness of her. We follow that with Mikado, tying a bow on his rivalry with Shirogane. There's a fun bit of bait-and-switch going on here that gave me a chuckle. The Mikado chapter leads into the grand finale, where Shirogane sneaks onto the campus to be there for the graduation ceremony. You know how media likes to play up graduation as a big deal, so it's a suitable setting for our last hurrah with the characters we've been following for the past seven years.
Art:
There are some big emotional beats that get sold rather well by the visuals, as you've come to expect. The big payoff in the finale is particularly effective. Also worth commenting on is how uncanny Mama Shirogane is, but that's entirely in keeping with how she's portrayed as a character.
Other:
We get updated character profiles for Kei, Nagisa, Maki, Osaragi, Hayasaka, Iino, Ishigami, Shirogane and Kaguya. The last four pages and the character profiles for Shirogane and Kaguya are in full color.
Conclusion:
If you've been following this series from the start, we get some pretty good conclusions to the characters' stories, but I can't deny that my feelings have been dampened somewhat by the arc leading up to this. You may or may not agree with me, but I think the series would've been better off wrapping with the school festival. We would've closed on a high note and not had the extended bout of straying from the series' premise. I personally don't regret riding the series out until the end, though, and I think most fans will feel the same way. Fans will definitely want to read this if not add it to their collections, but it comes just a bit short on having enough punch to make it a must-have.
Rating:
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