Yakumo-san wa Ezuke ga Shitai (2021)

[八雲さんは餌づけがしたい]

Volume 11

Author/Artist: Satomi U
Publisher: Young Gangan Comics

Synopsis:
As Yamato-kun prepares to move out, both he and Yakumo-san have to adjust to the idea of being apart from each other.

Story/Characters:
I didn't expect this to be the last volume, but I guess considering how stories like this tend to work, we didn't have much time left on the clock. We have a fairly melancholic tone with our fun times coming to a close while both of our leads are trying to put on a brave face. Once Yamato-kun is moved out and off at his spring training camp, Yakumo-san goes to pay her respects at her husband's grave and has a nice little heart-to-heart with Yuri. After that, she has her last day at her part-time job (as the shop is shutting down) and she has to think about what she's going to do next. Then we have our big moment, the climax of everything that's been building up over the course of the series. The penultimate chapter is a reflection on everything with a letter to Yakumo-san's husband as the framing device. We then close on an epilogue set a few years later as a bit of a "where are they now" thing so that we can send them off. All told, I'd say it closes on a good note and handles everything fairly well. Without spoiling too much, if you're expecting the romance to really ramp up here at the end, temper those expectations, but I think most fans will walk away satisfied.

Art:
The art kicks up a notch for this as there's a lot of nice subtle work with the faces as Yakumo-san and Yamato-kun are trying to show one thing when they feel something else. We get four full-color pages for the Chapter 75 cliffhanger, which is a nice touch.

Other:
We get a lot of guest art from other mangaka and close on an afterword from Satomi U (and feel free to speculate about the illustration at the bottom of the page).

Conclusion:
It's been a nice run. As I said before, fans should be satisfied with how it all plays out. There's a bit of a light touch, but I think it's a tasteful way to handle the subject matter. The slow buildup of the relationship gives us a solid foundation for the emotional payoffs of the finale. I'm rather happy with what we got and would gladly recommend adding this to your collection.

Rating:
Own It