Haganai: I Don't Have Many Friends (2012)

[僕は友達が少ない]

Volume 7

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

Synopsis:
Kodaka struggles to find equilibrium in his relationship with Yozora when he realizes she was his childhood friend.

Story/Characters:
I don't think it surprised too many people that Yozora was Sora, but now that it's out in the open, there's this great opportunity to reshape things with Kodaka. What happens is consistent with both their characters and this is a major juncture that pretty much sets the course for the endgame. With Yozora's new look, Sena wants to change her image as well and makes the terrible choice of entrusting things to Yozora and Rika. The way she looks so pleased with herself when they're done breaks my heart. Sena has a lot of negative character traits, but the way she can be so innocent and earnest at times really gets me. (If I haven't made it clear before, the characterization is the main thing that has me hooked on the series as I'm honestly not that satisfied with how the story turns out.) Next up, Rika drags the gang into her world with some gay erotica with amusing results. We then close on a teaser of a new character entering the mix.

Art:
I've got nothing against long hair, but Yozora is definitely rocking the short look. There are plenty of great reaction shots throughout the volume, especially from Rika. I don't know if the wonky art style of Homogebu is representative of that sector of fiction, but it's an amusing choice.

Other:
We get a color illustration of megane-less Rika (based off the first page of Chapter 31), a two-pager of the whole gang, a side story retelling the early events of the story from Yozora's perspective, a thank you page with a 4-koma, and the cast commentary.

Conclusion:
There's a lot of potential now that Kodaka has connected the dots with Yozora. And while the Homogebu thing could've just been played off as a throwaway joke, there's actually a fair bit of nice character work going on in that chapter. Actually, this whole volume is setting up a fair bit for the next stage of the story. It all makes for a pretty good read, so give it a read.

Rating:
Read It