Haganai: I Don't Have Many Friends (2017)

[僕は友達が少ない]

Volume 15

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

Synopsis:
After being thrashed about by Rika, Kodaka pulls himself together and works to mend the fences with the other members of the Neighbors Club.

Story/Characters:
Now that Rika has sorted out Kodaka, they work together on figuring out how to patch things up with the other members of the group. First up is Sena. For the first time, he's up-front about his feelings, though it does throw Sena for a bit of a loop. For someone who's been suppressing his feelings in order to maintain the status quo, it's refreshing to see him being so honest for a change. Sena's not happy with his proposal to hold off for the time being, but she's willing to make the concession, which says a lot about her growth as a character. Next comes the far pricklier matter of Yozora. After overhearing what went down between Kodaka and Rika (the two of them acknowledging their friendship undercut Yozora's wonky concept of reestablishing her friendship with Kodaka), she's run off and the gang has no real clue about where to look for her. With no leads to go on, Kodaka goes home and has a chat with Kobato. He discovers just how fond his sister is of Yozora, so you can imagine how well she reacts when Kodaka tells her about how he returned Sena's confession. Later in the night, Kodaka hears the shower and walks in, expecting Kobato, only to find someone else in... well, a rather compromising situation. Kobato came across her Dark Knight (Yozora) and took her in. We then learn that Yozora has an unpleasant domestic situation that makes her reluctant to go back home, so for the time being, Kodaka lets her stay. After going over things with Rika, he tries talking to Yozora again. It doesn't go well, mostly because of how stubborn and roundabout Yozora is, but once Kodaka hits her up front with the Sena situation, that's pretty much a killing blow. We sidestep the fallout of this to have a Rika-centric chapter, starting at the time of her enrollment and contrasting her two notable stays in the nurse's office. Not only do we have the change that's gone on with Rika but also in the perception of Kodaka as expressed by the school nurse. We cut back to seeing the Neighbors Club mostly back to normal except for the absence of Yozora and Kobato. We also come to learn that behind the scenes Yukimura has been blossoming into a bit of a social butterfly and is now besties with Aoi. Back at home, Kodaka fixes supper with Yozora and Kobato's help and they chat things out, finally getting to the point where Yozora agrees to return to the club.

Art:
Itachi's artwork has become more refined in recent volumes and while I liked the more whimsical look of the earlier volumes, the change in style fits with the more serious tone of the latter part of the story. We still get plenty of comedic takes and art shifts to punctuate gag scenes, but it really helps sell the more serious bits with a style to match. Highlights include Kodaka's apology to Sena and him finally squaring things with Yozora.

Other:
We get a color page of Kodaka and Rika reconciling, then a two-page spread previewing Kodaka's apology to Sena, the afterword by Itachi, and the character commentary.

Conclusion:
The second season of the anime ended around the beginning of Chapter 66, so I was getting into new material and, frankly, rather surprised by how things developed. (Certainly would've never seen the bathroom scene coming.) It's nice having Kodaka face up to the things he's been running from and while the Yozora situation isn't tied up too neatly, we find ourselves in a position to move forward. It really feels like a lot that we've been building up is paying dividends and it's rewarding to see the characters growing. I'm more than happy to recommend this one for the collection, so be sure to get your hands on it.

Rating:
Own It