Kaguya-sama: Love is War (2021)
[ใใใๆงใฏๅใใใใ ๏ฝๅคฉๆใใกใฎๆๆ้ ญ่ณๆฆ๏ฝ]
Volume 21
Author/Artist: Aka Akasaka
Publisher: Young Jump Comics
Synopsis:
Graduation day has arrived and Ishigami takes the opportunity to properly confess his feelings for Tsubame-sempai.
Story/Characters:
The Japanese love making graduations all sappy-weepy affairs, so we get plenty of that as goodbyes are exchanged between the departing seniors and the classmates being left behind. The scene with Shirogane's predecessor has me wondering if we're going to get the story behind it. Naturally, the main event is the scene with Ishigami and Tsubame-sempai. The way it plays out, your appreciation might depend on which team you're batting for. As I don't lean that strongly one way or the other, I can take it for what it is and consider it fairly well executed. We then get two chapters for the fallout, one focusing on Ishigami and another focusing on Iino. This leads us into a two-parter where Shinomiya visits Shirogane's place. Kei being desperate to make a good impression probably resulted in an ulcer or two. It's funny to see both the Shirogane siblings working so hard to look good in front of Shinomiya. Papa Shirogane takes Shinomiya grocery shopping, which provides the opportunity for him to talk to her about what happened with Shirogane's mom. We then move on to some more serious stuff as Shirogane and Shinomiya talk about their future. Perhaps to the surprise of no one, Shinomiya's eldest brother Oukou isn't going to let her do as she pleases. The time spent in the Shirogane household serves to reemphasize how different the two families are. If we actually follow Shinomiya in the pursuit of her ambitions, the series could conceivably continue for quite a while. However, I imagine we'll just go through this last year of high school and time skip to the epilogue, but we'll see.
We get a breather from the heavy stuff with another ramen chapter, this time featuring the Mashimashi Mama of Shinbouchou. The ramen melodrama never gets old.
We close on a chapter about classroom assignments for the new school year. This sets things up for the new arc of the story. I'll admit to not knowing the original Kaguya story in much depth, but if you at least have a passing familiarity, you get some idea of what's in store. It would appear that Maki's brother Mikado is being presented as a rival to Shirogane. As we haven't really seen much about him besides Maki's trip to India, I'm curious to see where this goes.
Art:
I like the juxtaposition of the weepy youth drama at the beginning of the volume with the gag take of the aftermath. (Seriously, those Ishigami faces in Chapter 205...) Kei going out of her mind is great fun to watch. Then there's Oukou. Whereas Unyou looks more like a monster than an ordinary human, Oukou has this superficial geniality which sets off the red lights all the more. When that smile of his drops... (Then again, whenever he's smiling is actually more unnerving.) Speaking of unnerving, the owner of Ramen Gorou is creepily designed, almost like a living kewpie doll. I also like how the post-chapter bonus page for Chapter 211 deflates the drama of the cliffhanger.
Other:
We get a character profile for Tsubame-sempai and a simplified family tree for Kaguya.
Conclusion:
Ishigami fans should be looking for the big payoff of his courtship with Tsubame-sempai. As for me, the main draw was Shinomiya's stay at Shirogane's place. Ramen chapters are always good fun, too. We're building up for big things and it's nice to see that the series shows no signs of losing steam. Fans of the series know what to do. Get it.
Rating:
Own It