In Volume 7 of Hana ni Arashi, (はなにあらし) something finally happens. Well…two things. Remembering that, in this series, “happen” is very broadly applied word. ^_^
The first thing is that, on the class trip, Nanoha and Chidori have, finally, gotten past their disagreement and are happily doing class trip things with their friends. Which, inevitably, because manga, includes bathing together.
Nanoha and Chidori battle their base desires and, ultimately manage to bathe together and it basically paralyzes them both so much that everyone else thinks they are fighting again.
During the (extended, my goodness, it felt like it went on forever….) bath scene, Nanoha’s elbow touches Chidori’s breast slightly and, while the scene itself is an eye-roll of service, the galaxy brain Nanoha keeps experiencing for the next several chapters cracked me up every single time.
Like so.
The second things that happens is that the Mai issue finally resolves. Mai is explicitly asked to return to basketball be the team manager but, since she was mostly motivated by Nanoha being there, she isn’t sure. Mai tells Chidori that she knows she’s dating Nanoha…and how she, Mai feels. Chidori is kind and supportive, and, thankfully, neither jealous nor manipulative.
Mai goes to tell Nanoha that she saw Chidori and her kiss, that she, Mai has feelings for Nanoha, and likewise, Nanoha is kind and gentle, but explains that she’s taken. And, so, Mai returns to the basketball team, at which the manager burts into tears of joy and the team welcomes her back.
Mai and Nanoha discuss the whole story, realize that they have to be more careful at school and , as the book comes to a close with a kiss, decide that tomorrow they’ll be more careful. ^_^
This story is sweet, with a wopping dollop of prurience, which never fails to pull me out of the story. But, for all that, Nanoha and Chidori are still the very personable stars of the show and their relationship is cute.
Ratings:
Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 6
Service – Yes, the payoff is funny but, come on. Aren’t we tired of staring at girls in baths yet? I know I am.
Overall – 7
Volume 8 and Volume 9 are both available in Japanese and I’m still kind of surprised that no one has picked this up here yet.
I loved this volume! As you mentioned, it was wonderful that the Mai arc resolved with so much genuine kindness and friendship. And, while it was a servicey installment, I did appreciate the author seizing the chance to show that Nanoha and Chidori’s attraction to each other is more than just chaste schoolgirl admiration (given how slooooow burn the story is). Somehow the service in “Hana ni Arashi” just feels less… gross? More tasteful? To me anyway. It generally seems to function as a stand-in for the gaze of its heroines, and not *our* gaze.
It’s always nice when manga can make you laugh. I rarely find comedy manga that I can vibe with the humor well enough to actually laugh out loud at, so it’s especially welcome when there’s a comedic beat in an unexpected place that tickles me!
I’m also so very surprised this hasn’t been picked up yet; I can only assume it’s due to some kind of lack of proper channels/relationships with the original publisher and US manga licensees?