Welcome to another Guest Review Wednesday on Okazu. I am so delighted to introduce a new Guest Reviewer here today for so many reasons: Matt Marcus is a cohost of various projects on the Pitch Drop Podcast Network, such as the JRPG games club podcast Lightning Strikes Thrice. Finally, after me waiting patiently to have someone to talk to about this…here we are at last. There will be spoilers in this review and let me tell you, I am so relieved! Please give your attention and a warm welcome to Matt!

How Do We Relationship is a story about college first years Miwa and Saeko who, once they learn that they are both attracted to women, decide to date. Last we saw them in Volume 3, the lack of open communication had continued to strain their relationship, leaving Saeko troubled over her standing with her partner while Miwa is tempted by the reappearance of her old high school crush Shiho.

There is no sense being coy about it: How Do We Relationship, Volume 4 is where the girls break up. Saeko had been using sex as the panacea for her insecurities, but troubles in the bedroom, coupled with confronting the reality that Miwa harbors deep romantic feelings for another woman ends up straining her to the breaking point. Miwa wrestles with guilt over her conflicting attractions and tries to cling to the relationship but to no avail. The two agree to stay friends, however it is clear that Miwa believes that she carries the sole blame for the end of their courtship.

The fulcrum on which this series balances is how tolerable you find Saeko, and in this volume we see her at her worst so far. She starts to seriously lose control of the defense mechanism that she developed after her traumatic experience in middle school–the facade of a carefree and kind partner. It is not until late in this volume that Saeko finally has a moment of emotional honesty, voicing some of the ugly thoughts and fears that she had been repressing–but not with Miwa. If you have seen or experienced this emotional playbook, this can be a tough read. I want to root for Saeko to grow and truly heal from her past, but on the flip side she hurt Miwa quite badly and has yet to even acknowledge it. The sole consolation I have is knowing that with seven volumes currently out in Japan, there is quite a bit of runway for her to turn it around.

I have focused on the heavy stuff, but like the rest of the series the emotional drama happens around character-driven shenanigans with mixed results. A particular low note are the couple of chapters that focus on group singer Mikkun and Saeko working around the former’s jealous new girlfriend, which does little to drive the plot forward and rehashes the “straight cis man has a crush on a lesbian” beat from Volume 3. In a story with quite a large supporting cast, I would have liked to see a little more character development in their subplots.

As for Yuri/queer content, this volume pushes things ever-so-slightly forward, with the final chapter opening the door for a couple more queer relationships to develop. Another noteworthy element is the reappearance of Kan, the “villain” of Volume 2. It is hard to say for sure from what little we see of him, but he may have started letting go of his internalized queerphobia. At the very least he comes off as less of an unrepentant asshole (heavy emphasis on “less of”).

I have always appreciated Tamifull’s art, particularly the outfit designs and instruments. On occasion it can be disorienting (for example, second year Mozu–who already looked like a dead-ringer for Miwa but with light-colored hair–reappears with black hair just to make things more confusing for two pages), but I found the tumultuous energy accurately reflects the free-wheeling nature of one’s first year of college. When it counts, Tamifull knows how to visually punctuate an emotional moment or punchline (shoutouts to the Pound Cake Face).

All in all, I found these chapters challenging but rewarding. If you have found the messiness of the story and the characters compelling thus far, this volume really delivers on moments that will have you screaming internally the whole way with some heartrending lines to boot. Other than a small tease of a flashforward near the end, I have no idea where the next movement will take this series, but I know that I will be tuning in for it.

Ratings:

Art – 8 Has a few standout moments in the series so far.
Story – 8 A little uneven at times but lands the big moments.
Characters – 7 Compellingly infuriating.
Service – 3 There still is sex, however it is less of a focus compared to previous volumes
Yuri – 9 / LGBTQ – 7 Someone actually says “lesbian” out loud; unfortunately, it’s Rika.

Overall – 8 A challenging but rewarding read.

Lastly, I have to give big props to Tamifull’s very cheeky reveal in the author’s notes. You will clearly see what they meant if you flip back to Chapter 1.