It’s another Guest Review Wednesday and we have another great review! Matt Marcus is a cohost of various projects on the Pitch Drop Podcast Network, such as the JRPG games club podcast Lightning Strikes Thrice. Please welcome Matt back to Okazu!

How Do We Relationship is a story about two college students Miwa and Saeko who learn together how used to date. In How Do We Relationship, Volume 4, the couple broke up over a myriad of problems around communication and personal hang-ups, but despite lingering feelings they try to go back to being friends.

Just by looking at the cover of How Do We Relationship, Volume 5, you know you’re in for some shit. Gone are the big smiles, playful antics, and instruments of the past; they have been replaced by a disheveled Miwa, her hair grown out haphazardly, looking forlornly into the middle distance.

This volume has a theme: self-centeredness, selfishness, and greed. Almost every principle character displays these traits in varying degrees of severity and the effects of their actions ripple out until they become ship-wrecking waves.

Saeko, in what feels like a passive-aggressive move, casually pushes Miwa to reach out to her high school crush, Shiho, and confess her feelings. When the two former classmates reconnect, they make plans for Miwa to spend two months visiting Shiho in Okinawa. 

There is a lot I can say about Shiho because she is fascinating. When she first appears in How Do We Relationship, Volume 3, you wouldn’t be blamed for expecting her to merely be the love rival that forces Miwa to make a firm, definitive decision on to whom she will give her heart. As it turns out, she is a much more complex character. Yes, she managed to escape from the traumatic environment that was her family home, however she continues to bear scars from her upbringing. Tamifull does a wonderful job portraying her inner struggle and how it leaks out into the rest of her life: she lives in a barren apartment and wonders why it freaks out her friends; her previous romantic relationship ended due to her lack of interest; she doesn’t feel a need to fall in love, yet she is still working out her feelings towards Miwa while sending very mixed signals. What is crushingly sad is that she not only doesn’t know what she wants for herself, she doesn’t even know how to want. You will think that her ultimate decision about Miwa is cowardly–and it is–but she needs more time to heal and grow. I am hoping we get to see it. Regardless, the trip sends Miwa into a tailspin.

This puts her on a collision course with Saeko when school resumes. I mentioned in my previous review that Saeko’s behavior could be a barrier for some readers, and I think this volume offers the ultimate test of that. There is a moment towards the end of the volume that truly stunned me. I won’t spoil it, but it will send shivers down your spine. It may even disgust you. It’s a high risk move and we do not see it payoff before the volume ends, but I simply have to credit Tamifull for constructing a scene that packs such a wallop.

I haven’t mentioned her yet, but Saeko’s coworker Yuria takes on a larger supporting role and she’s still a delight. Not a lot of depth to her, but she’s a breath of fresh air given everything else that’s going on.

Out of the previous volumes so far, this one is the most consistent in tone. The focus has tightened and it benefits the storytelling because it gives more space to explore the internality of the characters. I will say though that I am still confused about what Tamifull is trying to say with Rika, beyond the fact that she is self-aware about her selfishness.

One major demerit I would give the story is how Miwa expresses a desire for self-harm through neglect that is not taken very seriously by Saeko–it’s melodramatic at best and disrespectful to the severity of the topic at worst. If the story’s direction continued down such a path I could see myself dropping the series, but I have it on good authority that this is the “lowest” point and that things get better from here. It really is about time that Miwa starts showing some serious development because the poor girl deserves it.

If you have ventured this far into the series, be prepared for the choppiest waters yet. Despite finding myself emotionally wrung out by the twists and turns on my first read-through, I have found engaging with the characters in repeated readings endlessly rewarding. I’ll be waiting (im)patiently for the next volume which comes out in English this July.

Ratings:

Art – 8 Some great paneling and nonverbal expression.
Story – 7 Heavy, less funny, but still engaging. Docking it one point for overplaying its hand with Miwa’s meltdown.
Characters – 9 I love what they did with Shiho and Saeko continues to be compelling.
Service – 1 Sex is still present but it is not played for service.
Yuri – 9 / LGBTQ – 7 One door opens while another seemingly closes, so on balance it’s a wash.

Overall – 8 This continues to be a unique and engrossing yuri series.