We’ve gotten to know Sakiko, Maaya and Chihiro, watching them grow into themselves, change to lesser or greater degrees, and get closer as friends. We’ve seen Spring Sunshine become more popular, such that Chihiro landed an acting role, and in practicing acting with Maaya, things get a little bit yuri… maybe?

 

The first part to this is the cliffhanger to the acting practice episode. I genuinely wasn’t sure how they were going to finish this, but while (spoiler!) Maaya and Chihiro don’t kiss, Sakiko is left with the idea that Maaya is in love with Chihiro – honestly, she’s not wrong, really, but she’s more confused about her own feelings. The drama Chihiro was practicing for goes on air, and is quite weird, to the confusion of everyone. But it gains a fan following – meaning Chihiro gets some solo work on various talk shows, including one that a fellow SpringShine member, Asuka, has always wanted to be on. In discussing her concerns with Sakiko, they get closer. Sakiko and Maaya go on a school trip to Kamakura, and end up doing a pilgrimage around some sights included in a Spring Shine video. Finally, the three of them have an overnight trip.

 

This felt like a volume where they really started to think about how they all feel about each other. I’ve no idea what the endgame pairing is, or if there even is one, really – I could actually see it being any combination of the three – but Sakiko thinks about the fact that Maaya is “in love with” Chihiro, and at one point tries to ascertain what her own feelings are in comparison. Maaya, on the other hand, comes up against her original lie – that she wasn’t already a huge fan of Spring Shine and Chihiro before meeting her – and finds herself battling to try and tell her.

 

Maaya does something in this volume that Sakiko gets rightly mad at her for, and I’m all for it. It’s an invasion of Sakiko’s and Chihiro’s privacy, and I’m really glad that she gets angry. She still stands by Maaya in many ways, but it also shows how far she’s come – I’m not sure she would have been able to do this a few volumes ago. I feel like these two definitely got on a more level footing, which is nice. Maaya, for her due, seems less certain about her actions – she’s not as gung ho and self-assured all the time. I’m hoping for more development next volume, although sadly, volume 5 had been out for a while, and Kodansha hasn’t updated the website to state when volume 6 might be coming out. Might be in for a wait. I’m intrigued to see where this leads, whenever we get it!

 

 

Story: 8

Yuri: 6, definitely getting there

Art: 9, props for actually having a difference between a character wearing make-up, minimal make-up, and no make-up

Service: 1? There is a bath scene, but not really any service

Overall: 8