In Rainbows After Storms, Volume 4, Chidori and Nanoha are still dating…and still keeping it from everyone. ^_^
Summer has arrived and there is a LOT going on for these two – sleepovers and a day at the beach bring our to lovebirds closer, even as they are trying to keep their relationship hidden. On sleepover night, it seems obvious that their friends are trolling them, about it, but not so obviously that they notice.
Then the school festival arrives and with it, that troubling piece of Chidori’s history allude to in the last volume. Because, as we see, Chidori wasn’t her first love. The story is a familiar one in Japanese media, Chidori’s sempai initiated an affectionate that she then withdrew when Chidori returned the emotion. We’ve seen this story before, most notably in Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka. Here, when Igarashi snidely asks Chidori if she and Nanoha are really an item, Nanoha throws the truth in sempai’s face, in what they will later remember was their first coming out. In my review of Volume 4 in Japanese, I name Igarashi a “fairly stereotypical Yuri villain” who “realizes that she might well have made a terrible mistake with her life.”
Chidori had already been admonished by Nanoha to open up to her and rely on her a bit more. At this point, Chidori has nothing left to hide. On the night of the fireworks festival, they kiss.
We’re only a third through this series, so there’s a lot more of Nanoha and Chidori yet to come, but be warned…they will still imagine that they are hiding their increasingly obvious feelings for one another. ^_^
I did want to mention that one of the folks over on the Okazu Discord noted that every chapter tells us this same thing, but the words themselves are always a slightly different. “The two of us are dating…but its a secret…from everyone.” “Chidori…and Nanoha… They’re keeping it a secret from everyone… but they’re dating.” Each chapter begins ever-so-slightly differently. It’s an interesting touch and one that I admit I never noticed. So thanks to akatsukinoluna, for noting that.
Viz Media has done nice work with this volume. David Evelyn’s translation feels true to the tone of the original and to the characters. The lettering by Annalise “Ace” Christman is outstanding. I always will like it when full touch-up is used, since it allows us the time to just “read” the story.
Ratings:
Art – 6
Story – 6
Characters – 6
Yuri – 6
Service – 4 Bathing suits and showers. So…ugh
Overall – 6
As I said of the Japanese volume, “For a series which, until this moment, had climaxed with hand-holding, this was a big volume.”
Sadly, this is probably my least favourite volume in the series so far, mostly due to the body shaming/casual fatphobia that happens during the beach episodes. Even so, the good elements of this series overpower the bad bits for me, and I’m looking forward to seeing how things continue to develop for Chidori and Nanoha.
Chidori’s senpai is an oddity for me; I could not understand what it was she really wanted, and part of me feels like she also doesn’t know what she was looking for. I don’t know if she appears in the story again, but hopefully she’ll reflect on her mistakes and not repeat the hurtful things she’s done to Chidori.
I’ll be honest, the body stuff remains as boring, trope-y and service-y throughout. That’s one of the dead giveaways that this runs in a shounen magazine.
Thanks for mentioning the chapter openers. Some quick additional examples from volume 1 (Translations are my own. Em dashes are an attempt to retain the original punctuation):
Ch 1 (1/2 Me & Nanoha): I have a best friend. My best friend—is my—lover.
Ch 1 (2/2 Me & Chidori): I have a best friend. My best friend—is my—lover. We’re lovers, but—this is a secret from everyone.
Ch 2 (Lunch with everyone): The two of us are lovers. But…this—is our special secret.
Ch 3 (The two’s relationship): We—are best friends—and lovers…
Ch 4 (Together in the club room): Nanoha is my best friend, and lover
Ch 5 (Sumikko & Mannaka): The two of us, even though we’re lovers… (This is the chapter about how they have totally different dispositions)
Ch 6 (Beyond/behind the curtain): Nanoha & I—are lovers
Ch 9 (Relationship in the future): the two of us, unknown to others, are secretly lovers
Interestingly, the Chidori perspective chapters don’t seem to add the “it’s a secret” lines. Inspiring how many variations Kobachi Ruka came up with!