In Rainbows After Storms, Volume 5, Chidori and Nanoha have kissed and nothing will ever be the same.

Having shared their first kiss as fireworks symbolically exploded above them, the kiss itself continues to reverberate inside them. They are reminded over and over that they have kissed and find themselves jumpy and unnerved when they have to return to normal quotidian activities and conversations.

Worse for them, after such a significant change in their relationship over the summer, they haven’t had a moment to talk about it and the school festival rushes in to take up the space they might have had to debrief.  So, 5 volumes in to this series, it is now moves from the realm of theoretical Yuri into romantic Yuri.

As much as they stress, of course they are going to be okay.They are nervous and more aware of one another, more in need of one another than previously. That’s to be expected. What isn’t expected is the appearance of one of Nanoha’s former basketball team kouhai, returning to school after a serious injury with a humongus crush on Nanoha, who happens up Nanoha and Chidori kissing. Mai is going to be a bit of a problem. But that’s for next volume. As I said in my review of this volume in Japanese, “We’ve dealt with Chidori’s past….now it’s time to set Nanoha’s past behind her, and move on to the future.”

I know this was and is a slow series, slow enough that it almost feels in real-time. We’re watching Nanoha and Chidori find each other and watching their relationship change. It can be a bit voyeuristic at times and will be mores so in upcoming volumes, but for now, we can be content watching these two just figuring it all out. I’m glad I gave this series a chance when I read it in Japanese and gladder to be able to read it in English now. But don’t think this is the end, we have a lot more volumes ahead of us!

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 6
Service – 2 

Overall – 7