In Volume 1, we met Shimizu Makoto, a fairly successful team leader at a company, who has a secret life as a Yuri doujinshi artist. When her co-worker, office lady Maekawa Akane discovers her secret, she’s sure the jig is up. Only it turns out that Maekawa has a secret of her own, she’s a former manga artist. In Volume 2, as Shimizu encourages Maekawa to return to the world of manga, they both struggle with their relationship; Shimizu with accepting that she is a woman who loves women and Maekawa with human relationships at all.

In this final volume of the series, Still Sick, Volume 3 (スティルシック), by Akashi, Maekawa and Shimizu’s gavotte around one another is not yet over. Shimizu will be more honest about her feelings, and so will Maekawa, but love isn’t the only thing Maekawa has to deal with. She’s got a LOT of issues on her plate. We, and Makoto, watch over her as she deals with each layer of the walls she’s built around herself. Only when all that has been addressed, will they be able to just…be together.

It seems a lot of plot for one volume to cover, but in all honestly, I think this volume really does the job. At no point did I feel that this end was rushed, or aborted. Sure, I’d like to have seen them more after this story ended, but when it ends, there’s no dangling plotlines or handwaves needed to fill in a gaping hole. As a narrative effort, I give it top marks. I think to do so much character development, the art suffers here and there, but as this series has never been about the art, it’s a small, acceptable sacrifice.

For an office romance Yuri based on a really silly plot, Still Sick has turned out to be a pretty satisfying meal in three volumes.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Characters – 9
Story – 9
Yuri – 9, LGBTQ – 7
Service – 3 some noodling around, underwear, bed

Overall – 9

I look forward to Tokyopop’s Volume 3 in English, which should be headed our way in February 2021!