Since the first volume, I have been cautious.
“All this having been said, I need to bring up two important issues I have with this manga. The first is that it is presented as a romance. The story is apparently that we’ll side with Touko as her sincere feelings for Yuu are eventually returned. ”
I have repeatedly pointed out a glaringly obvious problem with this series.
“I’m still not sure if Yuu is supposed to be confused because she just hasn’t had an “a-ha!” moment or because she’s genuinely asexual. I don’t think the mangaka knows, either and I’m positive Yuu herself has no idea.”
“Which leads me to the, I think, obvious conclusion abut Yuu. What if she’s asexual? If so, she’s never going to have those feelings for Touko or anyone. She might come to love Touko and continue to admire and like her, but never have sexual interest in her. So, then I can’t help but see Touko’s coming on (to be crude) to Yuu as another burden, rather than a blessing.”
“Both these things nag at me while I read this manga. And I worry that Yuu’s agency will be stripped from her as the narrative continues.”
“Where they will end we cannot say (well, okay, obviously we can. It was abundantly clear from the first page of this series it was meant to be a romance. As I noted in my review of the first volume back in 2016…. So, yeah, obviously it has been heading in this direction from the very beginning. Which I’m still kind of sad about. I would really have preferred to have Yuu as a rare aromantic manga protagonist. Oh well.”
And so on…. every volume has been problematic.
Yagate Kimi ni Naru, Volume 7 (やがて君になる) is not helping. ^_^;
That said, there is a lot to like in this volume. We get another moment when Sayaka sits down with Miyako and really talks about the thing that they have in common; a thing Miyako has largely dealt with, but that Sayaka has not, yet. We also get a chapter backstory for Miyako and Riko, in which we see how they met and came to be a couple. Those are both wonderful moments. And, continuing on, we see Sayaka take an important step forward in her own growth. For all of this, this volume is very, very good.
But the big glaring problem does not get smaller here. Yuu is going to have deal with how she feels about Touko – – which is not the glaring problem. The big glaring problem is how her being set up as an aromantic is going to be dealt with. I do not want to spoil a thing, but… I did was neither surprised, nor impressed by the way it was handled. The way it was handled is the big glaring problem. When the series is complete in English, we’ll talk about it. Until then, I look forward to spoiler-free comments from you!
Ratings:
Art – 9 It is palpably better in this volume than it has ever been
Story – If the point of art is to create a reaction in its viewer, then this is a 10, for both good and ill
Characters – 10
Service – Nothing salacious, buy Miyako and Riko getting ready for bed was a kind of service. ^_^
Yuri – 10+
Overall – 9
It was very “aauuggghhhhh!” and very “yay!” and I need you all to read it asap so I can *talk* about it! You will have the chance to read it in December, while Volume 8, which will hit shelves in autumn in Japan, will be the final volume. When this all over about a year from now, we shall sit down and have a good long talk about this series. ^_^;
In the previous volumes of Ani no Yome to Kurashiteimasu (兄の嫁と暮らしています。), we have met Shino, a 17-year old and her sister-in-law, Nozomi. After the death of her bother, Shino and Nozomi continue to live together as a family. However, as they grow closer, they also have begun to have decidedly unsisterly feelings for one another.
