Pastel 9

This volume was a lot better than I was expecting.  Although Tsukasa is still hanging around, and I still hate her, there’s a lot of sweet things that happen so that she’s not causing all sorts of intolerable comic mischief.  She plays a lot of pranks in the first story, so I had my doubts about the volume right off the bat, but the first story turns into a really cute story about Tsukasa and Yuu’s past.  There’s a story about Kazuki turning 18 and finally getting serious about his one true love, there’s a story about Sayuri getting a fiancee and seeking Mugi’s approval indirectly, and there’s a story about Mugi’s 18th birthday and a date he has with Yuu.  The story was almost ruined by the fact that other characters were following the two around and causing trouble, but it managed to stay tolerable throughout.

The stories about Kazuki and Sayuri were some of the best yet, though.  While I think the story needs to seriously cut back on interfering friends, the fact that these two characters are only ever used to interrupt what’s going on and they still had two really great stories really surprised me.  The whole Kazuki story is good ,but there is one panel which is without words, but is really effective at conveying Kazuki’s heartbreak.  And in Sayuri’s story, her really deep, motherly bond kind of got to me, I suppose.  I don’t really like that character at all, and it looks like she may not be coming back for awhile, but I guess she can still be nice.

I laughed so hard at one scene at the beginning of the Mugi birthday chapter.  It opens with him having a dream.  The dialogue speaks for itself.  Yuu: “Mugi.  Happy Birthday.  You’re 18.  You’re an adult now, and… I’ve got a very special present for you.”  She’s unbuttoning her shirt.  “My right breasts holds a bounty from the sea, and my left breast holds a bounty from the land.”  The next panel shows Mugi holding two plates, one with lobsters and one with vegetables, and he comments about how that explains why her breasts are so big, and he happily goes off to prepare a meal.  It would have been perfect if there had been a full page with Mugi laying in bed, awake and yelling “What the hell does that mean?!” followed by the chapter title page, with the dream never mentioned again.  It doesn’t get mentioned again, but it was so bizarre it had me cracking up.