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Reviewed by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane The Love*Com finale sneaked up on me--somehow I'd been unaware that volume 16 was the last (vol. 17, due in March, is made up of side stories) until it arrived. Other than the fact that the main characters' high school graduation almost always means that a manga has reached its end, this volume is nearly indistinguishable from almost any other installment in the series--which is good news if you're looking for exactly what Love*Com usually delivers, but maybe a bit less good if you're hoping for it to go out with a bigger bang. With graduation just over the horizon, Risa and Ôtani are busy working on the graduation committee. The committee's responsibilities include choosing a skit for their class to perform, and much to Ôtani's chagrin, it's decided that he'll be playing the lead in a version of "Issunbôshi", the tale of a tiny boy who travels in a soup bowl. To add insult to injury, he's also the victim of some small but unpleasant pranks that he thinks might be Risa's doing. It's not a great way to end their last year of high school, but the show has to go on! I have to admit that I'm disappointed (although unsurprised) that the pattern of Risa and Ôtani misunderstanding and distrusting each other continues right to the end of the series, although it's more toned down (and briefer) than it has been at other times. But this volume also shows them banding together to help out one of the supporting cast, and it does at least give some closure to a couple of characters other than the leads, which is nice. The skit they put on is pretty funny, too, as is the way Ôtani and Risa's classmates can't resist poking fun at them for old times' sake, so the volume ends on a higher note than it began on. This isn't an amazing conclusion to the series, but it's generally the same level of comedy that readers have come to expect from Love*Com, and given my general wariness when any manga series draws to a close, I'm satisfied with that. Volume 16 of Love*Com includes the bonus story "The Place Where We Belong", about actor/singer Teppei Koike, who played Ôtani in the Love*Com movie. Review copy provided by VIZ Media. Interested in writing for MangaLife? We're always looking for talented reviewers and columnists, so drop us a line! Charles Webb Editor-in-Chief, MangaLife.com |
1 September 2010
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