Kagura has finally confessed to Tora — but after all those years of seeing her just as a childhood friend and dating all kinds of girls, can he see Kagura in a new (and only) light in 187 pages?
…Well, the answer is no. Because he does so in 45 pages. Yep, 45 pages to have a sudden realization after 10 years…and 142 pages to build up to the world’s oddest rendition of The Sword in the Stone starring Taka and Ayumi.
Even though Tora and Kagura were the only ones who hadn’t paired up up to this point, their story is eclipsed when Ayumi’s director dad walks in on his daughter and boy-who-previously-said-he-wasn’t-her-boyfriend in a compromising position. Ayumi and her mom wave off Dad’s overdramatic reactions, but Taka tells Ayumi they need some space.
It isn’t surprising that the author would include at least one instance of “needing approval from parents”. But there are three problems with this volume:
- Tora’s feelings being realized in less then the amount of in-universe time and pagetime versus Ayumi’s dad’s approval.
- The others getting reduced roles, including Kai “I’m Supposed to Be the Main Character” Ichinose.
- The series wrapping up in the very next volume!!
Fujisawa appears to be dropping hints as to Hatsu*Haru‘s next big surprising development, and attention will likely turn back to Kai and Riko. But the manga doesn’t feel like it’s building to a conclusion. And Kiyo and Miki…I’m not holding my breath they’ll get one more chance to shine.
It’s a complaint I had before, but volume 12 is probably the worst example. Tora goes from shock at Kagura’s confession to discovering he’s loved her this whole time too! I wish we could have seen a more gradual shift in his feelings, something more akin to Ayumi’s falling in love with Taka. We see the result of that development here as Ayumi grapples with the distance between her and Taka. Her logic and her emotions cause Ayumi to be subdued instead of her usual energetic self, and although Mom is on her (well, their) side, Taka has his own plans.
And yes, The Sword of the Stone is involved…and it’s kind of creepy. Comedic-creepy and also weird-creepy. Taka is always going to be exhausted when dealing with his future in-laws, that’s for sure! But it’s too bad he hasn’t learned to be more open with Kai about his struggles, as Kai spends most of this arc sobbing Taka doesn’t trust him enough.
But hey…at least Kai delivers a metaphor to Tora about how love is like a crane game. An utterly failed metaphor, but a metaphor all the same. Never change, Kai.
Hatsu*Haru volume 12 has its lighter moments like that, Kai debasing himself, and Tora’s parents planning their children’s future, but compared to the rest of Hatsu*Haru, this is relatively serious volume. And though Taka and Ayumi have been my favorite couple, even I think it’s unfair at how much they stole the spotlight so close to the finale. Both of those are going to heavily affect readers’ enjoyment of volume 12.