One of the biggest tests of any romance manga is what happens after the main couple gets together. Will the manga end because there’s nothing left for the characters to do? Will they just get stuck in misunderstanding hell again? Or will other characters take center stage?
Considering this manga is featuring (or going to feature) four couples, the latter seems like a safe bet. And we do get a little bit more from two members of the main cast whom we haven’t really gotten to know. Unfortunately, Tora, who is featured on the cover, isn’t one of them. I know this series still has several volumes left, but nothing indicates he has feelings for Kagura, and she doesn’t seem to have a romantic interest in him either. The author is going to have to start developing them or else the manga is going to end with just a brief note that they got together.
Instead, Fujisawa goes back and revisits the first official couple for a bit: Kiyo and Miki. Before that, though, the volume starts with Kai worrying if he’s being a creepy or unmanly boyfriend. But even as the mood between him and Riko improves, Kai can’t find the right time to kiss her. Kai’s imagination and worrywart personality starts to get the better of him, even having Albert Einstein tell him he’s a “speck of dust” caught in a black hole (Riko). Luckily Ayumi somehow combines the theory of relativity with national unification to provide Kai some guidance.
No, explaining it further probably won’t clear it up any more for you, but let me assure you, it’s all funny. The art helps a lot with this, as Einstein’s infamous raspberry picture makes a great trollface for Kai, and you can almost hear the national anthem as Ayumi waves a Kai flag.
But things still don’t work out, and this leads to awkwardness between Riko and Kai. I like how they aren’t the only ones going through a rough patch: Kiyo worries that Miki would still rather date a short girl while Miki worries he’s not cool like Kai or good enough for Kiyo. At the same time, Kiyo becomes frustrated when Riko confesses her insecurities to Ayumi, a friend she’s known for only a short time compared to Kiyo. The way the problems are all interconnected help make for a stronger story rather than just rotating through them one by one and creating a misunderstanding hell. You get into a bad mood or start being stubborn, and it can spread even if you don’t mean to.
Again, though, Kagura and Tora avoid most of this because they’re so unimportant to the story. I can’t help but wonder if they should have even been in this manga to begin with.
Regardless of their romance, there are signs in this volume that Taka doesn’t find Ayumi as annoying as before; while she’s still my favorite, I like how this volume elevated Kiyo and Miki for a change. Plus with Kai’s comedic (but pure-hearted) frustrations spilling out into kissing his niece’s toy or saying he’s possessed by an elephant, Hatsu*Haru volume 7 is another solid volume.