A new age of gaming is arriving! 1996, where 2D is still in but 3D is now becoming all the rage. A number of 3D fighting games are hitting the arcades. Consoles are making more of an impact. And that means more ways for certain gamers to claim their turf.
Which is what the Shibuya Gang is trying to do, but their rivals, the Mizonokuchi Gang, is making it hard! But lucky for them, Haruo just so happened to display his unbelievable skill by beating The General in Global Champion (Kaiser Knuckle), and the Shibuya members want his help. But while he’s all pumped up, is this really what Haruo wants to do?
Actually, hold up…why is Haruo even in Shibuya and about to dress in lame duds for a “gang”? Well wouldn’t you know it, Akira and Hidaka play a role in this, alongside Haruo’s usual obliviousness.
As we know back in the last volume, Hidaka ended up losing to Haruo in a big challenge. Since then the only thing that’s happened for those two is Haruo thinking he can actually ignore Hidaka’s feelings for him while Hidaka’s feelings only grow as she thinks about him more. But on a chance meeting with Haruo at her family’s store, Hidaka is asked by Haruo’s friend Miyao to join him at Haruo’s place to chat and hang out. What these three don’t realize is the Oono sisters are at Haruo’s place! So of course, all five of them end up being put in one room. Now instead of Haruo supposedly getting a lesson from Miyao on his love life, a new wave of tension between all four begins to swell with these characters.
Yes, four, not five. You can probably guess the fifth person completely unaware of the conflicting emotions swirling around him.
Hi Score Girl has consistently made Haruo focus on games, but growing up makes him realize he had to change. However, his awareness on love has always been inconsistent because his brain is full of game worms. The two people closest to him, Akira and Hidaka, have many feelings about him. And the best he can do when they’re all in one room is not read the room. It does make this rom-com part slightly different, but it does come across as him being incredibly out of touch.
Anyways, it’s this meetup where Hidaka does fight Akira — in Virtua Fighter 2 — and loses. And that ends up adding to her frustration with Haruo. So when she next sees him at the arcade, she ends up agreeing with the Mizonokuchi members that his presence is annoying. And thus, while her feelings of regret continue to stir, Haruo decides to go out of his way to Shibuya, and well, I already explained at the start. However, this now means Haruo will be facing off against Hidaka again, and this time, turf and gaming pride are on the line!
Needless to say, volume 7 focuses more on Hidaka, as you can guess she wants to be with Haruo. The problem is Haruo is just not thinking romance period. So much for Tokimeki Memorial helping him out! Despite that though, there is something about watching the two continue to sort out their feelings, and as usual, games help them in this way. Whether it’s when Hidaka uses her rage and dominates at one point in this volume to when Haruo and Hidaka play a two-person virtual racer, games are in their head. But Haruo continues using it to deflect from reality. Hidaka is trying to be direct about it — maybe hopelessly though.
So that does drive most of this volume, but Akira happens to find herself lurking in Shibuya after her sister says Haruo’s been there. Let’s just say she ends up stumbling upon something that’ll certainly make her think about her feelings for Haruo. And no, it’s not just her finding Global Champion in an arcade and beating The General. Probably. Once again, another fun volume of Hi Score Girl, with the romance continuing to heat up.