I’m pretty sure I know the conversion formula, but let me double-check just to be sure.
*Googles 40 kilometers to miles*
It really is 25 miles?! The whole school hikes for 25 miles?! Uh, yeah, I’d totally skip that. That’s nuts.
Outrageous future school activities aside, this volume has everything you could ever want in a romance manga. The rival reappears! Romantic drama! Friendship! Cute fluff! And a rabbit chasing a police officer!
…Oh, come on, like you’ve never dreamed of that.
OK, I’m kidding, no one ever wanted to see that…but it’s still funny as heck. Who needs sitting around a coffee table to have a serious conversation when you can just chase the neighborhood cop while in a rabbit suit?
Before that, though, let’s back up.
The previous volume ended with Kota finding Heisuke at Jiro’s place. Jiro doesn’t get the animosity between the two and thinks they should all just take a bath together. Eventually, this leads to a conversation between the two who like Kako, ending with Heisuke boldly proclaiming Kako will be his. Meanwhile, Kako and Mikado are also together in the bath with their own love talk — namely, Mikado’s crush on Jiro.
The Mikado-Jiro arc picked up speed the last volume, but here it takes up most of the story. Kako wants Mikado to be as happy as she is with Kota. But Mikado is already sensing that Jiro’s affection lies elsewhere. I said before that a normal romance would be a nice addition to this series, but I applaud Miyoshi for not just pairing up supporting characters just because it’s the easy thing to do. The author does a good job of showing Mikado’s sadness while keeping her as a good friend to Jiro and not being a jerk to the freshman he has his eyes on. Kako is the one who almost goes into super-defensive mode, but as things progress, all she can do is be by Mikado’s side. The element of friendship comes through in ways that remind me of NANA.
My Boy in Blue volume 7 also does a personal best in balancing this seriousness with humor and romance. Kota’s colleagues are none-too-thrilled about being forced to practice for a race, and Kako’s apology turns into the teacher thinking she’s some kind of verbal masochist. Jiro’s budding relationship with his crush is…well, maybe not so much believable as it is adorkable? Idiot rabbit boy x clumsy girl — it’s better than a lot of manga I read, honestly. Meanwhile, Kako spending more time worrying about Mikado means she spends less time with Kota, who misses her and gets teased by his coworkers about it.
I could go on, but My Boy in Blue volume 7 is worth experiencing for yourself. It easily takes the crown for best in series. But if the next one is going to feature a 40 km hike, I have a feeling it’s going to be rather predictable with a bunch of exhausted teens and another “Kota rescues Kako” story. But maybe Miyoshi can keep this level of quality — we’ll just have to see!