“Age is nothing but a number.” We’ve all heard that cliché before. And while it does have some positivity behind it — that you should never give up on your dreams or trying something new and such — it is also, rightfully, completely wrong. While this phrase is never directly said by anyone in My Boy volume 7, this idea is explored through Mashuu and Satoko’s relationships with their parents and each other over the New Year’s holidays.
I’ll start off by talking about my biggest disappointment with this volume: it wanders. Not just in terms of perspective, but what the manga seems to be building towards. Is the climax going to be Satoko formally requesting to be Mashuu’s friend? A romantic confession? Heading down their own paths? Yes, it’s usually good that you don’t know how a manga is going to end, but this is more like seeing a video of someone floating on a river and not knowing whether some hottie in a paddleboat appears, if they’re about to go over a waterfall just ahead, or if Jaws is going to pop up and eat them.
That feeling comes in part from the fact the main leads spend a remarkably little amount of time together in volume 7. It isn’t until the final chapter that the two interact face-to-face. It’s their relationship that obviously is the main draw of the series (whether romantically, parentally, or otherwise), and the art is what helps this chapter pack an emotional punch. Satoko is occasionally drawn as her younger self, and whether you see this as a reflection of her nostalgia or an emotional regression, it’s a beautiful testament to the fact our childhood selves are always inside us somewhere, whether we like it or not.
That dichotomy is also a part of Satoko’s conflict with her mother. Satoko’s mother tends to dismiss Satoko’s opinions with a mother-knows-best attitude, which can be suffocating for any child. But while Satoko is annoyed by her mother treating her like a child, in some ways, Satoko wants to be babied. There is an incident involving Satoko where her mother bursts in on the scene, and we see Satoko imagining Mom going all mama bear on the person versus the more judgmental attitude she takes. I think a lot of people can relate to the frustration of dealing with your parents, particularly with mothers, and it’s much more interesting than Satoko telling her story to her sister and boyfriend.
Meanwhile, Mashuu continues to be focused on Satoko, but he also learns to appreciate more of the world around him, like his schoolmates and his father. The fact that Mashuu seems to be maturing without her noticing is not lost on Satoko. Meanwhile, Ogata is still crushing on Mashuu, but there’s not much new there.
The final chapter here and the preceding events involving Satoko’s mother demonstrate there are still plenty of opportunities to showcase the story’s drama. But there are only two volumes left, and the story should be tightening. Unfortunately, My Boy volume 7 doesn’t do much to build towards a climax, but at least the beautiful final chapter here makes it worth a read.