The adventures of Yuuki, Kaori, Shougo, and Saki continue on in One Week Friends volume 3. It’s simple stuff: you have Kaori making friends each week (and even taking part in girl talk). You have Saki continuing to forget everything in a way Kaori does not. Yuuki’s true romantic intentions are revealed in every conversation with Shougo. Yuuki’s true romantic intentions are “subtly” revealed in most interactions with Kaori (who doesn’t notice). It all wraps up with summer break though, as the four go to the beach. The day they go to the beach, however, it’s raining.
But despite the weather being sour, in the end, the four find a way to have fun, and after finishing up summer break homework, they all head into the second term with expectations! (Well, except for Shougo, who plans on continuing to sleep in class. And Saki, who…yeah, she’s got some work to do.) But all of that manages to change with new seating arrangements, a transfer student, and Kaori’s past. Now everything the four built up is beginning to crumble…
Volume 3 managed to pull a fast one. The series’ biggest challenge was getting Kaori to remember Yuuki and his friends, and while there have been some tough moments, it’s been all about Kaori’s current state. Now we’re likely to delve into something that’s a part of her past, and it seems dicey. But I call this volume pulling a fast one because the entire volume up to this point was all fluff.
Thankfully good fluff, because despite the ordinary situations and conversations, the reactions are great. Anytime Shougo reacts to what Yuuki says is hilarious; Saki’s moments, which includes her not even touching her summer homework, are priceless; and the growth all these four characters have with each other is sweet and also funny. Between that and the consistently cute moments they all manage to have (with even a moment between Saki and Shougo), you’d think the series would probably stay that way until the end.
That’s why the cliffhanger Hazuki has at the end is a bit surprising. It does shake One Week Friends up in a different way though, as prior moments in the series that explained Kaori’s past are now going to be a major plot point moving forward. I’m totally in to see how this is going to be resolved, though the first thing that should be known is — who exactly is this transfer student!? Then from there, we’ll have to see if the humor or the characters will change thanks to this introduction.