Justin: In Silver Spoon volume 3, Hachiken’s summer of working for the Mikages’ takes some turns. Some of it involves dealing with around 300 cows. Another involves dealing with his family. Well, in this case, his seemingly smart but overbearing older brother Shingo! This somehow leads to a situation where even Mikage concludes with Hachiken that Shingo’s a lost cause.
But if you thought it was simply just the Hachiken show…well it is, but it also does look a bit into Aki’s situation. Her goals don’t necessarily align with her family, but she hasn’t told them what her goals are. While Hachiken’s unsure of his future, Aki has an idea but won’t tell the people that has to know. So in some respects they’re both the same, as they’ll have to confront their future eventually. And it’s an interesting subplot as they both continue their life at the farm.
After the summer work, both of them head back to school, and see old faces yet also new ones (though in physique!). For Hachiken however, he finally has to come face to face with a difficult decision with a particular pig. And as he put himself in said situation, he knows there’s only one choice he has to make.
The humor of Arakawa is still glorious. A great example is the conflict that happens during a festival, where the stall vendors have to face off against far too many hungry students who have bottomless appetites. How the struggles for them were depicted is fantastic, as they valiantly fought to feed everyone and make some cash…but they ultimately run out of supplies. Needless to say, the conclusion to this is fantastic.
However, the morality of farming is a major topic in this volume. Sure, the series hasn’t shied away from talking about it so far. But now that Hachiken’s coming face to face with his own farming problem, it gets exasperated when one of the teachers goes into the actual slaughtering process. Like they have a video and everything for it. As someone who’s dealt with farm life, Arakawa’s definitely not shying away from the tougher aspects of it.
This is what continues to make the series such a great read. The balance of humor and farming knowledge is a plus, and how Hachiken has interacted with kids his age that have been devoted to this life presents a mix of questions and answers they’ve never considered. I think the only big issue in this one is just how bad is Hachiken and Shingo’s father? Like he…he doesn’t quite seem like a good dude. Maybe he’s just being a parent, but there are definitely some issues there. Will be interested to see how future volumes handle those relationships.
Justin’s Rating: 4 out of 5
Krystallina: Silver Spoon continues to evoke many questions: Is it all right to raise livestock just to eat them? What happens when your dreams don’t always align with your desires? What do you do when you make a critical mistake at your job?
And most importantly, how does Tamako’s weight fluctuate so much?
Okay, okay, that wasn’t the most important question. The real mystery is, of course, how does Hachiken’s brother make such horrible food?
Yes, while Hachiken’s strained relationship with his family has been making the most babyish of baby steps forward, Hachiken’s brother rolls into town on a motorcycle. With the brothers reunited, readers are given another glimpse into the Hachiken family dynamics, including the reason behind the youngest son’s previous obsession with grades and studying. The brother does make another appearance later in the story, so I wonder if he’s going to become a recurring character or if he’ll be leaving soon once this summer section is over with.
Speaking of summer, Hachiken finishes up his job at the Mikage farm as summer vacation comes to a close. But as the second semester starts, the future of the piglet named Pork Bowl continues to weigh on Hachiken’s mind. It’s this sort of moral dilemma that Silver Spoon continues to excel at. Can Hachiken really allow this cute little piglet he helped raise be slaughtered? Well, we get an answer, and if you weren’t 100% sure, then the next volume preview almost certainly spoils the result. The struggle over the circle of life is bound to make many people uncomfortable, but the humor continues to bring smiles and laughs to lighten the mood. A brotherly fight over the benefits of cow dung — what else can I say? Only Arakawa could make it work!
The only downside is that Silver Spoon volume 3 feels slower than the previous one. The shift back to the classroom takes longer than I thought, but even when school starts, it still feels like everyone is in summer vacation mode with on-the-fly lessons and more emphasis on extracurricular activities than learning. I mean, I’m grateful we didn’t have to watch the slaughterhouse video that the students did (make that super grateful), but what we learn is either after class or during Hachiken’s club duties. I just wanted a nice classroom discussion.
In addition, the section with school idiot Tokiwa misunderstanding the relationship between Hachiken and a female classmate fell flat to me, but perhaps it’s easier to make that huge misunderstanding in Japanese.
Still, though, if you have any interest in agriculture or just relate to someone trying to find their place in the world, get Silver Spoon.
Krystallina’s Rating: 4 out of 5