Justin: With Komaba trying to find his way and Aki trying to study to achieve her dream of working with horses, Hachiken’s in some trouble. Despite his teachings, he knows he needs a bit more to help Aki out.
Enter Shingo Hachiken.
It’s not exactly what Yuugo wants to do, but as Shingo’s a former Tokyo U student, reaching out to him is the best idea. The problem is all of Shingo’s notes from university are at home, and that’s even further from the last thing he wants to do. But in going back home, Yuugo may have just kicked off a series of events that might help him find his own path and goals…
…But before we get into that we will totally talk about pigs getting slaughtered.
Silver Spoon volume 9 doesn’t actually show that any of the following scenarios will lead to Hachiken finding his true dream, but the seeds are certainly planted — he ends up yelling at his dad again after his dad once again disrespected him and his friends’ goals. Once he does that though, this leads to his mom finally coming to Ezo Ag to see his school, and once she’s there, she learns a lot. And when I mean a lot, it’s not just learning how he’s impacted his classmates and the school, but also the menial and bloody works that farmers have to do to deliver a safe food product. Also she turns exactly into Yuugo when he first got to the school, as someone who can’t believe such great, well-cooked food is so cheap. (And also that these people are crazy)
But it’s through this that the relationship between Hachiken and his mom is on the verge of being repaired. While she does wish for her husband to be better at some things, she’s very much devoted to him to the point that she’s been willing to know little about what Hachiken’s been up to or lie about certain things. For Hachiken, he just doesn’t want to mention anything to anyone about his parents, hence why most of his peers were taken aback at how distant they really are. For them to meet up at Ezo Ag is certainly the start that might actually repair everything that’s broken with this family. It’s not the biggest problem solver — there will have to be more heart-to-heart moments like this — but it’s certainly a start.
Meanwhile, while the studying aspect between Aki and Hachiken continues, this school rally involving pigs and meat is what may or may not be the key to solving Hachiken’s problems. And he might have to thank Tokiwa? The man suggested to have everyone split the cost of a pig and have everyone donate 1000 yen towards buying it. From that point and nominating Hachiken as the leader, the school’s been supporting the pork fund, and from this we get a full course lesson on the entire pig process — from buying it to slaughtering it in person. They were shown a video of it way back when, but this time they actually took a trip to the slaughterhouse, and they got a full understanding of the downsides to this process (and why some people don’t eat meat).
With a continuing drama and more edutainment, this volume of Silver Spoon is another great one. Volume 8 was really terrific though, so this falls a bit short in that area, but not by much. You should be reading this work.
Justin’s rating: 4 out of 5
Krystallina: Pigs. Studying. Yogurt. Adult websites. It’s so hard to describe all that happens in this volume of Silver Spoon, but it’s all awesome.
Well, except stealing — excuse me, “borrowing” — money from a dog. Don’t take money from dogs, people. Especially if Tamako is around because she’ll be a loan shark on behalf of the dog. Which I can’t say I blame her for doing because Vice Prez is too adorable and doesn’t deserve to miss out on treats.
Anyway, volume 9 is a huge step for Hachiken’s psychological progress in regards to his relationship with his family and his old life before Ezo Ag in general. He manages to talk to his brother on the phone — twice in fact! — and heads to their home to get big brother’s college prep notes. For as much as we know of middle school Hachiken, he seemed like a loner, so it was a surprise to see him interact relatively normally with some of his old classmates that he bumped into. But the conversation makes both sides remark afterward on the change within Hachiken, and I hope we do get to see him contacting them in the future. Not putting down the rural life, but they could provide a reminder to show what amenities or opportunities Hachiken would be giving up by living in Hokkaido permanently.
But while Hachiken is many things, he’s not a very good ninja. He thought he’d just be able to sneak out without seeing his parents — pfft, yeah right! His relationship with his dad is as frosty as ever, but at least his mom is taking steps to understand her son. Hopefully some of what she learned can rub off on her husband, including fulfilling her emotional needs like hearing compliments on her cooking. Other characters like Aikawa with blood or Mikage with studying are also working to step outside their comfort zone, and I can’t help but root for everyone here. Especially Ookawa, who still can’t find a job. Fight on, Ookawa!
The education factor and humor continue to be top-notch, from showing the full process of slaughtering a pig to the boys blaming each other for their Christmas party being canceled. You’d think there’d be mood whiplash with such a discrepancy, but Silver Spoon keeps striking a perfect balance. Seeing the image of a plate of pig’s feet doesn’t keep readers in a morbid mood, but it doesn’t gloss over the fact that people raise animals just to kill them. Meanwhile, Hachiken, Tamako, and Chestnut deal out their own brand of violence as everyone continues to curse Hachiken for having a girl interested in him. A German suplex in the snow — that’s gotta hurt.
So, with some good character development, more inside looks on food processing, and the usual Ezo Ag insanity, Silver Spoon volume 9 proves that there’s no reason to stop reading this series any time soon.
Krystallina’s rating: 5 out of 5