Over the course of reading this manga, there were a few things we needed to know:
- Will we finally know who Sae Maki is?
- Is Misao gonna survive?
- Will Sae get what’s coming to her or not?
And we get those answered…a bit unsatisfactory as the end is here.
The Love and Creed of Sae Maki Volume 4 picks up after Sae’s powers when she’s asleep activated and killed everybody, or for Misao, thought to have killed everyone. Despite seemingly plunging Ran to her death, she survived. In addition, with Misao bringing Sae back to normal with a slap, she’s back to “normal.” I.e, the rest of the stay at the Villa was happy happy times until the trip was over. However, when Misao returns home, she gets a letter from Kokai telling her to go to his house and get Ena’s notebook. When she does, she runs into an anti-social looking guy standing right at his house — Kokai’s note said he lived alone. What gives?
Well, when that problem gets solved, a new one emerges: as in, Sae texts Misao a picture showing that Kokai’s alive. Now, how do they save him? Well, Ran decides it’s time Misao stood up for herself and gets away from Sae for good. With the help of that anti-social guy, known as Shibako, they create a plan that’s going to save Kokai and earn Sae’s wrath.
…And, as it turns out, they’re going to get an unexpected savior to help them out?
If that sounds like I’m disappointed, then you’re probably right. For all intents or purposes, the manga has shown that Sae Maki wasn’t normal, period. So there certainly was a need to explain who or what she is. It was pretty clear someone was backing her, and she was in some sort of group. But this is all told by a third-party that appears in volume 3, and well, he explains it all in volume 4, and I couldn’t be more annoyed. Since this big info-dump takes place right as Misao, Ran, and Shibako execute their plan, it’s essentially a way to explain the details that could have been peppered in before. In addition, the actual reason Sae’s like this was, at first blush, dumb. After rethinking it, it’s not quite dumb, but it feels unsatisfying.
I think the only reason it feels that way is the execution of it is clumsy. The manga cuts to its explanation right as Misao confronts Sae and stands up to her, and it might have been better if it was the other way around. So when the big climax occurs, I can’t help but feel disappointed that it ended the specific way it did. And then the ending feels far too unbelievable to me. If there was a proper set-up throughout the four-volume run maybe I could have understood Misao’s reaction involving Sae, but it comes off as fairly weak and rushed.
It’s a shame, because for the most part, volume 4 essentially stayed true to its roots. With convincing character portrayals and the general power Sae has, the drama was there. In general, for most of its run, the drama was there. I don’t understand why Kokai looks so out of place in some of the more revealing moments, but other than him, the art’s fantastic. You can basically feel like Misao’s way in over her head anytime she tries to talk to Sae, and that’s a credit to the artist. And yeah, it’ll be hard to forget a character like Sae Maki or some of these characters.
That’s why I wish this ending was far better. The only thing that does is make me think what could’ve been. If you’re in need of an intense, psychological manga, The Love and Creed of Sae Maki’s a worthy read. Just be mindful of how it all concludes.