By Natsuki Kizu
TW: Recollections of suicide
Rating: 16+
Length: Series
Vibe: Yus!
Star rating: 5/5 (but I'd give the series as a whole 5/5)
A MUST READ in this genre
Official Summary (spoilers from the first):
As the band races toward their first live concert, Mafuyu struggles to write lyrics for their new song but can’t find the words to express the emotions burning within him. Meanwhile, Uenoyama hears rumors about Mafuyu’s past and is bewildered by his own feelings. The tension builds until the night of the show when the band explodes into a raging, life-changing performance.
Review:
I love volume 2 because not only do we get some lovely developments between Mafuyu and Ue, our amazing mangaka begins to reveal additional information about all of our characters in this universe, just enough to have us craving for more. I couldn't help be invested in Haruki's goal and become curious about Hiragi and Shizumi as well - and their connection to Mafuyu.
We continue to see some strong character development for Ue (this volume still concentrates mainly on him and Mafuyu) both in his feelings and understanding of his romantic desires, but also in his growth as a leader.
If you felt a little lost in sauce given all of the information given (ha) to you in volume 1, trust me, you're going to love this follow-up and will start to see the story web being spun.
Where to buy:
Spoilers after the jump!
Full thoughts (SPOILERS AHEAD)
THAT KISS had me in a CHOKEHOLD, as I am sure it did our boys :). In the first two volumes, we see lots of growth in terms of Ue, who is our loud protagonist, but there is also SO MUCH going on for Mafuyu that is slowly revealed considering he is our quiet and contemplative protagonist.
Even though we can't hear Mafuyu's song (check out the anime though because the song slaps), Kizu-sensei does a great job of making us feel what's going on by revealing all that's happening inside of Mafuyu at that moment (and that beach flashback that utterly destroys me and will be an important point of comparison later). Mafuyu has experienced an unbelievable loss, and in this volume, we see that we are still at the very beginning of his arc of moving forward and moving on.
I said before I do not like volume 1, and it is really because I find Mafuyu's backstory to be so damn tragic - I can't handle it. Mainly, because I cannot stand tragedy for the sake of tragedy in a story. Yuki's death feels so "for plot purposes only" that for me, it's the only bad writing/unforgivable aspect of this series. His death does not feel earned and my heart hurts immensely for both Yuki and Mafuyu. Kizu-sensei made me believe in their love and Yuki's commitment to taking care of Mafuyu (just as strongly as Hiragi did/does) that I cannot believe that Yuki would actually do that to him, no matter what was going on in his head. It all feels for the sake of the plot rather than an earned (saying it again). There is a release called "Strawberry Swing" that tries to uncover more of what happened, but still, it falls flat to me (feel free to search around the interwebs for it).
The tragic love that is revealed to us via Akihiko is strong and look forward to more on this in the coming volumes. I will also be drawing a comparison here later on.
Either way, it will be interesting to see Ue and Mafuyu continue to grow together and for their relationship to evolve, as well as see more about our other characters. Mafuyu's song had an impact on ALL who listened, so stay tuned for more and grab that 3rd volume!
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