By Kyosuke Kamishiro and TakayaKi. Released in Japan as “Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Motokano datta” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gierrlon Dunn.

This is a really short book, even for a series that does not generally have long volumes to begin with. It’s 142 pages. I actually found myself wondering if it was supposed to have the Isana plotline going on throughout, but the main plot got away from the author, so they simply cut it out. But then, it does make sense that you’d want to keep the focus entirely on Akatsuki and Kawanami. Their backstory was always a very spiky and uncomfortable one in an otherwise mostly mild romcom series, and a lot of the books have been trying to bring them both to a point where they can finally take a step towards each other again and have it be believable. The way that it does that is by looking even further at the issues that Kawanami has with women, and how they are, in a very real sense, PTSD. As such, it makes sense that this volume feels like the series finale of M*A*S*H at times, as his own memories may not be reliable.

Kawanami wakes up one morning in his bed, dressed only in boxers. He sees a girl leaving his room in a hurry. He also has no memory of the previous evening. At the same time, Akatsuki also wakes up in her bed, in bra and panties, and does not remember what happened the previous night. A horrible thought crosses their minds: did they, y’know, DO IT? Unfortunately for the both of them, Mizuto and Yume are out of town, off on the annual family reunion that we’ve seen in a previous book. What’s worse, Kawanami goes out for karaoke and bowling with his friends, and it becomes very clear that something happened with his good friend Makoto, who is being referred to very carefully so as not to spoil the reader. As things come to a head and he has a complete breakdown, Akatsuki grabs him and the two run away to Osaka… and a love hotel.

This series has always been very horny, and the author jokes that they may have taken things a bit too far this time with that love hotel scene. No, they don’t go all the way, but certain things are done, and both of them get a nice view of each other naked. That said, the reason this is a pretty good book is the emotional catharsis that Kawanami gets, as Akatsuki points out that he’s basically cured of his reaction to women, he just doesn’t actually realize it. The bit where Mizuto points out to him the way that he’s misremembering things made it clear that this really is very similar to PTSD, and as such it’s definitely a good thing the two stopped when they did. In any case, they’re now a couple, which means we likely have only one major arc left in this series, the “what will we do after graduation?” bit.

If you enjoy this series, this is a decent read. And short. Also, while I hesitate to mention current memes in a review, it’s really hard not to look at that cover art and not think “let’s take ibuprofen together!”.

By Kyosuke Kamishiro and TakayaKi. Released in Japan as “Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Motokano datta” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gierrlon Dunn.

I spent a lot of this volume wondering how seriously I should take the yuri pandering. There is, and I think this is the 4th or 5th time I’ve said this, a ludicrous amount of boob grabbing in this book, to the point where it’s almost every 4th or 5th page. This is partly a consequence of the plot, which is a class trip, meaning lots of scenes of the girls off by themselves, but still. But we also get a suggestion that a girl confessed to Mizuto because in reality she was in love with Yume (which is… not QUITE true) and a lot of bi panic in this book, which is sometimes played for comedy, but also sometimes meant to be taken seriously. Finally, near the end, we get… well, we get something that I am reluctant to spoil because this volume is a mystery, but it at least suggests that there are SOME actual lesbians in this series. And that Isana is absolutely bi. (We knew that already.)

It’s class trip time, and everyone’s off to Okinawa! Of course, there are a few hiccups. Mizuto and Yume have had their first time, and really want to have more, but “surrounded by our classmates” means that’s not gonna happen. Yume’s attempts to hide who she’s dating are spreading all sorts of rumors, and while she’s able to control and dissuade the guys confessing to her, Mizuto struggles a lot more when he’s confessed to… by Asuhain? On the trip itself, we get a gyaru group who seem to be wrapped up in SOMETHING, but it’s unclear how sinister it actually is. We get snorkeling, we get shopping. We get Yume realizing that Asuhain has been avoiding her ever since the last volume, and she can’t figure out why. And, perhaps worst of all, Isana’s breasts are now public knowledge, and everyone wants to grope them.

So yeah, as you guessed, this is still mostly a series for horny guys. That said, there is serious stuff here beneath all the boob jokes. The author tries to tell a mystery, and while the culprit is not a surprise, it is mildly interesting seeing Mizuto doing his detective work while also being smug about it. The subplot with Asuhain is handled seriously and works really well with her character – she’s always felt like “Yume only one year behind”, and this just reinforces the hell out of that. And then there’s Isana, who I think is finally giving up on the polycule. It’s framed as a joke in the end, in that she tried to see if seeing Yume and Mizuto being romantic and loving would give her heartache but she was too distracted by Yume’s sexiness, but that and the other surprise revelation makes me wonder if the author is, perhaps, going to give us a token nickel by the end of this series.

Probably not. Next volume we’re back with Akatsuki, so it will likely back off from Isana a bit. Still, under all the fanservice there’s still a nice little story. But man, you have to dig past a lot of fanservice.

By Kyosuke Kamishiro and TakayaKi. Released in Japan as “Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Motokano datta” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gierrlon Dunn.

This is the first volume taking place after our main couple have gotten together… again… and as you can imagine, it’s leading up to one big scene. That said, it certainly does meander before it gets there. This series has always played with viewpoint – from the start, the main chapters alternated between Mizuto and Yume, usually with some variation on how they used to be in love but are older and wiser now. As the series went on, we got more and more viewpoints from the POV of other characters, such as the best friends of our lead couple, or the rest of the student council. And honestly, with this volume I think we may have finally gotten an answer to the question “how much is too much”. I think everyone in the entire cast with the exception of Isana gets a look in here, and it makes the book too scattered. It’s only in the final dramatic battle/love scene that it settles down – ironically, when the POV switch is at its worst.

Mizuto and Yume are now a couple once more, but there is a slight problem – they’re still stepsiblings. As a result, they have to hide their relationship from both their parents and from everyone at school. The latter is only slightly successful – Minami and Kawanami figure things out pretty fast – but it does mean that there are a certain amount of repressed feelings that are happening. And, of course, this book also takes place around Valentine’s Day and White Day, with all the plots that you’d expect with that. We get another couple getting together here, despite some truly amazing amounts of self-hatred and loathing to get through in order to accept it – and as for Minami and Kawanami… it may be a bit longer, but they’re making real prgress as well. As for Mizuto and Yume, their parents taking an extended away trip means that they may finally be able to go all the way this time… provided this does not turn into Kaguya-sama: Love Is War again.

I will admit, I was schnookered by the author. The moment the two of them decided that this was going to be some sort of contest to see who admitted to wanting to have sex first, I was fairly certain that they were going to end up just doing nothing till their parents came back. But no, for once the two have semi-matured enough – and are prepared enough to buy nice lingerie and condoms – that they actually do end up getting past the competitiveness and having their first time. The sex, as you can imagine, is elided rather than explicitly described, but the elision is actually very clever, relying on the swapping narrative POV to give us the rhythm of two lovers coming closer and closer to a climax. Also, as with the previous sex scene in this series, the first time is not necessarily “the best sex ever” – it’s typical first sex – but they’re both happy, which is all that matters.

That competitiveness may end up returning after the cliffhanger ending to this book, though thankfully it will be in the classroom rather than the bedroom. I just hope we can get back to primarily being Mizuto and Yume’s narration.