Confession time. Despite being a moderator for the !manga@ani.social community, I had never read this oneshot before. So, I was going in about as blind as I could have been. I knew from the way people talked about it to have a box of tissues on hand and that it was about manga, but that was about it.

There were so many great moments that were in here. First, I liked One Piece on the cover of Shonen Weekly Jump when they were looking up the results of the manga contest. @rikka@ani.social

Their partnership really seemed to work well. It was tough to see it come undone when Kyomoto wanted to go to art school. You can really feel how hurt Fujino felt in that moment as she was trying to exploit Kyomoto’s insecurities to keep her from leaving. The visual framing of this sequence was brilliant as well. They had consistently been showing Fujino leading Kyomoto around by the hand, dragging her out of her shell. Then, when this conversation happens, they aren’t joined together anymore and a tree is shown literally dividing the frame right between them. Driving the proverbial wedge into their relationship as Fujino is trying to shove Kyomoto back into her shell to keep from losing her.

The part that really started to get to me was when Fujino picked up the old 4-koma that she drew that had lured Kyomoto out of her room back when they first met. It was tragic to see her blame herself and her art for the death of Kyomoto. As we transitioned out of that, I had no idea where the story was going to go next. I was not expecting the supernatural turn that came next at all. I must admit that I was confused for a little bit about what was going on.

The alternate history timeline was interesting. We see Kyomoto at art school, doing her thing and somehow scraping by with some degree of independence just like she had wanted. One thing I liked about this alternate timeline was Fujino’s dynamic entry and rescue. It looked like it was straight out of a manga panel. The irony of this timeline is that if Fujino had not lured Kyomoto out of her room, Kyomoto would not have died at art school. Sidenote: this sequence of events has to be inspired by the KyoAni arson attack, right? It is too similar for it not to be the case.

The titular 4-koma that Kyomoto drew, depicting a humorous take on the attack and rescue was actually hilarious. I absolutely loved the joke in the final panel. As somebody that has read tons of 4-koma over the years, that is a top tier reveal.

The shelves of Kyomoto’s room being full of Fujino’s work was incredibly cute. It was very touching and did a great job of showing how Kyomoto never stopped being Fujino’s biggest fan, ever since elementary school. I loved how this scene culminated in Fujino literally looking back to see the coat that she autographed all those years ago hung up prominently on the door.

Overall, this was a great watch. The way in which these two managed to inspire one another to greater heights across time and space was very touching. Really enjoyed this.

So, so happy that Saki called out Kanon’s self-destructive thoughts. I was getting frustrated while reading this since it felt so out of character for Kanon. Then Saki gave voice to my frustration almost verbatim:

These two are the most adorable couple, and if anything happens to them, I will throw hands.

I find it really funny that Daichi is “aggressive” because he dared to say that he liked her. No wonder her friend is frustrated with these two.

Yeah, I think Akane has always had meta elements to her. If you weren’t aware, her attempted suicide arc from the dating reality show bears a striking resemblance to real-life events surrounding the death of Hana Kimura. I don’t think Aka has ever confirmed that this was the inspiration for Akane’s suicide attempt, but (especially for Japanese readers), the similarity is striking and clearly marks Akane’s character as one that can be used to connect to things outside of what is simply on the page.

Her narration this chapter reminded me a bit of an old Film Noir where, at the end of the movie, after the mystery is solved, usually the detective narrates a denouement to the story. I would like to think that this is a nod to how the fans of the series have, for a long time now, referred to her as Detective Akane. I have no idea if that nickname is present in the Japanese fanbase as well though, just something that makes me smile when I think about it.

Thank goodness that the right person won. Takae was clearly the best person for the job; Saotome didn’t even want it. I am trying not to hold it against this manga, but having an election storyline come to a climax this week feels like bad timing.

I wonder what Itachi is going to demand of the student council in the future. She continues to be the best character. I guess just like War Games, the only winning move in this harem is not to play.

They really play around with how they draw Ice. Like any good cosplayer, she really adapts to the costume. I was surprised to see an Albedo cosplay mixed in there:

Then, compare how she is normally drawn to when she is in model mode:

I was also glad to see Tsunehiro starting to think seriously about things like his mortality and what to do with the time he has left. He hasn’t told his new friends yet, but with what Ice told him this episode, I think it is just a matter of time before he does.

I really liked this episode and feel like it managed to stay fun with the fishing and goofy characters while also dealing with some serious emotions that Tsunehiro is going through.

Alright, this really is the last clip I made as part of the birthday celebrations. Thanks for the past year everybody!

Aww, shucks… Here’s to another year!

Glad you enjoyed it! When I first saw it (somebody else shared it in this community), it took me a couple chapters to get it, but it’s a lot of fun.

Oh no! I can’t believe you blazed through this whole series in a couple days. Now you have to wait for the final chapter with the rest of us.

You mentioned Akane in the other thread, and I think that she has become the most interesting character to me (my favorite will always be Miyako, mom of my heart). In this chapter, Akane literally became the narrator for us. I think it is interesting that she is criticizing Aqua’s plan, essentially criticizing the author’s plot at a meta level.

Now you can start watching the anime! It has been an excellent adaptation. The second season ended roughly halfway through the story (chapter 80).

I am really curious to see how the last chapter shakes out. I wasn’t expecting that note of optimism at the end. I was fully expecting Ruby/Aqua to go the Romeo/Juliet tragic deaths route.

Both Aqua and Kamiki being dead now also means that there is little reason to dig all that deep into Aqua’s actions to find Kamiki. Ruby and Akane know that he was looking for their father and maybe the director, but I don’t think the police are going to step away from their serial killer case to think too much about it.

Some really fun 4 komas in the extras. I especially liked the meta bit at the end.

Looks like the last chapter will be the Ruby chapter. I had thought that it might end up with a Ruby suicide, but the tease at the end gives me some hope. It was nice to see more of Kana’s grieving process. Also, it seems like Akane kind of became the main character this chapter.

Just one more chapter left.

They are from one of Skythewood’s other series, Tonari no Neko to Koi Shirazu. It’s another great romcom.

That’s a good theory about Liz faking losing control of her mana. She definitely seemed more intentionally manipulative this episode compared to previous. I think you are right that she likely has knowledge of the game like Alicia does.

I have actually accidentally used my feet while playing basketball in gym class back when I was in school. So, I can sympathize with Shun here as a fellow soccer player.

I also loved the gag crossover page at the end.

Sometimes I just need some Osaka silliness in my life. No stakes, low energy, just absurdity and vibes.

Howdy y’all! Miss Kiyan here! Ain’t from 'round these parts?

My nightmare…

This one was great.