The 'final' volume of Kimi ni Todoke was released commercially translated today. Since I'm a big fan of stories with endings, I immediately snapped it up, but this is no ending. First off, there are still three huge chapters (50 pages each) that haven't been translated yet, one of which won't even finish being written until March 2019.
Even when the series is finished in Japan, it's doubtful whether we'll ever get to see those chapters in English.
But secondly, the 'ending' such as it is doesn't tell us much. Does everyone live happily ever after in college? Do they end up marrying in the end? There's lots of stuff you can assume will work out but no guarantees based on what was actually written. I don't think a story is done until the romantic figures involved at least marry. That gives you at least some sense of permanence to the relationship. Until then, it's more likely than not headed towards a breakup -- like the vast majority of relationships, even though all of them have people constantly chanting their love to each other, that doesn't stop them from majority of the time breaking up or even cheating on each other, now does it? An ending where the two say "I love you" as they engage in a four year long distance relationship at separate colleges in separate cities is in no way reassuring. To me it looks more like a death flag.
Unless the author specifically reassures me that it all works out and they marry in the end, why would I believe things will work out? The majority of relationships don't. Especially long distance ones. What are the odds? Even the majority of marriages don't work out, but at least then there's a tiny chance of success. The author won't even give us that.
I hope the extra chapters address these qualms, but odds are they'll never come out in English anyway, so in the end we're just screwed.
The two newest manga I've found worthwhile are Isekai Meikyuu de Harem and Uchi no Musume no Tame Naraba. Especially Uchi no Musume.
Unfortunately, the manga isn't coming out reliably and doesn't cover much of the light novels, which are already completed and completely translated, so if I want to delve any further into this story I'll have to do it in the medium of mere words. Even though Latina is so cute in the manga, and there's no way to reproduce that in the books. *Sigh* But the story is good enough that it's worth reading even as a book. It's good enough that it clearly deserves an anime. I kicked out Gate from my anime wishlist to make room and added in Uchi Musume in its stead.
The next exciting manga release will be Btooom's newest volume on the 11th. Until then it's time to read Uchi no Musume.
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