I think this ending was good for the time it had, but given the composure, depth, and thoroughness with which the earlier chapters moved through their emotions, it was frankly kind of disappointing to see things happen this way.
The story needed about one more volume to properly move through all the ground that needed to be covered: like people have been saying, neither of Akira’s spokes on the triangle were developed as much as I’d like them to be; her romantic connection to Rin was especially lacking.
Ultimately, I think this makes the final resolution kind of unsatisfying to me. Not just because it felt rushed, and certainly not because their relationship didn’t seem good or stable—I agree, actually, that having some uncertainty in the relationship, a sort of scalene triangle situation, makes sense—but because I don’t know where everyone is at.
In a manga that’s in large part about going through these characters’ feelings, looking at the subtle changes in emotion with Canno’s amazing ability to understand the characters and express how they feel in a way the audience can almost physically feel, watching the emotional symphony play out is the attraction, it’s what builds anticipation and maintains engagement. But I literally don’t know how Akira feels about Rin (and certainly not the other way around), I don’t understand her jealousy and how it plays into their group relationship, and I only mostly understand how she feels about Mayuki. That’s a really serious problem, and for me it robbed the ending of nearly all its emotional impact.
Again, I think Canno did extremely well for such a short time span, but I really feel like we skipped the good part, the fun, interesting, put-our-feelings-together stuff. Perhaps it’s my fault for anticipating, but it really feels like scenes that were suggested haven’t been delivered. Where’s the Rin x Akira development? When does Akira get her underlying problems spoken to, if not addressed? Where’s the scene they were teasing where two of them kiss while the third watches and starts to lose herself?
I really, really like this manga, and I think in a lot of ways it’s a feat of writing skill, character study, and artistic talent. And of course I’m a sucker for poly. But I think the end really drags it down.
This manga is almost, almost, a 10/10. But with the ending the way it is, I can’t give it more than an 8/10, with special commendation for Canno’s notable talent. I really look forward to their next work; they seem to improve every time.
In the meanwhile, if you want strong, satisfying poly, check out this fic over on AO3. No knowledge of the original work is required.
If you’ve read this far, thanks for listening to my thoughts! Sorry for destroying the forum continuity, but I had a lot I needed to say. Peace!
last edited at Feb 4, 2021 3:34AM