I've got such mixed feelings about this manga. It's great overall. The mangaka made it feel heartfelt. Yet that jumbled focus at the end and me just not meshing with specific fashion decisions means I'm sure I won't read it again.
At least we got two of the threads explored
- Tsumugu made her art with the cast's personalities in mind - The sewing was all offscreen this time, which feels like a loss in a Tsumugu-centric-chapter. A necessary loss for a timeskip but still.
- Tao got some hefty backstory snuck in, mostly by art, showing her awkward side as a trans girl her unhinged Boss has claimed as property. There's so much story beyond the thread of fitting in, but what we got was surprisingly smooth confirmation.
4/5 characters were good or great. The status quo was alright. Though I can't say I liked the relationship progress let alone Ao as a being. Not with that truncated end. I just love the two threads enough to set aside all the tension that became atmosphere with no resolving turns. If even the fashion was more my speed like in Kamina Botan, maybe I'd reread someday for that alone, but alas.
So it's weird. I sort of
love the manga but it's probably among the highest I've rated something I neither actually
liked nor appreciably grew from.
It also hurt a little that the author said so little at the end of the Tankobon. At least when an author responds to a quick ending I can put it into perspective easier. Ah well. I look forward to what she creates next. Hopefully by then I can budget throwing money at books.