Title: I Hear the Sunspot: Limit Vol. 3
Author: Yuki Fumino
Publisher: One Peace Books
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 328
Genre: Slice of Life, Yaoi
Publication Date: April 13, 2021
Final Thoughts
Here we are, the final volume of I Hear the Sunspot: Limit! As you can imagine, everything wraps up in this volume but it is still quite the journey in order to get to the conclusion. Being the final volume, as per my usual, I skip the Story -> Characters -> Final Thoughts format as everything is coming to a close. It’s time to sum up my entire feelings on this volume and the series as a whole!
The majority of the volume is spent in self-reflection as well as coming to understand things and putting them into perspective. In the last volume, Kohei wanted to spend time apart from Taichi because he felt that by doing so, it would make Taichi’s life much better. While Kohei is off dealing with things on his own, he begins to think about Taichi in order to reaffirm his decision. That all changes when he runs into Taichi’s grandfather when he was picking up a prescription at the hospital. He invites Kohei over, sits him down, and has a nice, long chat with him about Taichi. That talk really got through to Kohei and make him reevaluate everything.
On Taichi’s side of things, he takes part in Sig-n’s newest event where they teach people what it’s like to have a disability. They simulate more than just hearing loss. They also address vision loss in order to get people to understand just how difficult it is living in a world designed for those who don’t have a disability. When Taichi is asked to speak about his experiences, all he can do is be open and honest as usual but he did so with Kohei in mind.
Kohei and Taichi weren’t the only ones who shared the spotlight in this volume. Ryu and Chiba ended up getting their backstories fleshed out and their differences resolved as well. We learned about Chiba’s TRUE intention for joining Sig-n as well as Ryu finally coming to understand that maybe he shouldn’t be so stubborn when it comes to living in a world with a hearing loss. He always thought that he should never sacrifice anything for others when he was already at a disadvantage but, slowly, he begins to realize that the world is all about give and take.
In the end, we get the conclusion most of us were expecting but I’ll still leave you all to read it on your own. All I can say is that this has been an incredible journey from beginning to end! Taichi literally fell out of the sky one day into Kohei’s lap and it became a life-changing experience for the both of them. What started out as Taichi taking notes for Kohei in exchange for free lunches blossomed into a friendship, and then a relationship between two people who were just right for each other.
Taichi may be loud, obnoxious, and brash; however, it’s because he’s all of those things that makes him the perfect friend. He doesn’t see people differently. He is free of prejudice and can only see other people as human beings. This is why he endears himself to Kohei right away. He doesn’t care about Kohei’s disability… he was just grateful to get some free food and wanted to repay the kindness. Nothing more. Nothing less. For Kohei, to have someone that carefree in his life, it meant the world to him. He finally found someone that wouldn’t treat him any differently. That was the heart of the story right there.
So, why didn’t it end in one volume? Seems pretty simple, right?
It’s not.
If you think about what this journey was about… it wasn’t overcoming disabilities to connect two different, yet, similar worlds together. It was all about breaking free from expectations and realizing what you have in front of you. That’s not often easy to do. When you live in the world a certain way and that certain way is the only thing familiar to you, you often become used to some of the downfalls to living in that world. Ridicule, being looked at and treated differently, harassment, etc. Sometimes, what seems cruel and out-of-place to a lot of us is common to others.
When someone enters your world that shatters everything that you know… it’s like a breath of fresh air… but just a single breath. You wonder if there will be another burst of fresh air to inhale to come? Sometimes it does and then you begin to wonder if you’ve found a path. Sometimes it doesn’t and it ends up just being a fluke or a brief reprieve from the norm.
For Kohei, it’s all about finding and proving that path exists. One breath of fresh air isn’t enough to convince you that your world can change. You do your best to find the path. Sometimes you follow it blindly because it’s leading you to where you’ve always wanted to go but along the way, you find yourself second-guessing everything. You question if it’s really happening? You wonder if you can truly find happiness or if it’s just a theory? You wonder if there is a limit to what you are experiencing and if it’s okay to completely give yourself to the path you’re walking.
Your mind becomes jumbled… you get confused… you become unsure. That is Kohei’s struggle and that’s why he pushed Taichi away. He wanted this new path… this new freedom… but he wondered if he was only making himself happy? He wondered if he was just putting handcuffs on Taichi for his own self-gratification? He was afraid to trust the path he was on even though, deep down, he wanted it more than everything.
Overcoming those doubts to find happiness… to find the trust in the path to a better life. That is the very essence of I Hear the Sunspot. Here, it was depicted as a life-changing friendship/relationship. The essence of this story can be transferable to anything in life. Whether it’s a passion or a hobby… something you’re really good at that you might want to make a career out of but don’t think it’s feasible so you push it away. It’s more than just a love story and that’s what makes this series so good.
When you take the characters and symbolize them rather than taking the story at face value, you can find the true meaning behind everything. Of course, it was probably intended to be enjoyed as a love story and in that aspect, it has succeeded. This is a great series to pick up and read as it takes you on a very relatable journey that anyone can take something away from and apply it to themselves.
I enjoyed my time with this series and I’m sad to see it go. If you’ve been on the fence or were simply just thinking about picking this up… I urge you to do so. You won’t be disappointed!
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This item was provided for review by One Peace Books
