Title: Fly Me to the Moon Vol. 13
Author: Kenjiro Hata
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 197
Genre: Slice of Life, Romance, Comedy
Publication Date: September 13, 2022
The Story
We left off in Volume 12 with the “princess” of Nasa’s class and a mystery surrounding her. This volume opens up with the folklore of Kaguya and the moon and it turns out that our “princess” is actually named Kaguya. Nasa also has a weird dream where he’s gone far back into the past where he is some sort of emperor and Tsukasa is there with him as some sort of messenger or servant. After he wakes up, we get to spend a little time with Kaguya.
Afterward, students from Nasa’s class pay him a visit after they learn that he lives in a bathhouse. Here, they meet Tsukasa and then indulge themselves in the bathhouse’s services before deciding to just randomly walk off and go get ramen. Tsukasa likened them to a wild bunch but I prefer to call a group of teenage girls a walking tornado.
That same group of students wants to do something for their film club. They talk about The Blair Witch Project and how a $60,000 budget turned millions at the box office. This inspires them to shoot a movie in a haunted house but no teacher wanted to chaperone them. So, it’s up to Nasa to do the deed and he ends up dragging Tsukasa and Aya along with them. Aya ends up starring in the film but something is a bit amiss when Kaguya is keeping close tabs on Tsukasa!
Characters
The biggest spotlight here was Kaguya. The way she talks and acts highly suggests that she’s not of this world and with Kenjiro Hata going into folklore and weird lucid dreams, it makes me feel as if this series is straying away from slice-of-life into science fiction. Whether or not this is all misdirection remains to be seen but if there is going to be a shift in genre and direction, then Kaguya is most obviously the key to all of it. She’s incredibly smart, can solve virtually any problem, fix any broken object, and despite the fact that her room is a total mess, knows where everything is down to the exact location. In short, she’s a genius and may actually be smarter than Nasa.
That, in and of itself, makes you wonder about Nasa. I mean, he survived being isekai’d be Truck-kun, and also has supernatural intelligence. Also, they made reference to the meaning behind Nasa’s name, the stars, and the American space agency. What is Nasa is an actual emperor who lost his memories and Tsukasa was his love during those times? What if Kaguya is the “princess,” aka… Nasa and Tsukasa’s daughter? That would be a hell of a plot twist that would be so out of place in a story that has been established like this but… it feels kind of like that’s what this is setting up to be.
After all, we still don’t know Tsukasa’s true past and she’s still being pretty tight-lipped about it. Even when they introduced the whole moon rock plot way back in the beginning, it almost felt as if they were gearing up for a twist like this so it kind of makes sense and it also kind of doesn’t at the same time.
Final Thoughts
In every review of this series, I’ve said that this has been my bi-monthly dose of cuteness but I can’t say that this time because while there were your typical cute moments, this volume felt vastly different than the normal fare we’ve known. They delved into folklore, science fiction, and even lucid dreaming to grow some of the subtle seeds that have been planted in an effort to, what I can assume to be, a genre shift for the series.
Sorry if you’ve read my review for Vol. 12 because I’m kind of repeating myself here but, genre shifts this deep into a series is highly questionable. I made reference to 7th Garden doing that around volume 7 or 8 and it was so jarring that it completely destroyed my expectations and enjoyment of the series. At least here, it seems as if the clues were there all along and we are being eased into it but, we’ve all come to know and love Tonikaku Kawaii as a slice-of-life romantic comedy. The cuteness between Nasa and Tsukasa does get a bit old from time to time but changing genres to spice it up is rather extreme.
I’m really hoping that this is all misdirection and that it’s just somehow symbolic. While it does add mystery and intrigue to the story, keeping it symbolic and then passing this whole situation off as a “haha, got you” style gag would work best given the history and tone of this series so far. I guess we’ll have to read on and find out but I’m hoping and praying to be worried for nothing.
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This item was provided for review by VIZ Media.
