Title: Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible Vol. 4
Author: Nene Yukimori
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 169
Genre: Slice-of-Life, Romance, Comedy
Publication Date: November 1, 2022
The Story
The fourth volume of Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible was a lot deeper than I imagined it to be!
Here, we see just your normal everyday interactions between Kubo and Shiraishi and while nothing really notable happens at first from a story perspective, the series takes the time to develop the characters a bit more. However, that changes when a manga that Shiraishi likes ends up getting a movie adaptation and Kubo wants to go see it with him.
Here, it turns into a pseudo-date when they forgot to reserve seats to the first showing. Things really kick into high gear here with the development aspect of their relationship…. The only problem is, Shiraishi is completely oblivious to it all… or is he? There was a moment where he reflected on the entire day and then mutters a certain line which may suggest he’s not as dense as we all think he is.
The volume simply ends with Kubo reflecting back on how she met Shiraishi and came to know him. In that retrospect, the book circles back to the first volume and comes full circle… for now. There’s still a lot of story here left to tell but for now, I think the setup for the two of them officially falling in love is nearly complete. I think all that is left is for Shiraishi to have hi revelation.
Characters
The development here between Kubo and Shiraishi was very good. It seems as if Kubo is no longer shying away from the fact that she loves Shiraishi…. At least to herself. There is a bit of a moment of denial between her and her sister… but she seemed more peeved over Akina poking fun at her for breaking some eggs when she was younger than being teased about Shiraishi. Could this mean that Kubo is beginning to give in when it comes to hiding her true feelings from others?
The other clue is that she really poured it on with Shiraishi… I mean… REALLY poured it on. She jumped at the chance to go see the movie with him, and she insisted on eating and drinking the same stuff as him… even if that stuff was pure black coffee, she was hoping that he would walk her home afterward, was happy when they forgot to reserve their seats which meant she could spend more time together, AND she even asked to go out with him again one day. Outside of saying the words “I love you, Shiraishi,” I don’t think she could drop any bigger hints, and yet…
I wanted to slap Shiraishi earlier on in the book. There was a point where he mentioned that he didn’t have a single friend and Kubo was like “What about me?” This whole time, Shiraishi didn’t really think of Kubo as a friend. That actually hurt me when I read that. Like… there’s dense, and then there’s whatever this was. However, after Shiraishi says a certain thing after reflecting on his day, I question just how dense he really is. Maybe all of those strong hints did get through to him after all? No one can be truly sure but it seemed as if the lightbulb went on for a second then back off. Maybe that created just enough of a spark to get this thing going.
Also… Seita is still the most precious thing in all of manga. That’s right, Anya Forger… you heard me! Your waku waku can’t beat Seita going on his first errand to buy eggs!
Final Thoughts
Cute.
This whole volume can be summed up with that one word. Seeing Shiraishi and Kubo together like this was really heartwarming. Even if I was frustrated with Shiraishi a few times, he has given me hope. Also, thanks to Akina, we have a future plot point set up where if Kubo ends up crying, we may get to see some head pats!
Right now, I feel we are at a point where Kubo is done developing. We know she’s in love with him, and we received a little flashback as to how she noticed/met Shiraishi, she obviously enjoys being around him. It’s done. You can’t really take it much further so this means the series should shift focus over to Shiraishi’s feelings. Enough was said to him in this volume to spark some sort of retrospective reflection on himself. Maybe he does some soul-searching or maybe he just continues to play the dense role a bit longer. I don’t know how fast the series is paced; however, I’m hoping it doesn’t drag out too long. We really need to see him start developing so we get an “answer” to the things that happened here.
It might take a couple of more outings together between the two of them but it’s safe to say that it’s coming. Due to the nature of these types of stories, I’m not expecting an instant confession once all the gears start turning in his head. I’m sure he’ll get scared, question it, and ponder it for a while but I can also see him, during that time, taking more keen notice of the things Kubo is doing, saying, etc. The confession seems like the stopping point for this series rather than it happening earlier and then seeing the aftermath unfold. I just don’t get that type of romance vibe here. I think this is more or less a build-up series where the ending is the payoff.
I just hope it doesn’t get treated in a way where it leaves the payoff as an open-to-interpretation ending. I might break some things if I see another ending like that! Time will tell, though but this series is getting better with each and every volume!
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This item was provided for review by Viz Media
