Title: Miss Miyazen Would Love to Get Closer to You Vol. 3
Author: Akitaka
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 146
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Publication Date: February 21, 2023
The Story
Volume three continues our very short episodic chapters where we see Miyazen and Sota grow closer and closer together. In the last volume, Sota began to realize that he had fallen in love with Miyazen, and those thoughts carried with him as he got paired up with her at school to do some cleaning. As they chose to clean up the gym, Miyazen noticed that Sota wasn’t feeling well so she tried to shoulder all of the work herself. By this time, they began to recall advice given to them by Masaki and Toda.
Then, a golden opportunity arises when Sota asks Miyazen to hang out during summer break and she suggests that the four of them take a trip. Of course, being rich, she has your typical cabin out in the woods that just so happens to be empty and available so off they go! Toda lies and said that she forgot to pack some itch cream so Sota says he’ll go out and buy some. She suggests taking Miyazen with him.
Of course, being in an unfamiliar area, they get lost. As they were trying to find their way back, some things happen, bringing us to the conclusion of our third volume.
Characters
The big focus here was on the growing relationship between MIyazen and Sota. While some things happen that I won’t spoil, the running gag of “they got closer together” was as prominent as usual. There was even one scene where they traded contact information and it stated that their phones were now closer together. Akitaka did a great job building the tension between them but more often than not, tension is often built and built and then the series ends with zero payoff, frustrating the reader. While some things happened at the end of the manga, it really sets the stage for the final volume where we truly discover whether or not the tension was truly worth it.
Of course, the growing relationship between Miyazen and Sota wasn’t the only thing brewing. We got concrete confirmation that Toda is in love with Masaki but it’s kind of different with them. Since they are childhood friends, Toda feels unsure if she should take their relationship to that kind of level. She has a sisterly love for him on top of romantic feelings and is kind of afraid that a relationship might ruin all of that. Whether or not they end up getting shipped remains to be seen but I’m hoping that they can get their happy ending in the next volume.
Final Thoughts
The third volume packs in even more entertainment than before. In a series like this, you can only do these short chapters before it gets old but thankfully, this series recognized that and jumped into a longer story arc in the back half that was extremely satisfying… even though spending summer break at a cabin in the woods is one of the many overused tropes in manga. It’s just one of those things that makes a non-Japanese person like me wonder if these really are the only choices out there or if it’s just what’s popular in manga.
Does everyone always choose a cabin, hot spring, the beach, a cultural festival, etc. whenever they decide to do something? I know it’s a small nitpick but it seems every manga throws a dart at the board or spins a wheel and it has the same choices for the RNG element to land on. They even went with the whole “we’re lost” trope too which I’ve seen in a few of the series I’ve been reading as of late. This is not a complaint, mind you. It just makes me wonder if there really are no other settings in Japan for story plots to draw inspiration from or if this is just what’s expected because it’s popular.
All in all, this was still a very good volume with an ending that made me smile. It sets up the final volume perfectly and for a manga that isn’t overstaying its welcome, it sure is putting out a cute, yet, quality story!
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This item was purchased for review.
