Title: A Galaxy Next Door Vol. 6
Author: Gido Amagakure
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 240
Genre: Romance, Supernatural
Publication Date: May 14, 2024
Final Thoughts
It has been a VERY long gap between the fifth volume and the final volume but now that it’s over and done with, I can reflect back on the series as a whole.
In short, this was a rather calm, yet, satisfying love story with a sci-fi twist. Goshiki being one of the star children and having a stinger was a pretty unique hook; however, it only played a factor at the beginning and the end of the series. Once we resolved this portion of it, the series transformed into a basic slice-of-life romance about a guy who is trying to get his manga career off the ground and a woman who he meets and becomes his assistant; however, it’s not just about making manga. In fact, a lot of that takes a back seat to them just going out as a couple and enjoying life together.
Outside of the stinger, the manga doesn’t really do anything drastic or out of the ordinary and that makes you wonder why it wasn’t presented as a slice-of-life. Take away the alien and stinger aspect and the manga could have still worked as is. Instead of having Goshiki’s parents trying to protect their civilization and customs, they could have just made them overbearing parents who wanted to protect their daughter while being steeped in old-fashioned culture and beliefs. Then again, that angle has been done a thousand times so this did offer a bit of a unique twist on it.
Even though the manga could have gotten by without the sci-fi aspect, it did add a bit of flavor to what would have been another typical love story. The pact formed with the stinger, its annulment, and learning about the star children brought a different dynamic that you wouldn’t normally see. Then you wrap a calm and serene love story around it all and it makes for a rather unique experience.
My only complaint is that while it was a unique experience, it didn’t truly feel like it. As I outlined above, the sci-fi aspect wasn’t needed and they didn’t truly do enough with it to make it have a true impact. Imagine if the pact getting annulled was the true endgame here rather than it happening in the beginning. How would these two learn to live with each other while bound by the pact? During the series, Kuga worried about what their relationship would become if the pact was annulled. Imagine if the final volume annulled the pact and they ended up getting married anyway? It would have had a much bigger impact but I felt as if the series either was too afraid to fully commit to the gimmick or the author couldn’t sustain the gimmick for six volumes and dropped it early just to focus on a normal love story.
While the series itself was good, I felt it just lacked that little something extra special to put it over the top. Sadly, it had that something extra special and abandoned it only to circle back to it in the final volume.
Speaking of which, the final volume gives you the true conclusion right up front in the first chapter. Kuga and Goshiki get married and the rest of the double-sized volume acts as an epilogue of life after marriage and how their relationship pans out. There are several nice moments, both predictable and unpredictable, that tie things up nicely and leave no questions unanswered.
I prefer it this way because far too often you will reach the end goal and either get a blanket statement to end the series that makes you wonder how things turned out or they leave it on a non-ending ending to REALLY make you wonder how things turned out (I hate that). Not only does this give you the conclusion, it explores beyond it and answers all those “what happens after?’ questions. In a way, it’s a pretty satisfying ending!
Was the ending satisfying enough to wait nine months for it, though? Not really. What happens after the endpoint is standard fare… most of which you can guess just by learning that they get married. Time moves on, things happen, all that fun stuff. It wasn’t worth the wait but it was good enough to tie a bow on the whole thing.
As far as romances go… when you dig down deep into this one, you won’t find anything truly remarkable or outstanding but the sci-fi aspect does create a nice hook to get you in the door. As long as you can make peace with it not sticking around and can just enjoy the love story for what it is, then you’ll have a good time with this one!
Overall Score: 3.5 / 5
You can also check out other The Outerhaven reviews on your favorite social media networks:
Subscribe to us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/theouterhaven
Subscribe to us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheOuterHaven
Subscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/theouterhavennet
This item was purchased for review.
