Title: Silver Spoon Vol. 12
Author: Hiromu Arakawa
Publisher: Yen Press
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 192
Genre: Slice of Life
Publication Date: December 24, 2019
The Story
Volume 12 of Silver Spoon brings us some interesting development on Hachiken’s business. Of course, he still has no idea what he’s going to do and this leads to his father, again, rejecting his proposal for him to do any sort of investment in the business. Meanwhile, Hachiken continues to tutor Mikage and even receives some competition from our old stuck up friend, Minamikojou… even though it looks like she has a snowball’s chance in Florida of being any real threat.
While the volume mainly focuses on the development of Hachiken’s business, it does take some interesting turns… especially when it involves Mikage’s farm as well as Hachiken finding someone to help run the company. I could spoil it but, honestly, if you’ve been reading the series, it was pretty obvious who it would have ended up being. In the end, it seems as if Hachiken and partner decide on what kind of company it will be but, like always, it’s going to be a lot more work than Hachiken would have imagined. Since his partner is asking him to split the costs of starting the business 50/50, Hachiken begins to take on part-time jobs in order to raise the capital required.
Of course, the business isn’t the only thing going on. He’s still enrolled in Ezo AG so he needs to be mindful of his work there, which includes the equestrian club who are participating in a competition. It was stated that if they make it to the finals, they would like Hachiken to become a rider. As if he needed any more pressure!
It definitely feels like we are getting closer and closer to the end of the story. The manga is wrapping up (or has wrapped up by now) in Japan and it looks as if there will be a total of 127 chapters across 15 volumes. This means there are three more volumes to go so I would expect that the equestrian competition will be the final Ezo AG activity. This volume sets up the final stories rather nicely and I think we all know where those stories are heading. One thing this volume does, story-wise, is it takes all of the miscellaneous characters that have splintered off and are now just starting to weave them back in as if they were missing pieces to the overall grand scheme of things. While this makes some of the moves predictable, it also seems unpredictable as you don’t know who will truly be a part of the series’ ending.
Needless to say, from a story standpoint, things are really heating up as one would expect heading into the series’ swan song.
Characters
The Hachiken x Mikage ship is stronger than ever. It is painfully obvious that the two of them like each other and a new student brings up a good point. Mikage’s father would murder Hachiken if he made a move on Mikage before she got into college but he never said anything about Mikage making the first move. It makes you wonder if that will end up being the case! Still, it’s absolutely adorable watching these two together… albeit frustrating as you just want to see them get together and get it over with already! Arakawa teased us greatly with Winry and Ed and now she’s doing it again with Hachiken and Mikage. Why must she torment us like this!?
Speaking of the “new student,” we have a new character and I would love to tell you her name but, unless I missed it in a text bubble somewhere, they never really introduced her. All we know is that she is a first-year at Ezo AG and wanted to join the school because of the horses. She failed her entrance exam but got in on the general admission exam. She was a bit nervous at first because she thought her reason for joining the school was rather selfish and dumb but she’s quickly accepted by Hachiken and Mikage. That helps calm her down and boost her confidence. She’s a nice new addition but I don’t really think her character is standing out too much just yet. That’s kind of an odd thing to say with Arakawa’s track record of making characters feel really important but I will see how she pans out in future volumes before passing complete judgment.
Ookawa and Komaba each get some attention in this volume. Komaba has a fortunate turn of events that may just allow him to pursue the dream he has always wanted while Ookawa is discovered to be a contradiction to himself. What I mean is that he can’t land a full-time job but whenever he does work, he becomes extremely serious and passionate about it which confuses a lot of people. It’s like he wants to work but, at the same time, he just wants to coast through life. He’s someone who puts effort into something when he has to and does nothing when it’s not required. It’s a weird yin/yang situation but one that will come in handy!
Final Thoughts
Another great volume of Silver Spoon! We definitely see the final seeds being planted (heh, farm puns) for the final arc of the story which has, for all intents and purposes, already begun. All that is left is to ride the wave until the very end to see how things end up. Just from the way things unfolded here in this volume, a few things will probably be resolved which I believe will be:
Everyone who joins Hachkien’s company
Hachiken x Mikage officially becoming a thing
Graduation from Ezo AG
Character Epilogues
Unless I’m missing something, that’s all that is left to resolve and we have about three volumes left to see it all through. Arakawa did mention that she was taking her time with the first arc and then once they got into the second year, the pace would quicken. I’m expecting a lot of time skips to get us to the end goal if that is the case but knowing Arakawa, everything will make sense and tie into each other nicely! Very excited to see how this series ends up and with Arakawa announcing a brand-new manga… I can’t wait to see what she has in store for all of us next!
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This item was provided for review by Yen Press
