Title: Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible Vol. 5
Author: Nene Yukimori
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 169
Genre: Slice-of-Life, Romance, Comedy
Publication Date: January 3, 2023
The Story
The episodic interactions between Kubo and Shiraishi continue on here in Volume 5… that is until we get to the end. We start off with Akina teasing Kubo over wanting to drink coffee… then we move right into Kubo and Shiraishi taking a psychology test. The results end up surprising them but they were pretty fitting for the relationship that the two of them have!
Next up, Sudo rejoins the fold as he invites Shiraishi to have lunch together. Sudo’s reintroduction will come into play a bit later on in the volume. Akina ends up taking Kubo shopping for some lingerie which plays out at school when they switch to their summer uniforms. After this, we get our dose of diabetes when Seita shows up and wants to play with Saki. Luckily, Saki was visiting so they arrange a meeting at the park.
Once we get all of the episodic stuff out of the way, the volume turns to a longer-form story. Sports Day at school is coming up. It starts off with them getting physical examinations during P.E. class and then they decide which events they are going to do for Sports Day. Turns out that Shiraishi gets talked into doing a six-legged race despite the fact that he feels as if he will hold them back. Kubo helps him get ready and the volume ends with Sports Day right around the corner!
Characters
Despite Sudo rejoining the mix, there really wasn’t much in the way of development. Despite being Shiraishi’s friend, he still has a hard time detecting him. Outside of that, there really wasn’t much to him this time around.
The big focus was on both Kubo and Shiriashi’s growing relationship. Kubo is paying more and more attention to Shiraishi and the things he likes. This even gets accented when Kubo runs into Shiraishi’s mother at the store and they end up having a conversation. They sew an obvious seed for a future plot point when they talk about Shiraishi’s mannerisms and facial expressions based on his different moods. The only one they left open to mystery was for when he was angry. I’m sure something is going to come up that will make Shiraishi lose his cool. For now, it’s on the back burner to sit and stew until it’s ready.
Outside of that, Kubo is no longer making it subtle that she likes him. Everyone around her except for Shiriashi pretty much knows. It’s gotten to the point where every decision she makes has him in mind. I don’t think Shiraishi can do anything at this point that would make Kubo hate him… that’s how much she’s into him. Even when people drop hints that they know about her love for him, she doesn’t do much to hide it anymore. It makes me wonder just how much longer this is going to keep going until a breaking point is reached.
Final Thoughts
Speaking of breaking points, I wonder if it’s coming soon. I know we are only five volumes into this series but it just feels like the build-up is getting stronger and stronger. Because of the seed that was planted, I’m guessing something is going to happen at Sports Day that will cause Shiraishi to lose his cool. I cannot think of a reason for that anger to be directed at Kubo. Instead, I think it might be directed at Sudo. Call me crazy but with Shiraishi worrying about being the letdown, something might happen and it would cause him and Sudo to get into it. This will expose his angry side to Kubo and have an adverse effect on her.
Or, another route is that Kubo is the one who messes up and another classmate says something to her so Shiraishi ends up defending her. That is the more likely route as her admiration for him would go through the roof. This could set up that breaking point and cause her to confess her feelings for Shiraishi. I think we need more from him for that to happen, though. While I think Kubo is there, I think Shiraishi has a bit to go but there were some subtle nods that he’s on his way in this volume…. Such as when his mom asked him if he was having fun at school.
That is the only thing that worries me about this series is the pacing. I think things are progressing nicely at this point but without really knowing how many volumes this series will have, it’s hard to tell if the pacing is spot-on or not. I just hope we don’t get a 20-volume series and the whole teasing aspect runs through Volume 19. A running joke is only as good for how far it can run. Sooner or later, people get tired of watching the joke running without reaching a change in direction. I don’t think we’re there yet, though. Right now, this series is firing on all cylinders and that’s a good thing.
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This item was provided for review by Viz Media
