Title: So Cute It Hurts Vol. 11
Author: Go Ikeyamada
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 192
Genre: Shojo, Romance
Publication Date: February 7, 2016
The Story
Volume 11 of So Cute It Hurts was another emotional roller coaster ride. Maybe not as much as volume ten, but there were some very impactful moments as the theme of this volume, if I were to sum it up, would be “moving on.”
I was sad at the beginning because now all hope is lost for Shino x Mitsuru. When we pick up from where volume ten left off, Azusa is being forced to choose between living with her father or her mother as they are going to separate, but stay married for media appearance sake. Then, like a white knight in shining armor, Mitsuru somehow enters through a second story window and asks Azusa to marry him! He confesses his love and breaks the tsundere shell of Azusa! Azusa then leaves with Mitsuru and goes to live with him.
On the flipside, Mego and Aoi can’t keep their hands off of one another… moreso Aoi than anything. After overcoming his fear of touching women, the next logical step is… move 200 miles away from Mego….
What?
So Aoi wants to be an engineer and T University is in Sendai, the town where Mego’s parents proposed to each other. Aoi wants to live in that town, but this also means that the two of them will be separated. Mego is okay with this on the outside and the two of them share a very touching moment before Aoi’s departure. Mitsuru then experiences long distance love as well when Azusa’s mother wants to reconcile with her. This leads to Azusa also moving away and creating a long-distanced relationship.
Thia whole volume of So Cute It Hurts was symbolic of the fact that life goes on, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the things you’ve built have to be broken down because of it. This is another test for both Megumu and Mitsuru that can only strengthen their bonds with each other, so this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The cliffhanger at the end will put a huge strain on Azusa and Mitsuru’s relationship and as if long-distance wasn’t a test in and of itself, an even bigger one awaits Mr. Kobayashi.
Characters
The only character to get any real development here is Azusa. As I alluded to before, her tsundere shell has been cracked and she can now be more open about her love for Mitsuru. Despite this, she still has that tsundere attitude about her, but it’s much more toned down now that she doesn’t have to suppress her feelings anymore. After getting her backstory about her parents and her relationship to Shino, I felt that this volume built upon that nicely and used it to progress her relationship with Mitsuru. I almost actually cared about Azusa for a moment here because of this. Many reviews ago in this series, I stated that Azusa was a generic tsundere character and that there would have to be some major convincing by the author to get me to like her. Well… her backstory is kind of working. I’m not sold yet, but I guess you could say I’m coming around. Would still prefer Shino, though.
Megumu, Mitsuru and Aoi are pretty much the same as they were in volume ten. I think these characters have all plateaued for now and as the final arc of this story approaches, development should be taken care of. Maybe there can be a few last growing pains before we reach the penultimate end of So Cute It Hurts, but I’m pretty happy with where the characters are right now. If this were the final volume, I’d be pretty satisfied with all of their journeys. Again… minus Shino because she is still best girl in my eyes!
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed this volume of So Cute It Hurts because it showed us how life can test one’s love and how you decide to deal with it is a testament to your true character. Azusa’s father is an asshole through and through and far be it for me to use profanity in my reviews, but I need to call it like it is. He is an asshole. The test that he’s about to put Mitsuru through next volume is a tad cliché and I don’t think something like that truly needed, but the series needs drama and this is, pretty much, the only course that they can take given the way that Ikeyamada-san set everything up so far.
I also want to see what happens between Mego and Aoi. Mego mentioned that she can go visit her grandparents on the holidays and see Aoi and since this manga has been time skipping like crazy this volume, I’m sure we will see the next chapter of their relationship in volume twelve. I wouldn’t worry too much about any of these drama scenarios, though. This seems like the kind of series that is destined to have happy endings all around… except if you’re Shino.
Poor Shino.
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This item was provided for review by Viz Media
