Title: So Cute It Hurts Vol. 13
Author: Go Ikeyamada
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 200
Genre: Shojo, Romance
Publication Date: June 6, 2017
The Story
Volume 13 of So Cute It Hurts was a powerful volume that takes you on an emotional roller coaster. Mego and Aoi have spent their first night together as a couple, but it’s time for Mego to head back home. She vows to marry Aoi when the two of them graduate from college, cementing their love for each other. Back home, Mego works on getting accepted into a women’s college in Sendai where she will be able to join up and live with Aoi.
On the Mitsuru side of things, he continues to prepare for his exams in order to beat Toyotomi and become the new recognized successor to Azusa’s family company. After an altercation in which Mitsuru comes to Toyotomi’s aid, Toyotomi begins to see Mitsuru in a new light. After the results of the exams, Azusa makes a bold move with her father which sets up an interesting turn of events.
Then the ending to the volume came and I cannot talk about it. Doing so would ruin one of the biggest plot points of the series, but to say that things will never be the same after this would be an understatement. We only have two more volumes to go with So Cute It Hurts and I am really interested to see just where the series goes from here on out. I cannot wait for the characters’ reactions in volume fourteen and how this big event will change everyone around them.
Characters
Azusa underwent the biggest character transformation in this volume. Her tsundere shell is all but gone and she has grown into such a mature character. Despite this transformation, I still cannot accept Azusa as the best girl for Mitsuru. I just like Shino way too much and I felt that she would have been the best fit for Mitsuru. Oh well… I guess it is a bit refreshing to see Azusa in a redeeming role and when she asked Shino to deck her for all the things that she did, it was a moment that made me grin from ear to ear.
Shino showed back up, but she’s still the same Shino. The punch she landed on Azusa was downright brutal! I loved the explanation that they gave, though. She is Aoi’s sister afterall so it shouldn’t be shocking that she had such strength. On top of that, if she was that strong, she could have destroyed Azusa at any time, but she refrained from doing so. This was a nice testament to her character and her mindset. It just made me respect Shino even more!
There was one other character development piece, but it tied into the ending of the volume so, again, to avoid spoilers, I won’t mention it. As a side note, why did Uesugi become nothing more than a plot device? More importantly, why is he the one that constantly shows up the save the day? It’s like he’s just some creep that goes around stalking people now while waiting for the opportune time to step in and become a hero. It’s actually kind of creepy when you think about it!
Oh… Mego is getting hit on? Uesugi to the rescue! Mitsuru is fighting off some delinquents? Uesugi to the rescue! Uesugi is now Plot Device Man!
Final Thoughts
This was a VERY powerful volume of So Cute It Hurts and while things were slow from a character development perspective, the story is what really put this volume over the top. Things seemed to have simmered down in the beginning and we got some points of interested in the middle. Then, the ending ramped things up past eleven and dropped a bomb on us all. Still, even as great as this volume was, I don’t really consider this the best volume of the series. It definitely ranks up there, but I think it’s the lack of development throughout that really caused this volume to get ranked just a little bit lower.
It was almost as if Go Ikeyamada was trying to tie up some loose ends before pulling out all the stops with the ending. It reminded of a boxing event where you have to slog through the undercard just to get to the main event that you paid to see. Despite that, though, the undercard was still fun an entertaining. I know that’s a weird comparison, but it’s probably the best analogy I could make to describe this volume.
It’s still a gem though and fans of this series DEFINITELY need to read it!
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This item was provided for review by Viz Media
