My Boy in Blue continues and resolves the saga of Mikado and Jiro. While it does a good job showing the connection between them, it was less successful in showing the friendship between Mikado and Kako. Last time, I was reminded of the two stars of NANA and how they support each other. Unfortunately, volume 8 decides to drop the curtain before Kako can talk to Mikado. She cries and…Kako is worried about Kota’s birthday present. In fact, the whole hiking event is just dropped. Mikado wants to see Kako and then…the end. Considering Kako’s mom has been pushing her cooking on all her daughter’s friends and family, I thought we’d at least get one final scene, perhaps giving Mikado a nice meal as she lets her crush on Jiro go.
The bigger problem though is that this volume feels short. Page-wise, it’s only 10, maybe 20 pages shorter than the others, but it seems like much less than that. It’s four chapters, but the first two are about Mikado and Jiro and the next two are about Kota’s birthday and the phone call he receives. After finishing, I swore I just started reading five minutes ago, because volume 8 just flew by — and not in the good I’m-so-excited way.
I already explained why for the first half, but for the second half, there were like multiple plot points that it sifted through, and none of them got the full attention:
- Kako wants a job.
- She witnesses shoplifting.
- Kota is concerned about Kako’s future.
- The mysterious Yui Sendo.
- Kota’s sister.
- Kota’s relationship with his parents.
- Kako spending the night at Kota’s family’s house when his sister is not there.
Some of these (like whether Kako should get some post-high school education) will likely be revisited in the future, but it was like the manga was just meandering around like teens at a mall. Like, did Kako ever get a job? Did she turn it down? Was she rejected? Who knows!
Heck, even in the first half, Heisuke finally gets the nerve to call Kako, and while she doesn’t want to talk to him in front of Kota, did she ever tell him afterward? I’m guessing she didn’t tell her husband, and I wish the author had explained why. Kako tells herself that Heisuke’s “just a friend”, but it doesn’t make her look good if she hid it. Kota makes himself vulnerable here, and she should be doing the same. If it wasn’t for the fact that we don’t often see an outsider’s view of a childhood friend having to step aside — and doing so while trying to prioritize their crush’s feelings — I would have given this a lower score. The topics covered are ones I’d expect and want from a series like My Boy in Blue, but the presentation wasn’t good.