Stories are like jigsaw puzzles, and, ideally, all of the pieces should fit together easily without any gaps. Sometimes that isn’t the case, though, and the puzzle comes out crooked. The third and final volume of Strawberry Fields Once Again felt like it had the correct elements, but they weren’t put together in the proper order. Arranged a different way, the story would have had fewer hiccups and been more gratifying in the end.
I’m not sure how to give an adequate summary of Strawberry Fields Volume 3 without giving everything away because this volume is one giant reveal after another. The audience learns about Pure’s past and how she got to the future, as well as the identity of the story’s “villain.” While it’s all rather interesting, the way it’s delivered is a mishmash at best. There’s a lot of backstory to take in at once, and to make things worse, the manga does a 360 with SCIENCE!
Yes, the manga suddenly goes full on Sci-Fi. Sure, there were always some Sci-Fi elements due to the time travel component; however, it felt more secondary, whereas the main focus of the story was the relationship between Pure and Akira. So, the scientific infodump comes seemingly out of left field. It’s overwhelming.
Now, I’m not saying the information (science or otherwise) is bad. Some of it is actually pretty cool. What’s poor is its execution. I think the manga would have been smoother if these important plot points had been dispersed throughout earlier chapters. The big reveal wouldn’t have been as shocking, but the plot would have flowed better and made the Sci-Fi elements feel less forced.
Additionally, if Pure’s intentions were revealed earlier instead of at the end, the story would have made more sense overall. To be honest, Pure showing up out of nowhere and simply saying “You’re my amore!” with no explanation was always a little bizarre, although that may be been the mangaka’s intention. In my opinion, the key puzzle pieces should have been reconfigured, so to speak.
In terms of the story, a longer page count would have helped too. This seems to be a theme with newer yuri series recently. I felt the same way about Witch’s Love at the End of the World which was also three volumes long. Perhaps it has something to do with publishers and the recent influx of yuri. The short length is what forced the mangaka to shove so much information into one volume. After the science infodump, things wrap up quickly and a little too neatly, especially in regards to the “villain.” However, it is a happy ending (as you can see from the volume’s cover), and I am sucker for this kind of stuff, so I did enjoy it. Just getting to the final part was frustrating. Had the plot taken a different path getting there – had the puzzle pieces been arranged a different way – the conclusion would have been much more satisfying.
What is my overall opinion of Strawberry Fields Once Again? It’s complicated. When compared to a Witch’s Love (I’m still salty), I do think the mangaka did a better job of fitting in the story into such a short page count. Many parts are awkward and confusing, but there are heartwarming and funny moments too. If things had been done differently, this could have been a great series. I’d recommend it as a fast, cute read. It won’t be going down in the yuri history books, though.