When you're happy, I'm happy. Even if it's not because of me.
Creative Staff:
Story & Art: Canno
Translation: Jocelyne Allen
Lettering: Alexis Eckerman
What They Say:
Yellow for gratitude. Pink for respect. Violet for apology. Red for love...This is the language of ribbons wrapped around flowers. What does it mean, though, when the person giving Izumi a flower wrapped in red is handing them out to multiple people - is it okay for Izumi to keep it, even though Chiharu is the only one for her? While Izumi grapples with this question, Chiharu has to decide what's important to her when the one who broke her heart, Hosino-senpai, pays a visit...
The Review:
Content: (Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)
Content: (Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)
Love is in the air in the latest volume of Kiss & White Lily. Well, love is pretty much always in the air at Seiran, but this time it's justified. Thanks to yet another interesting Japanese holiday that may or may not be real (I honestly have no idea at this point), all of our school girls get to give out flowers to the classmates they admire, respect, or simply just want to shower with untarnished, brightly colored affection. The catch is that each girl is only allowed to give out one red-ribboned flower and, if you haven't guessed it by now, red symbolizes love. That being said, our first red ribbon is exchanged between a couple we haven't seen for several volumes now.
Chiharu and Izumi have started dating following the rejection Chiharu faced earlier in the series (When she confessed to her senpai before going off to college). Despite being happily paired for roughly six months now, a bump in the road arises once good ole' senpai comes back to visit the school. Not fully understanding how to deal with the situation, Chiharu decides that the best course of action is to stay as far away from her as she can. And this works out perfectly fine until they accidentally cross paths while Chiharu is leaving school. We all know that first love spares no one, often leaving a path of destruction in its wake. So when Chiharu confronts this directly and tells her senpai that she's found happiness without her, it's a huge step toward independence that speaks volumes about her relationship with Izumi. At the end of the day, the couple withstands adversity and emerges stronger, now knowing that some challenges will be impossible to avoid.
And while we're on the topic of challenges, our next couple (Which can't even really be called a 'couple') faces quite an interesting combination of them. You see, instead of just two girls this time, we're dealing with three. Amane Asakura is a bubbly high school idol that captures the attention of plenty of girls. Just, in contradiction to how that normally goes, she's totally fine with being romantically involved with all of them. The other girls, however...not so much. I mean, we're smack dab in the middle of a school's worth of girls finding love for the first time. Anything that stands between them and the object of their affection is sure to drive them a little crazy.
The way it plays out is sort of like this: Ryou Hiruma develops a crush on Amane Asakura. Amane is already in a relationship with Nina Yuudai. Nina and Ryou are actually penpals online without knowing each other's true identities. They find out and also become pseudo- partners. Nina doesn't feel right having feelings for two girls. Amane is totally cool with everything. Ryou just has no idea what's even going on at this point.
Honestly, even I'm having a hard time figuring out the thought patterns of these girls. I'm not sure if it's just my disposition toward polygamy, in general, that's doing this or the fact that the greatest justification of Amane's thoughts presented in the volume is, "Why not?" Either way, Nina (Who becomes the true focus despite having the least screen time) comes to terms with her feelings and works on strengthening her pre-existing bond with Amane. The three girls then embark on their journey toward the purest threesome in the world, all while Ryou still has no idea what the hell is going on. The book proceeds to close out with a bonus chapter of the others couples we've met so far giving out their flowers as well. (This is also the only time Shiramine and Kurosawa show up, making this the least 'main' book in the series thus far).
In Summary:
Despite my obvious love for the series, the rate at which new couples are being introduced can be rather confusing for many readers. The relationships developed within are all unique, so the problem doesn't lie within the actual content but rather the pacing. With so many new girls being brought into Kiss & White Lily, it's getting hard to formulate a central plot. And while I understand the reasoning for telling the story in this manner, I can not wholeheartedly say that I endorse this method. It's overwhelmingly clear just how much more Kurosawa and Shiramine need to develop before reaching a satisfactory end. But at the rate things are going so far, I'm expecting nearly twenty different couples reaching conclusions before they do.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade: A-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: June 5, 2018
MSRP: $12.99
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