by Yumi Unita
So- this final volume wraps up the storyline with Rin finding her own way of defining a family and staying where her heart is set. I didn't like it though. For several reasons. The conclusions and reasons for making this scenario work out felt too rushed. We find out that Rin really loves Daikichi -something I don't think would ever happen among two people who had been in a father/child situation for over a decade. Daikichi to his credit is appalled at the idea and protests. So are a few of Rin's friends, although others at this point don't know and it would be rich to see what the reaction of Daikichi's own family- parents and siblings- is. The only way I can figure it is that the author wanted to show how such a relationship could be possible and could be acceptable- the point is made that Rin always saw Daikichi's grandfather as her dad, so she never felt Daikichi was in that role but I don't buy that. He acted like her father, he raised her, end of story. (Supposedly research across several cultures shows that children raised closely together when they are under five years old will never develop romantic attachments to each other- they are naturally repulsed by the idea when older. After six, this isn't always the case. So maybe that's why this story has Rin go from her grandfather's to live with Daikichi when she's already six... I still don't think it could work out that way though)
Regardless of the possible rationales, it still doesn't sit well with me. Then there's the sudden revelation that she and Daikichi aren't related at all- the grandfather never was her dad to begin with- this is found out in a sudden outburst when Rin in distress visits her mother again and Daikichi follows her- and Masako reacts by practically yelling this information at Rin - there, go be happy now! in effect- and shoving her out into the hallway to figure it out with Daikichi. There's also a two-year timeskip so that Daikichi can wait and allow Rin to reach adulthood, giving her time to see if any guy her own age will catch her eye in college. Nope. The story doesn't even show a hint of this happening. She feels nothing for anyone else, and delightedly gives her guardian a big hug when she hits that legal age- happy at last to find her peace in being allowed to marry him.
Um, ewwww? I have to say the author fit this narrative together very cleverly to make these characters so endearing to the reader, and throw in all these little twists to make their living situation and romance (barely existent, only in Rin's professions of love, nothing shown) acceptable. But it's not. Not for me. It just all feels rushed and uncomfortable in the end, even though I'd prefer to like where they end up, I can't.
So overall: books one through five were great. Six was rather boring, just because I don't relate well to all the highschool drama. Book eight started to feel weird with the hints at what was coming, and nine was a dissatisfying shocker. However there is volume ten, which fills in some of the story from the ten-year skip when Rin was in middle school, so I'll see how I like that.
Rating: 2/5 224 pages, 2011
Well darn, it sounds like only the first half of the series is worth reading.
ReplyDeleteYeah. A lot of other readers concur. So far book 10 is pretty good, though- it just ought to be sandwiched between five and six in the chronology.
ReplyDeleteWell, my teen daughter finished the series. She had pretty much the same opinion that I did- the first few books are best, then it gets weird. She didn't at all like "the romance stuff". She also thought Rin's friend Reina was very annoying, and wondered if in real life two such disparate characters would have actually remained friends.
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