Pleather For Breakfast

It's time for one of those posts again.

So here are the illustrations of SaeKano Volume 8. A picture is worth a thousand words, but they can be misleading too. Another date at the mall, and while Tomoya and Megumi aren't exactly on first name basis yet, she does start using 'Tomoya-kun' for a bit and he develops a habit of calling her Megumi. Iori eventually ends up joining blessing software, so you'd think everything is going to be alright but well, Volume 7 Girls Side probably finished on a happier note than this one.

Not that it really means anything.

One Minute Of Love

I wonder if it's just the calm before the storm, but it sure is eerily quiet. Perhaps Megumi was right in Memories of Lily when she said that people simply forgot about SaeKano when the new season and shows started rolling in.

Not much of a surprise and slightly old news now, but Volume 8 will be released on June 20th. While I had imagined that Izumi will be featured on the cover – which does not seem to be the case now – the synopsis seems to suggest that Eriri may be heavily involved in the story.

That said, I don't have much time until the next volume to summarize Girls Side and since there is no guarantee if I'll be able to do a comprehensive summary – feels a bit like an oxymoron – at all, I will leave here a quick-bite version for the lazy and the busy.

Nothing Out Of The Ordinary

It is the time for one of those posts again.

So here are the illustrations for SaeKano Girls Side and pretty pictures from Shining Blade & Ark Collection of Visual Materials because why not. Akane certainly looks different from what I had in mind and even though it's a side story, Maruto isn't going easy on us at all. To think that Eriri and Megumi ended their friendship though (in Eriri's eyes anyway), that might actually change a few things.

My head beats a better way.

Modern Meat

New year, old problems.

I was supposed to write this a month ago but it's just too easy to be lazy. So Megumi is really everywhere now. What are you planning, Maruto? Winter Comiket may be over but the fun certainly hasn't stopped. Missed out on a couple of things but got most of what I had wanted and a bit more. Apart from the pretty pictures, I suppose what I looked forward to the most were Maruto and Kurehito's comments in the new book. Jokes about Izumi bumping into Tomoya in the school corridor and (with a 1 in 10,000,000 chance) ending up in paizuri a highly compromising position aside, she and Michiru should be playing bigger roles in the upcoming volumes. Maruto's known love for married women and black tights appears to be alive and well, so perhaps Kurehito's wish for Eriri's mother to get lots of screen time will be realized soon too. Not that it helped Sayuka in any way, but that's probably an entirely different story altogether.

The part that got me the most was perhaps the theme of Volume 7 illustrations. Essentially, it's the contrast between this and this, Megumi and Eriri's crying scenes, and lastly Megumi buying a pair of glasses for Tomoya and Eriri taking them away. That's nice and all except that upon close inspection it becomes apparent that Megumi and Eriri have exactly the same hands. It gave me a good laugh, especially since there was this as well. There's something going on here and I'm not sure if anyone is prepared to learn the truth.

Last Note, First Trip

Could this be the first time ever that we have reached a climax at the end of a year on this sad little show I'm running by myself? The cold stillness of a despairing winter and the warm liveliness of a hopeful spring; after six volumes and a fan disc, we are here at last to witness the bittersweet finale of the first stage of Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata.

From the moment Megumi was revealed to be on the cover for the first time, it was clear that something big was about to go down. If the first five volumes were building up an amusement park and the previous volume was us getting on its emotional roller coaster, then this one is where we go for the wild ride. The best part is that there are still other attractions to visit afterwards.

Previously on SaeKano, ominous clouds gather over the bridge of troubled waters. With the Winter Comiket submission deadline looming just around the corner, Eriri retreats to her family mansion on the Nasu Highlands to finish her illustrations. After going through serious struggles as an artist, she develops a new style and completes her work, but collapses due to the deadly Japanese cold fatigue. Tomoya decides to give up on the game and rushes to Eriri's side. Though initially upset at his decision, Eriri spends Christmas with Tomoya and the two of them finally make peace with each other. Their game would eventually become a top seller, but Tomoya's decision to act alone creates a rift between him and Megumi who begins to distance herself from him after Comiket. Meanwhile, Eriri discovers that she is unable to reproduce her new art style. For a slightly longer version, see here.