The stated purpose of the Sasaki and Miyano light novels was to fill in some of the gaps that original author Shō Harusono left in the manga. In addition to letting us know that Harusono is closely involved with these books (which her illustrations still make clear), they also promise to give us more time with our beloved characters. Our likes when we see things that are covered up or barely mentioned have time to read. light. That applies to plot points and characters, and while Sasaki and Miyano: The First Years gives Tashiro more page time than he ever had in the manga, Sasaki and Miyano: The Second Years does as well. same for Kuresawa.
Of the novel’s five chapters, three are fully narrated by Kuresawa. (Sasaki gets the other two.) While he may not be the most interesting character in the series, he is one of the most consistent, and that’s true here as well. If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s that Kursesawa will only talk about his girlfriend, and that’s the case in his chapters. Even when he’s not with her or talking to her, he’s still thinking about what things would look like through her eyes and what she’d want to hear. While it can be annoying or almost frighteningly haunting at times, Kotoko Hachijo (the series’ dedicated novelist) is a good enough author that we can see that there’s more in him is more than just the joke of a guy who loves his girlfriend too much. Kuresawa never forgets that Yuki has serious health problems that prevent her from living a normal life. She was discharged from the hospital to write this volume but was still very much stuck at home, and there was a sense that Kuresawa wanted to give both of them a life experience. He doesn’t do so to the point of ruining his own life, but she’s never far from his mind, and that gives him an interesting perspective on his budding romance (in this episode) between his friend Miyano and Sasaki.
As a young man in love, Kuresawa recognized the signs of what was going on long before Miyano was ready or the others did. He understood Sasaki’s feelings better while Miyano was still mucking around, and he sympathized with the older boy’s reasons. This is most evident in the chapter recounting the second-year class’s field trip; When he was thinking about the photos he wanted to take for his girlfriend, he also started thinking about what he could do for Sasaki, and he also clearly saw through some actions and protests. of Miyano to realize that he has warmer feelings that he is trying to work towards. well sorted through. Even though Kuresawa mostly keeps his distance, we can still see him quietly supporting whatever decision Miyano makes, even if he clearly likes Miyano’s decision to date Sasaki – and not just because his girlfriend is a fujoshi.
One of the most interesting aspects of these chapters is seeing Miyano through Kuresawa’s eyes. In manga, we mostly spend time inside the main characters’ heads so this is a chance to see them from the outside. Miyano becomes much more prickly when Kuresawa is the viewpoint character, and equally interesting is how Sasaki and Kuresawa view Hirano, who appears in the final chapter. (Kagiura gets a few cameos, with Kuresawa mostly overwhelmed by his bulk.) That’s a significant strength of these light novels as a whole; they are written to clearly and distinctly emulate Harusono’s style, and that makes their different perspectives on the manga’s characters true to the source material, while also reminding us that Everyone is the main character in their own story – we’re just seeing four people’s versions of everyone’s shared experiences.
It certainly helps that Harusono provided illustrations for the novel as well as a few short comics at the end of the book. (They are designed to be read after the prose novel, so there is no need to turn the book over to read first.) The color illustrations on the front of the novel are excellent, with the second page featuring several The semicircle is really lovely. chibi images of the 2 main couples. Harusono also mentioned outlining the stories contained in the text, which is certainly why they fit so seamlessly into the series as a whole. However, as I said before, Hachijo deserves a lot of praise for imitating the feel of Harusono’s work so perfectly.
If you’re not a fan of Kuresawa, this might not be as enjoyable as the first novel. He’s not as interesting as some of the other characters. Still, his perspective offers something new, and the balance between his narration and Sasaki’s much calmer voice keeps the book enjoyable overall. Sasaki and Miyano is a series where each iteration – manga, novel, anime, anthology – all offer a little something new, and if you’re a fan, it’s worth it. for you to take some time to watch.
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