Manga Review: Anonymous Noise, Volume 7, by Ryoko Fukuyama

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: March 2018

Volumes: 16+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 6. 8.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Music and longing collide in this ballad of unrequited love!

Nino Arisugawa, a girl who loves to sing, experiences her first heart-wrenching goodbye when her beloved childhood friend, Momo, moves away. And after Nino befriends Yuzu, a music composer, she experiences another sad parting! Luckily, Nino reunites with Momo and Yuzu in high school, but things haven't played out the way anyone expected...

Nino takes the stage at the school festival, ready to deliver the message held fast in her heart. Both Yuzu and Momo have composed songs for her, but which piece of music will be the one to awaken her? Meanwhile, Kuro's secret feelings seem to have reached a turning point as well... And is In No Hurry finally ready to take things to the next level professionally?

Review:

I somehow completely skipped this volume and read the next one, and I have no idea how that happened. I will say that reading volume 8 wasn't confusing, as a new plot line started at the beginning of it. But it sure makes a lot more sense after this one.

Not a lot of action happens in this volume, but so much character progression and realization and thought process does.

Yuzu is silently competing with Momo here, as he has Nino sing a song by each of them, because he wants to see which one of them will make this work for her. She's missing something, and she's trying to find it, and he needs to know which of them will give it to her.

I'm honestly not sure which one wins. They both seem to give her something different.

On that note—I have no idea what she's actually missing. Her voice is somehow off, I guess? She can't get into the songs, or the performance, or the singing? It's really hard to tell what exactly it is that's off for her, which is probably why it's a little hard to tell what it is that she discovers mid-song. Maybe I'm thinking too hard about it?

After all of that, it makes sense why Yuzu decides to write songs for other people, after previously agreeing not to. He needs to expand his view.

I love the subtlety, the moments of realization, in this series. They're done so well, so on point and perfectly timed. I appreciate that, and it gives the series a particular intensity.

We got some progress and insight into some of the side characters, like Ayumi and his messy crush, but still most of the focus is on the main triangle. They're just such a mess, and Nino doesn't even realize it.