Manga Review: Missions of Love, Volume 4, by Ema Toyama

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: July 2013

Volumes: 16+

Spoilers?: Not really.

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

Volume: 1. 3. 5.

Goodreads Synopsis:

FRAIL FLOWER

Now that she's back after a long sick leave, Mami Mizuno, the girl every boy in school has a crush on, never leaves Shigure's side. Never, that is, except for when she's pestering Yukina. She claims to want to help Yukina win Shigure's heart, but what is she really after?

Review:

This volume definitely kicked up my enjoyment quite a bit.

First, I’m finding Yukina’s frustration and annoyance with Mami, and then her frustration with her writing, very entertaining. It even had me smiling and laughing a little bit throughout the volume. How very uninterested Yukina is in Mami’s drama is just the best. She still gets upset at Mami and Shigure a few times, but overall she’s just very uninterested, and I liked that. It just happens so little in stories.

Akira is still a sweetheart. He’s possessive of Yukina, but I kind of like that. He’s always eating something, which adds to his charm for me. And I like that, even though he’s confessed his love to Yukina and tried to move their relationship forward, they’re still just friends and cousins who hang out. That’s just nice to see, I guess. There was also a scene in this volume where the two get a little (almost) hot’n’heavy, and I loved how he incorporated Yukina’s novel and his role in that story. That scene just really had me smiling.

Shigure is frustrating me. He’s just so adamant about not liking Yukina—and she’s doing the same about her feelings for him—and it would just be so much easier if they were honest already. Mami is definitely causing some problems, but she’s also still a bit of a mystery. We don’t know yet why she’s doing these things, what her motivation is, why she’s still acting all happy and smiley with Yukina and Akira. I just don’t quite understand her yet.

The romance, or at least the steamy scenes have really kicked up a notch, with some biting and then a little finger sucking. It was nice, I’ll be honest. I really liked it. And I really look forward to more.

This series is definitely getting better. I’m enjoying it more, and I’m even looking forward to reading the next one.