From the back cover:
Sano’s little brother Shin returns! Shin has become a rising star of the high jump, and he’s determined to prove himself by beating his older brother. But that’s not the only blood on the track… the one coaching Shin is their father! Can Mizuki just sit back and watch as Sano fights the father he turned away from… and the brother who never forgave him for doing so?
Review:
The blurb for this volume is misleading, since Sano’s dad doesn’t make an appearance until the last page of the final chapter. His influence over Shin does majorly preoccupy Sano this volume, though, since the dad has a history of pressuring his kids.
The romantic momentum does suffer a little with a plot more focused on Sano’s family, but it’s not completely abandoned, and I thought the balance worked well. I’d still like to see more of the actual high jump competition, but using it as a backdrop for Sano to express his brotherly concern also works for me.
I’m still not sure whether Nakajo has an actual plan for the ending of the series, but I appreciate that things no longer feel as pointlessly episodic as they did around volumes 11 and 12. Maybe she’s gotten better at integrating relationship progress with her random ideas. In any case, I’m happy to be truly enjoying the series once again.
[…] Reviews: At the Comic Book Bin, Leroy Douresseaux reviews vol. 1 of Shinsoku Kiss. Patricia Beard enjoys Stolen Heart and Gary Thompson gives vol. 1 of The Devil Within a mixed review at Anime on DVD. It was a busy weekend at MangaCast, where Readilbert checks out Manga: The Complete Guide, Hahapages reads vol. 1 of RahXephon, Mangamaniac Julie checks out Virtuoso de Amore, and Ed does a podcast review of vol. 1 of MPD Psycho and vol. 3 of Mail. Johanna winnows down the stack of new manga at Comics Worth Reading, with reviews of vol. 1 of Flock of Angels and vol. 1 of Nightmares for Sale, both from new publisher Aurora, and a short look at some upcoming CMX volumes. Michelle checks out vol. 16 of Hana-Kimi at Solioquy in Blue. At Manga Life, Craig Johnson reviews vol. 1 of Style School and Michael Aronson checks out vol. 2 of Bleach, vol. 1 of xxxHOLiC, vol. 5 of Adolf, and Lost World. Active Anime’s staff has been busy: Scott Campbell reviews vol. 2 of My Heavenly Hockey Club, Katie Gallant checks out vol. 20 of Knights of the Zodiac, and Holly Ellingwood reads vol. 1 of Murder Princess and vol. 4 of Passion. Julie looks over vol. 1 of I Shall Never Return and Manga Literary Classics: Treasure Island at the Manga Maniac Cafe. At Mecha Mecha Media, John T is impressed by Manga: The Complete Guide. […]