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Reviewed by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane In every high school manga, exam time comes around to haunt the characters sooner or later. In vol. 5 of Mixed Vegetables it's Hanayu and Hayato's turn to see if they can squeak by while also working at Hayato's parents' sushi shop and, of course, figuring out exactly where they want their relationship to go. Hanayu is having a hard time coming to terms with a few different things on the Hayato front, such as his unexpected revelation that he intends to take over the sushi shop instead of pursuing his dream of becoming a pastry chef, his apparent unwillingness to confide in her, and the fact that they'll quite likely be going their separate ways after graduation. It's all a lot to deal with, but happily Hanayu is proactive enough that she's able to take the initiative and speak to Hayato about her worries. I really like the way Mixed Vegetables handles the romance developing between its two leads. Despite Hayato's tendency to try to back off and not burden Hanayu with his problems, they seem to communicate fairly well and have a pretty believable relationship. The obstacles they face are also believable, like Hayato's father not being convinced that it's a good idea for their relationship to go any further and exams looming over them after they've spent so long devoting all their free time to perfecting their cooking skills rather than their studies. (It's actually nice to see them having such a concrete reason for letting their schoolwork slide a bit.) Towards the end of the volume, Hanayu accepts a challenge that strikes me as a bit over the top, but not ridiculously so. As well as liking Hanayu and Hayato, I find myself enjoying all of the adults in the series, which is a bit unusual. They come across as responsible yet fun, and have a convincing blend of affection for and authority over their children/students. My impression of the series is unchanged from my opinion after reading volume 4: this is a solid, enjoyable read with characters I like spending time with. Volume 5 of Mixed Vegetables includes two pages of cultural/translation notes. Review copy provided by VIZ Media. Think you could have written a better review of Mixed Vegetables v5? Write us and we'll probably let you give it a shot! --EiC PC |
6 October 2009
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