Spoilers follow throughout this review!
I was sad to see that this was the last volume of this series; while I support not having stories go on past their prime, I feel like there was another three or so volumes left to fully flesh everything out. You and I Are Polar Opposites, as stated in my previous review, follows three pairings of high schoolers who have somewhat opposite personalities, with the understanding that, since this is shoujo manga, they’ll end up together. It’s also about the wider friend group and the power of making new friends and experiencing the everyday moments that seem like nothing important at the time, but mean everything later on.
This volume follows the group as they prepare for university entrance exams and decide what they’re going to try to do with their lives. Suzuki and Tani have to overcome the hurdle of whether or not Tani will go to a nearby school or go farther away, which will mean having to do long distance. I thought their arc was the best realized, with some very beautiful moments of connection and subtle emotion. Suzuki’s clear communication and her desire for Tani to talk to her were a relief, and it was so nice to see a healthy, mature relationship where the partners are working together to reach mutual understanding!
I felt more underwhelmed by the endings for the other two pairings, especially Azuma and Taira. There were some nice moments for them as well, but there was no big emotional payoff, and I’d been waiting for them to actually talk about their feelings, especially after so much of the last volume focused on their mutual state of angst. It felt like the author wanted us to infer what would happen with them, but I didn’t want to infer! I wanted them to use their words! I did think that Taira finally made some good steps here towards starting to work through his issues. Natsumi and Kentaro had two scenes in here that I liked, which revolved around Natsumi’s continued efforts to find her own sense of self and stand up for what she wanted. I also felt like they ended up taking a bit of a backseat throughout the book, but the parts that focused on them were sweet.
I’m keeping this series and will reread it at some point, but I was disappointed at elements of this final volume, so can’t give it a 5. That being said, there were some really lovely and moving scenes throughout, so I still recommend checking it out if you enjoy this genre!
