Title: Anonymous Noise Vol. 18
Author: Ryoko Fukuyama
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 200
Genre: Shojo, Romance
Publication Date: January 7, 2020
Story/Characters/Final Thoughts
*sigh*
That’s all I can say after the final volume of Anonymous Noise. The beginning of the volume filled me with tremendous hope that Nino would end up with best boy; however, the obvious gut feeling I had played out and I still just don’t understand why. Personal feelings aside…
The big finale is upon us as everyone gets ready to play Rock Horizon. Of course, In No Hurry to Shout takes the biggest stage upon their return from a 1-year hiatus. They weren’t coming with just a simple performance, though… they brought a special, secret weapon with them but I’ll let you guys read that to find out just what that secret weapon was.
After the concert was over, Nino gives Yuzu her answer, which from my opening remarks, you could pretty much guess that she chose Momo over Yuzu. Is it really that much of a spoiler, though? It’s been pretty much in your face for the entire length of the series. Yuzu had never really been built to be a character that could take Nino away from Momo. He always just seemed like a prop in order to get the two of them together. The only sad part is that we were treated to some sort of consolation prize as an ending which doesn’t really satisfy me. Then again, this is just my personal feelings and nobody has to agree with them.
I know there are a ton of Momo x Nino fans out there and for them to get their ending, they should be happy that they received it. Just because it wasn’t the ending I wanted, doesn’t subtract from the overall quality of the series. The fact that Ryoko Fukuyama made me root for Yuzu was just a testament to how great that character had been built up. The fact that I really wanted Yuzu to end up with Nino shows that there was that intangible connection between character and reader. Still, I said it before… it was in your face the entire series that this was Momo and Nino’s story. The fact that they ended up together, in the end, makes complete and total sense.
Of course, if you didn’t get the ending you wanted, you got a pretty awesome ending for An and Kuro. How sweet was that to see Kuro ask for his confirmation from An? Then, we all wondered if something would happen between them and then it does! I won’t spoil it for any of you but the look on An’s face when it happened was simply precious! This was probably the one relationship throughout the whole series that I was truly invested in because it just seemed like a sure-fire thing. It was definitely a great moment for the two of them.
Of course, Miou and Haruyoshi continue to be that odd couple that just works. In fact, I felt that everyone’s epilogues were pretty well done and brought great closure to the series as a whole. The ending as a whole was just bittersweet, still, it’s nice to see that interaction between Yuzu and Nino. Yuzu’s decision at the end was kind of symbolic because it’s kind of how the series started except that Nino will have knowledge of it this time around.
All-in-all, I enjoyed this series. Even though things didn’t turn out the way I would have liked them to, there’s no denying that a great story was crafted here that mixed romance, slice-of-life, and music together. You had a nice sense of what it was like touring with a band, that comradery between band members, all while fitting in a normal, slice-of-life high school romance into it all. The series wasn’t all that perfect in parts, though.
If there was one thing that the series did to a fault was reuse the same story plot multiple times. That story plot involved either resolving an arc or having a dramatic moment in an arc happen at a rock show. I understand the need for continuity but I felt that if the series bookended itself with Rock Horizon and did something a little more unique in the middle, it wouldn’t have felt so generic. It was like it was a go-to plot point when Fukuyama couldn’t think of any other way for the story to go. That would probably be my only major complaint with the series (outside of my own personal tastes in ships).
Overall, this was a series worth reading and if you want a good romance story mixed with some musical undertones, then Anonymous Noise is something worth checking out! I enjoyed it and I’m going to miss it!
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This item was provided for review by Viz Media
