Title: Strawberry Fields Once Again Vol. 2
Author: Kazura Kinosaki
Publisher: Yen Press
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 160
Genre: Slice of Life, Yuri, Romance, Supernatural
Publication Date: March 30, 2021
The Story
I was a bit iffy on this series after the first volume. I really loved Akira but Pure was just a bit overbearing. I thought that this series would continue on like this but volume two of Strawberry Fields Once Again took my low expectations and crushed them for doubting what this series could become!
What I’m saying is, volume two blew it out of the water and now I am completely invested in it!
So, what happened to cause a dramatic change?
They added a TON of mystery behind Pure and ended the volume in such a way that I never saw a twist like that coming! While most of the volume spends its time sorting through Akira’s feelings for Pure, Ruri is the one that plays a critical role that causes seeds of doubt to be planted in Pure’s mind. Without going too much into spoilers, it’s like Akira and Pure’s feelings for one another shifted. At first, it was like two parallel lines. Pure’s was edging ever closer to Akira’s but Akira’s was kind of speeding away in such a way that Pure may be “catching up” but was still being left behind.
Here in this volume, it is like Akira’s line slowed down and started to nudge towards Pure’s but as it did, Pure’s veered away, creating a distance between them that began to grow. I hope that analogy makes sense but I thought it was wonderfully done. Then… the ending hit and those lines couldn’t be any further apart but it’s not like both of them veered away from each other. Instead, Akira’s just kind of stopped moving and became confused while Pure’s can no longer be seen because the distance is so great.
It’s the best way I can describe the story of this volume without saying what actually happens but we do get some typical scenes of them at an amusement park, then the beach, then helping the school with a festival, and all of that typical trope-ish stuff that you’re used to seeing in manga. I didn’t actually mind it as much this time around because the story took front and center stage and gripped you from beginning to end!
Characters
So much character development and to think this is only the second volume of the series!!
First off, Akira took the majority of the spotlight here. At first, she felt as if her feelings for Pure were nothing more than just dependence and not love. Akira had felt so lonely for so long that simple companionship was confused for love. She even admitted that she was just using Pure’s feelings to erase her feeling of loneliness. However, after going out with some of her classmates and overhearing a conversation about that very same thing, Akira begins to slowly realize that it’s not dependence… it really is love. She begins to contemplate whether or not she should express her love to Pure because of it.
Pure, on the other hand, was all fine and dandy until she ran into Ruri. Somehow, someway… Ruri knows Pure’s secret about being a time traveler. The two of them have a discussion and the result of that plants a terrible seed inside of Pure’s head that causes her to question all of her motives up until this very moment. In other words, she is beginning to wonder if the reason she came back in time was a false memory that she was confusing with something else? Those seeds of doubt begin to cause Pure to drift further and further away from Akira; however, the ending does “something” to fix and break that at the same time.
Ruri is still the most interesting character in this series. What he’s doing in his room is still a mystery. Where he goes for months at a time is also a mystery. How he knows about Pure and the fact that she traveled through time is… you guessed it… also a mystery! There are a LOT of unanswered questions about him and while this story is supposed to be about Pure and Akira, I have to say that Ruri is the most commanding figure in this entire series thus far. It’s nice to have interesting side characters but I’m not sure it’s a good idea to have one who is stealing the spotlight as much as Ruri is. I will admit, though, I am heavily invested in his character as I feel like he is the key to everything this series has to offer. In that aspect, would be it fair to label him as a main character instead of a supporting character?
We also got to meet Akira and Ruri’s father. He seems like a decent guy who is trying to make up for his past transgressions. He seems as if he wants a second chance and while Akira was a little more open (yet hesitant) to accept his offer, Ruri still wants nothing to do with him. In fact, he ignored his father’s invitation to come to his house for dinner. At least the guy is trying which is more than can be said for some “fathers” out there.
Final Thoughts
After a rocky start, I am completely invested in this series. The number of twists and turns this volume took, the way Kinosaki-san handled the character development… all of it was able to sway me and change my mind about a series that I thought was going to be mediocre at best. On the surface, this looked like a standard rom-com with a time travel twist serving as a superficial gimmick but after the second volume, it really transforms into a cute little love story with drama, mystique, and intrigue!
Just goes to prove that you should always give a series a chance… with some exceptions. I have dropped manga before after the first volume. I mean… a series REALLY has to scream “it’s not going to get any better than this” to get me to drop it immediately. I never got that with this series. I felt that Strawberry Fields Once Again had the potential to do something interesting and I was right.
This is interesting. This is good. This is a series that you should give a chance to.
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This item was provided for review by Yen Press
