Title: The Shiunji Family Children Vol. 4
Author: Reiji Miyajima, Reiji Yukino (art support)
Publisher: Yen Press
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 160
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Harem
Publication Date: May 27, 2025
The Story
I’m sensing a pattern here. Ouka is on the cover, and she took center stage in this volume. The announcement that they are not all related is still bothering her, and after talking with Kotono about her feelings for Arata, she becomes even more depressed. She can’t concentrate on her studies and ends up just barely passing a practice exam. Knowing that something has to be done, she decides to go to Yamanishi on a whim.
After a long three-day weekend, Ouka doesn’t return. The family becomes worried, and then they realize that the last time Ouka lost her phone, they all installed GPS trackers on it. This is when they realize that she has gone to Mt. Fuji. Arata doesn’t want to leave anything to chance and heads there to chase after her.
When he arrives, she gives him the silent treatment to his line of questioning, but the next morning, she leaves him a note stating she went home ahead of him. Obviously, that’s a lie! Arata must now find out where she went and the reasons behind her coming here, to begin with.
Characters
With this volume centered on Ouka, all of the development was on her. When she talked to Kotono, she blatantly lied about only loving Arata as a sibling and not something more. When she saw the overwhelming relief on Kotono’s face, there was no way she could tell her the truth. This is what began her depression spiral, causing her to go to Mt. Fuji because that is where her biological parents met.
During this trip, she does a bit of soul-searching, as she tries to figure out what to do about not being related, how she should view her siblings, or if she should even be part of the family at all. You can tell the news truly ate her up inside. There are even some really low points for her throughout the volume where one could be legitimately worried for her.
Arata played the role of big brother once again. He tried to convince Ouka that no matter what news was delivered, he still considers everyone his sibling. He’s stated this before, but it seems that he needs to deliver the message again before it truly sinks in. Outside of just being the big brother that’s there for everyone, not much truly changed with him as a character.
Final Thoughts
There was some nice drama in this volume, a lot different than the drama we had with Minami’s volume. At least with her, it was all about whether or not she could continue being an athlete with her injury, but here, it was a direct cause and effect of their father’s announcement about them all being adopted. While some are trying to just coast through and accept things for what they are, Ouka is proof that the news hit a lot deeper than they were letting on. Because of the way she reacted here, it makes you wonder if anyone else is having the same thoughts.
The reasoning for Ouka going to Mt. Fuji was kind of silly, but if you put yourself into the mind of the current generation, and then pair that with the despair one could feel when their family’s future is uncertain, it makes sense as to why she chased after that possibility. She even admitted that she never expected that something to happen, but she went anyway because it wasn’t about the thing… it was about reflection and being surrounded by something familiar in order to think clearly.
Overall, this was a pretty good volume, even though the whole “girl overreacts and stays silent when confronted” thing has been overplayed in a lot of series, and it was no different here. Despite that, still pretty enjoyable!
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