Yoshi no Zuikara Volume 3 Review
Since the release of Yoshi no Zuikara Volume 1 last year, we’ve become fond of the protagonist Tohno and his daily life as a mangaka. Sadly, we’re now at the final volume of the series, but does it prove a worthy send-off? Let’s find out!
Tohno’s latest series is still selling like hotcakes and so now our protagonist has a chance to relax a bit without the constant fear of his work underperforming and getting cancelled. This leads to a subtle shift in the kind of storytelling we’ve seen from the series so far.
Throughout the six chapters included in this book, we see Tohno babysit his cousin, help a stray cat, lose his house key and reminisce about his beginnings as a mangaka. There is also a storyline about Tohno trying to meet his deadline during a storm that knocks his power out. meaning he must finish the manuscript the traditional way instead of digitally.
Of these, my favourite storyline revolves around Tohno helping the stray cat. To start with he’s determined just to nurse it back to health, but as he grows more and more attached, assistant Toshihito asks why he doesn’t just keep it. Tohno insists that he can barely look after himself, let alone a kitten, but as time goes on, his opinion begins to change…
Except for the final two chapters of the book, it has to be said that I found these tales a little lacklustre. Especially compared to Volume 2, which doubled down on focusing on Tohno’s job. This entry feels a lot more slice-of-life-focused, which would be fine if this wasn’t the final book. It’s underwhelming, which is a shame.
That said, the chapters in Volume 3 are not bad. One way or another. they do show us how much Tohno has changed over the time we’ve spent with him and that’s rewarding. The comedy is still good too, with some well-timed comical expressions and witty comebacks (usually courtesy of young fangirl Hiiro).
When all’s said and done. my feelings about Yoshi no Zuikara are quite conflicted. I’ve enjoyed the time I’ve spent with the cast, but I feel as though it ended a volume or so too early. Just as we got to know everyone, it’s time to say goodbye and that’s both sad and not satisfying. If you’ve been reading the series so far, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed per se, but it’s just not quite what I wanted to see happen.
What reading this has achieved is make me want to seek out more of Satsuki Yoshino’s work. Yoshi no Zuikara was a delightful manga filled with a quirky cast and heartfelt emotions, not dissimilar to Barakamon, I’m sure. The short nature of it certainly makes it easy to recommend, as well. The author has a new series titled 18 currently ongoing and although it’s not yet licensed, I’d be eager to give that a read if it does find its way to the West in the future.
Yoshi no Zuikara Volume 3 comes to the West thanks to Yen Press and was translated by Taylor Engel. The translation reads well with no issues to note and there are plenty of translation notes at the back of the book which cover some of the more obscure references.
Overall, as far as final instalments go, Yoshi no Zuikara’s is a bit underwhelming but that doesn’t mean it was a bad read by any means. While I wish we had the chance to follow the cast for just a bit longer, this is still a great manga series that is well worth having in your collection.
