A Brief Moment of Ichika Volume 3 Review

Kodansha began releasing A Brief Moment of Ichika in April and now we’re already at the end of the series here with Volume 3. Having spent such a brief amount of time with the cast, will this prove a satisfying conclusion? Let’s find out!

As we reunite with Yurugi and Ichika, we find them sneaking out of the hospital where Yurugi has been staying. He’s well aware that his time left is limited and rather than spend it in the hospital, he’d rather do something special with Ichika and leave no regrets behind. The one thing Yurugi has been hoping to do before he passes is hold another lecture at the school, something Ichika desperately tried to arrange before the professor collapsed and ended up in the hospital.

Now, the two are well aware they don’t have enough time to wait and hold an official lecture, so instead, they sneak into the school, where Yurugi can speak to Ichika and one of his former coworkers who catches them in the act. Afterwards, the two continue to spend this one special night together, including visiting the sea, and then part ways so the professor can return to the hospital. Then, just nine days later, Yurugi vanishes…

You would assume that means that Yurugi passed away, but when I say vanish I do mean literally. Having checked himself out of the hospital and moved out of his apartment, there’s not a trace left behind and Ichika has no way to contact him or even find out if he’s still alive (he’s also ignoring her texts and calls). As you can imagine, our heroine is devastated and it turns to her mum and younger brother Daiki to pick up the pieces. Can she continue living when her entire reason for carrying on has disappeared?

This final volume of A Brief Moment of Ichika left me with mixed feelings. Although the story concludes, a good deal of what happens surrounding Yurugi and Ichika is left vague. As they were living on borrowed time, it’s hard to imagine either of them is still alive but although there are hints of their fates, nothing is stated outright.

Perhaps the ending is symbolic of what it means to live on borrowed time, not knowing when your time will be up. Possibly author Natsu Tadano is trying to show us what happens when someone ups and disappears from your life too. This whole series is written around the fact that Ichika doesn’t want anyone to know about her illness and ultimately if you weren’t her family or Yurugi, you would never know what she’s going through. And you certainly wouldn’t find out after the fact without knowing Daiki or someone else related to her. Looking at it that way, I can appreciate how Tadano chose to end this series, even if I felt a bit unsatisfied.

This may have been an imperfect series with ups and downs throughout these three volumes, but all the same, I’m glad I read it. If nothing else, Tadano excels at showcasing the passage of time while juggling multiple main characters, ensuring the reader comes to understand and relate to them through watching over their lives in the past and present.

Tadano tends to draw within small panels to the end, but in some ways this allows us to better focus on the emotions of the cast since there isn’t a great deal to get distracted by. This also makes it rewarding when the mangaka swaps to full-page panels for those few special moments scattered throughout the story. The art is something I enjoyed from Chapter 1 as it reflects the mental state of the characters and their outlook on their life, so I was glad it stays so consistent throughout.

As mentioned, A Brief Moment of Ichika Volume 3 comes to the West thanks to Kodansha under their Vertical imprint. This release is once again translated by Gwen Clayton and it reads well all the way through. There are no bonuses or extras like colour pages, which is a shame as Tadano’s art is well suited to colour spreads.

Overall, A Brief Moment of Ichika has proven to be a worthwhile read, thanks to a storyline and characters that are easy to get invested in. While I have some issues with the ending, I think feelings on this will be mixed among readers and it’s not a reason to avoid giving it a go, provided you like the sound of the central premise. The fact it’s so short means there isn’t a huge commitment to be made either, which is sure to entice people.

Our review copy from Kodansha was supplied by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Publisher Services).