Yuri is My Job! Volume 13 Review
Kanoko is reeling from Yoko’s attempts to assault her and force her to confess her feelings for Hime. Luckily Sumika was there to save her, but now emotionally vulnerable, Kanoko finally reveals why she’s never confessed her true feelings to Hime in the first place. Sumiko and Kanoko seem to reconcile, and things at the cafe are peaceful once more. However when Sumika decides to end things with Kanoko, she crumbles once more, but will that push be enough for Kanoko to finally confess to Hime?
This volume is a bittersweet read. The ‘sweet’ side comes from the content of the book itself; it’s an emotionally cathartic read that moves the characters forwards towards the end of the current arc and brings some sorely missing characters back together. The ‘bitter’ side comes from the sad news that the mangaka, Miman, is currently on indefinite hiatus due to health issues, and this release marks the West now officially all caught up on Japan’s releases. This means we have no idea when the next volumes will come out, if at all. Despite this knowledge, this book is still worth a read, and is emotionally satisfying despite some loose plot threads left dangling by the end, annoying as we were so close to the conclusion of this particular arc too (the mangaka says so in the author notes at the end).
There are quite a few characters involved in this volume, but it’s really about Kanoko, in terms of plot focus and emotional growth. To start with, the book finally gives an answer as to why she never confessed to Hime. We’re given a flashback to when she seriously considered it, even going as far as to write an anonymous letter to Hime, only to be emotionally rejected when Hime asks Kanoko on how to turn down a girl, as she doesn’t plan to date anyone. This leaves Kanoko in the state we’ve known her in since the beginning of the story: forever trapped in the closet and too scared to come out in fear of not just being rejected by Hime officially, but also losing the friendship they have. However, after the emotional distress from Yoko in the previous volume, this leaves her in a state to confess to Sumiko that she’s also jealous and angry at Yano. In Kanoko’s mind, she did the right thing by keeping her feelings to herself and didn’t rock any boats in terms of her friendship with Hime. But Yano did the opposite, she confessed to Hime, and after some communication, Hime did reject her but they are still friends at the end of it all. This makes Kanoko feel like she’s suffered all this time for nothing, and its a really heartbreaking scene in the book, you almost want to reach out to the page and cuddle her.
Things calm down for a chapter with Kanoko feeling more emotionally stable and happy to ‘go back to normal’, which to her is keeping the secret whilst also dating Sumiko so she can vent her feelings. However, Sumiko doesn’t want that, and breaks things off, which sends Kanoko off the deep end again, despite how gentle and understanding Sumiko tries to be. On one hand you feel sorry to Kanoko; she’s gone through so much in the last few volumes, you just want to give the poor girl a break! But Sumiko’s reasons are valid: she dated Kanoko due to having genuine feelings for her, and it’s not just Kanoko having feelings for Hime that is the problem, the issue is that Kanoko is under the delusion that Kanoko can stay in her little box, and every one else is also happy in their little box, with nothing changing and no emotional growth. This was also hinted at in previous volumes, with Kanoko imagining her life being exactly the same, even if Hime got married to a man. This shows how immature and selfish Kanoko currently is, because no one can stay the exact same throughout their whole lives, or expect others to agree to the same principles too. Every one evolves and grows, whether its via relationships, college, career prospects, having a family, moving away, or just simply growing apart. Also, not everyone wants to stay in the closet like Kanoko does; in the end doing so only brings more pain. So Sumiko breaks it off, and despite Kanoko never getting to where she NEEDS to be (letting her true feelings out) she does finally accept that things can never stay the same forever, and things will eventually change. Her wanting to stay in the closet for a bit longer is OK, especially after the trauma she went through with Yoko, but knowing she will come out eventually is a more positive outlook than Kanoko ever had previously.
If you’re not a fan girl of Kanoko, you’ll find that she’s not the only one who gets to shine in this book. Sumiko has a bonus chapter to herself at the end of the volume, showcasing her to break if off with Kanoko, and her talk with Kanoko, expressing her confused emotions about Nene’s confession, was also a nice moment. There’s also an excellent bit with the café manager, Mai, where she talks with Nene and Kanoko about the incident with Yoko, and provides a safe space for them both. I loved her reassurance to Kanoko that despite nothing physically being done to her, what happened was still violent and abusive. I’m really glad that this series doesn’t hand-wave abuse even though no punches were thrown between Kanoko and Yoko. And lastly we have the return of Hime. Our heroine has been notably absent for a few volumes now, but it’s really good to bring her back and be the one to help Kanoko through her dark moments, given their friendship and history. I really hope the next arc drives the focus back to her and Yano, as they’ve been sorely missed and it’ll be great to give their relationship some development.
Diana Taylor has been the translator this whole time and wraps up this volume with a good read. There are no translation notes but there’s the aforementioned bonus chapter with Sumiko and mangaka notes too, as well as an in-universe review of the cafe’s upcoming event.
Volume 13 of this excellent yuri series is a great read, and leaves the characters in a prime spot to be picked up where the mangaka left off whenever they are able to return. But the book also provides enough emotional closure for now as we know our protagonists are in a better spot than they were previously. Whenever Miman is ready to come back, I’ll be ready with a big smile to find out where these characters are heading to next.
Our review copy from Kodansha was supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.
