The Moon on a Rainy Night Volume 8 Review

Kanon is deaf but with her friend Saki she’s coming more out of her shell, from conducting the choir for a school contest to writing a short story. She’s becoming more confident in herself and being honest with her disability, as well as making new friends. But lately she’s been feeling odd around Saki and when she’s invited to Saki’s piano recital, she finds Saki’s excitement to see her old piano teacher off-putting. But why? What is the name of this feeling? Is it infatuation? Or something deeper than that?

Volume 8 of the yuri romance series sees a turning point for the manga. Beforehand we’ve been privy to Saki’s mind and her growing feelings for Kanon, as well as her internal struggles with her sexuality. But Volume 8 finally begins to open the door to Kanon realising she feels the same way, or at least  starting to go down that path. We’ve seen small hints before, with her dropping the short story she was writing because she couldn’t figure out how the protagonist felt for the other character (based on Saki). A few volumes ago there was also the fireworks moment, showcasing a first glimpse into a potential romance between the two. But this volume really feels like the turning point we’ve all been waiting for.

First we have Kanon, roping her friend Ayano into making cream puffs, Saki’s favourite, as a thank you for helping with the school festival. Kanon has never baked before but tries her best to make Saki’s favourite snack. She also has her hair up, and her hearing aid proudly displayed during cooking, showcasing new ways she’s pushing herself and becoming more confident in the process.

Then when she’s invited to Saki’s piano recital, and Saki explains she has an ‘infatuation’ with her former piano teacher, Kanon ends up asking her English teacher what that word means. The translation notes say that the word in the original Japanese – akogareru – can mean ‘to look up to’ or ‘to yearn for’, and therefore can have romantic and non-romantic connotations. Whilst ‘infatuation’ tends to lean more romantically in English, in a way it shows more about Kanon’s tripping over such a word because she has yet to know how that feels. It’s also telling that she went to a teacher she previously approached for short story advice, and shows how much her social circle has opened up since, again, Saki came into her life.

Then finally we have Saki rescuing Kanon from an on-coming car. It’s a very swift moment in the manga, but enough to hit Kanon’s heart like an arrow and see Saki’s moves similar to those of a ‘hot guy’ (Kanon’s words). In her mental tailspin, she remembers a moment when Saki ran away from her a few volumes ago, when she teased her for having a crush on her. So it’s a full-packed volume that  makes us feel we’re finally on track to Kanon realising her feelings for Saki. Whilst I’ve totally get why it’s taken this long – Kanon has needed to be more accepting of herself and open to being vulnerable, before she can even comprehend romance – it feels good to finally be here.

There’s isn’t too much from Saki’s perspective in this volume, for a good reason obviously, as the manga needs space for Kanon to figure out her heart, but she does get a few moments. She struggles with whether she wants to invite Kanon to her recital, not because she doesn’t want her there, but knows that Kanon won’t be able to hear her playing anyway. It’s a sweet moment, and I also liked how Saki calls Kanon’s sister for advice; a giant step considering how fractured their friendship was at the very start. There’s also her reaction to hearing the news about her former teacher. It’s clear she holds warm feelings for her former teacher and crush, but she’s also grown from that and it feels more like a mature reflection and admiration for her, instead of still being in love with her.

The art continues to be lovely and the makeover reveal in the last chapter is nicely done. However I disliked a section where the speech bubbles were all in black – not just text but the actual speech bubble itself. I get that it’s meant to represent that Kanon can’t tell what they’re saying (because she’s not reading their lips) but I, the reader, would have still liked to know what they were saying. I personally prefer how A Sign of Affection handles it, with faded text for when the heroine can lip read/understand what’s being communicated, but full black text and/or backwards lettering for stuff she missed, so that the audience can still keep up and understand.

This yuri manga, with an anime adaptation due this year, finally gets the second half of the main couple on the romance train. It feels very earned after a lot of character growth, but it’ll be emotional catharsis when the confession finally happens. Will that be soon? Guess we’ll have to find out. Volume 9 isn’t due out until December, so it will be a wait!

Our review copy from Kodansha was supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.