Ogami-san Can’t Keep It In Volumes 5, 6 and 7 Review

After taking a lengthy break between the release of Volumes 6 and 7 of Ogami-san Can’t Keep It In, Kodansha finally finished releasing the series last year. And now I’ve dug what remains out of my backlog so we can find out if this one continued to be an enjoyable read all the way through to the end!

As we reunite with Ogami and Yaginuma, we find ourselves approaching the end of their first year in high school. And now students are tasked with considering what they want to do when it comes to college, something Ogami certainly hasn’t put a lot of thought into until now. But what about her boyfriend, Yaginuma? Well, he’s keen to go to a college outside of the prefecture, which would mean their relationship becomes long-distance! And while Ogami is left reeling from that particular discovery, she’s also faced with meeting his mother for the first time.

Given Yaginuma’s condition, his mother is understandably very overprotective of him and sees Ogami as nothing but a threat. Her son’s world has opened up considerably since he met Ogami, and while that should be a good thing, his mother can’t help but fear he’s going to get hurt. And maybe that’s true to an extent, but he won’t be able to grow if he stays at home under her wing, so he and Ogami put their heads together to come up with a plan to help show her that he’ll be okay on his own (and that his relationship with Ogami is of no threat!).

These last three volumes of Ogami-san Can’t Keep It In spend a lot of time exploring the insecurities and difficulties of the relationship between our two leads: both in a physical sense due to Yaginuma’s condition and the mental strain it puts on them. The long-distance storyline remains a constant presence as well, with Ogami worrying about what Yaginuma will get up to when they’re not together and whether their love will be able to withstand seeing each other far less frequently than they do now.

For as much as the supernatural element can often make this series quite comedic or overly dramatic, it truly shines when it’s more grounded. And that’s what I think these last three volumes succeed at, even if there are some minor wobbles along the way. Volume 6 introduces one of Ogami’s middle school friends, whom Yaginuma understands is just using her, but they end up fighting about it since Ogami thinks he’s just jealous of their friendship. And the final volume even introduces a whole new character, which feels like a bit of a waste when the conclusion comes so soon after, so there’s not a lot of time to develop him.

The biggest problem this series had on the whole was underdeveloped side characters. Anyone brought in was usually to serve either as a hurdle for Ogami and Yaginuma’s relationship to overcome or as comic relief. After their initial introduction, it doesn’t feel like mangaka Yu Yoshidamaru ever explored their stories much further, which is a shame. And it does mean anyone hoping to see more depth to their characters in these three volumes will end up disappointed.

Still, on the whole this was a manga with a fairly novel concept, and though it has its flaws, I enjoyed reading it. It’s certainly a bit repetitive in places, but the core relationship between our leads is well written and consistently interesting no matter what’s happening otherwise. And I think as long as that’s why you’ve been reading it, you’ll enjoy it through to the end. Sometimes imperfect but fun is all you need as a reader.

Volumes 5, 6 and 7 of Ogami-san Can’t Keep It In come to the West thanks to Kodansha and have been translated by Max Greenway with lettering by Dietrich Premier, who have both done a great job. All three volumes have ample translation notes at the end of the release, but there’s not much else here in the way of extras.

Overall, Ogami-san Can’t Keep It In has been a fun manga despite some repetitiveness and an  underdeveloped side cast. Certainly, if you like the main relationship, you’ll have no problem following the duo through to the end of the series, but your mileage may vary if you’re more invested in other elements of the series.

Our review copies from Kodansha were supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.