S, Vol. 4: Afterglow

And I have reached the last book in the S series. I enjoyed the first three books more. S: Afterglow is a bit darker, which is not a bad thing as far as I'm concerned, but there is less Munechika for the first half of the book which is just cruel (although I did enjoy reading it) and at one point things get a little too dramatic for me. I could have done without stretching a certain encounter.

Despite not having a lot of Shiiba and Munechika time together compared to the first three books, I did enjoy the final one just as much. Every book had something memorable to me, but this one had two things I remembered well and I did like re-reading them.

I did not notice any timeline inconsistencies in the final book! Yay!

I really want to make sure I mention something about this series as a whole. Shiiba and Munechika's relationship didn't start in a healthy way and it was definitely not okay at first. They were both troubled people with heavy backgrounds, but they were right for each other. They were right for each other because they genuinely cared for one another and were willing (in varying degrees, of course) to make it work, to put themselves second for the sake of their lover. So although their relationship didn't have the best start, they nurtured it and worked to make it good.

I loved the character development in the series, especially Shiiba's, since the series mostly follows him. His struggles felt real and it is impossible to not see and understand his point of view if not agreeing with him completely. Saki Aida did a fabulous job in writing this story and no matter the inconsistencies, little errors, maybe some questionable actions, it draws you in. Yes, I still am very biased and this is not the case for everyone, but I just can't not love it and praise it. The sheer amount of thought that went into creating the characters and the plot, the care put in every character, giving them a distinct personality and an important role in the series is enough to make me appreciate it. Pair it with good writing (thanks translators as well!) and I'm a fan.

Chiharu Nara's illustrations were great here too, I enjoyed looking at them. I think I'm going to read some of her mangas and maybe other novels she illustrated if I can find any in English. I took quite a turn there from not thinking much about the illustration to seeking more. What can I say, Chiharu Nara's illustrations are really good.

So yeah, in conclusion I enjoyed my I-have-no-idea-how-many re-read of S and it still is one of my favourite series. Shiiba and Munechika are a great pair and I just might want to re-discover them again at some point. Who knows.