The third and final volume of Hana & Hina After School brings their story to an end, but is it a satisfying end? I guess the only way to find out is to take a look.
A Fling of the Past?
After a wonderful day out with Hina, Hana starts thinking they might really have a shot at a future together. When Maiko – Hina’s ex?! – shows up, however, that future suddenly doesn’t look so bright. What will Hina do when she crosses paths with her old acquaintance? And what does all this mean for her relationship with Hana? The final volume of the toy shop romance!
The blurb makes it sound like Maiko does something to upset the relationship between Hana and Hina, but if anything, she’s just a catalyst. Maiko turns up and says her piece, and later on Hana asks what she meant when she called herself ‘Hina’s ex’.
Hina explains all of that, but there is one thing that Hina says that causes some turbulence in their relationship.
That thing is that Hina claims to be ‘normal’. Those words end up driving the pair apart – for a while at least. However, they are in each others’ thoughts even when separated. After all, you’ve got to have some drama in a romance story – er, probably. I’m not exactly an expert.
That separation ultimately leads up the the end of the story, and it is a very satisfying conclusion. I don’t want to say too much here to avoid spoiling it for people, but that ending certainly makes this one of my favourite yuri manga I have read – probably just behind Kase-san and the Kindred Spirits on the Roof collection.
Of course, it is a story by Milk Morinaga – definitely a name to know when it comes to yuri.
There’ll be slight spoilers in this paragraph, as I want to talk a little more about the ending.
The story could end with Hina accepting Hana’s confession, but it continues on past that. This is why I like it a lot – we get to see what the two are like once they have made their feelings clear to each other. They get intimate with each other, and it is quite beautiful.
Ultimately, Hana & Hina After School is a great little yuri story. Milk Morinaga states that she likes to do her story like an average shoujo romance in the afterword – though with two girls, naturally. Again, I don’t have much experience with shoujo romance stories, so I’ll just take her word with it.
Definitely a must have for anybody that collects yuri manga.
Rory Muses 