Adachi and Shimamura enter their second year of high school in the fourth volume of Hitoma Iruma’s Adachi and Shimamura light novel series.
New Year, New Woes
It’s spring, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, and Adachi and Shimamura have been assigned to the same second-year class! Hooray! But now Shimamura’s making new friends – so where does that leave Adachi? Can she overcome her shyness to get Shimamura back, or will she lose all the progress she’s made? Perhaps a sleepover is in order!
So the fourth light novel and the fourth volume of the manga cover exactly the same events, so I might be repeating myself a little bit here. Still, it remains as entertaining as ever to see Adachi become an awkward mess, regardless of what form it takes.
Whether it’s trying to contend with a gap that appears to be growing between her and Shimamura, or plucking up the courage to ask for a sleepover, Adachi is definitely the biggest source of entertainment for readers of this light novel.
One advantage the light novel has over other versions of the story is that we can see Adachi’s innermost thoughts – when the story is told from her perspective, obviously. That just makes Adachi’s awkwardness even more endearing.
We do get Shimamura’s perspective every now and then, too, and we get to see what she thinks about Adachi’s rather quirky nature. Shimamura has definitely picked up on Adachi’s stranger behaviours, although I don’t think she has quite put everything together yet. Perhaps Adachi needs to try being more direct; perhaps requesting that sleepover is simply the first step forward.
Whilst the manga does cover the same events concerning Adachi and Shimamiura in its fourth volume, the light novel also gives us interlude chapters. The interludes of this volume switch between focusing on Hino and Nagafuji, and Little Shimamura and Yashiro. Those are pretty fun glimpses into the lives of people that Adachi and Shimamura are acquainted with.
I also want to take a moment to mention something about Adachi staying over at Shimamura’s place. Shimamura, her mum and her younger sister are all present – so that’s three Shimamuras. They are differentiated as Shimamura, Mrs. Shimamura and Little Shimamura respectively. There’s just something funny to me about having three characters identified by minor variations on the same name. That particular chapter is told from Adachi’s perspective, so I guess that says a lot about her.
The Adachi and Shimamura light novel series continues to be an enjoyable read. Adachi may still be as awkward as ever, but it is nice to see things gradually moving forward between her and Shimamura.
Rory Muses 