Wow. When the description says "dramatic" love stories, it's not kidding! There are a few one-shots here that feel like normal shoujo fare, but the creepiness level is definitely amped up on this volume as a whole.
"Crevasse" was downright creepy and disturbing. I had to read it twice to fully grasp what was going on with all the flashbacks and vague panels. It worked well as a horror/tragedy piece, but I went into it thinking this volume was just shoujo - so I wasn't expecting what I got!
"Let's Hold Hands and Go" (Te wo Tsunaide ikou) is a cute one-shot with a creepy antagonist trying to cause trouble for the lead couple. Aside from this creepy and annoying character, this is just typical cute shoujo stuff and much welcomed after the chapter before it! On its own, however, there's nothing too spectacular about it.
"I Love You, Hana" (Aishiteru yo hana) is very cute, but ultimately very sad, as well. The synopsis for this one-shot pretty much explains why it's so very sad. It's about a recently widowed woman and the love she and her (now deceased) husband share. It's cute, yes, but ultimately a downer.
"Endless Song" (Towa no uta) is a tragedy, through and through. And just when you think it might turn into a happy ending? More tragedy heading your way! This one-shot should only be read if you want to read a total downer of a tragedy. Incidentally, we're now 4 stories in and 3 of them have had death in them, so by now you're starting to suspect this might not be a happy volume of stories (if you didn't know already).
"Search for Cinderella's Shoe" (Cinderella no kutsu wo sagashite) was very cute and - surprise! - didn't have any dead people in it. Why this one-shot is in this volume, I will never understand. There really isn't anything tragic, creepy or annoying about this one. It's just good, cute shoujo. Definitely my favorite one here and a very good one-shot in its own right.
"The Last Love of 1999 on Earth" (1999 nen chikyuu saigo no koi) is kind of like giving a big middle finger to the rest of the stories. "Oh, you thought you were tragic and edgy with all your death and tragedy? Well, screw you! I'm going to kill EVERYONE on EARTH now." Yes, this is an apocalyptic shoujo one-shot - which is something you don't see everyday, that's for sure. Now, not only is this apocalyptic and features an inevitable body count of, you know, everybody ever... It also has brain damaged people, comatose people, hospitals and secret government hijinks. And this is all BEFORE they intend to kill everyone. So whatever drama or tragedy was in the other stories... Well, it's all eclipsed (literally?) by the giant meteor-bound-for-Earth that is this story.
Overall, if you like cute shoujo fare, check out the fifth story. If you like tragic shoujo and dead people, then check out the whole volume. Just, whatever you do, make sure you don't go into this expecting the usual shoujo one-shots found in most anthologies. Otherwise, you'll get to the end with wide eyes and wondering why everyone (literally!!) is dead now and what the heck you just read.
(-24)
