Again!!

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Time travel has become quite a common device in storytelling that there are several subdivisions of it. Again!! adopts the time travel concept that once interfered, the future becomes unpredictable.

Kinichirou Imamura is a solitary high school student who has lived his life avoiding a social life. He accidentally goes back to 3 years in the past and sees this as an opportunity to make new choices for his life. What he doesn't foresee are all the consequences that come along with his decisions. All hardships challenge him and confront his own anti-social personality. I like that not only he gives himself the chance to try ... things he never did before, he gives the chance for people to get to know him better. He may be a short tempered loner, but his main attribute is that he is good at reading people's hearts. Imamura may know future facts, but they merely pose as future possibilities due to his lack of action. He learns that being apathetic won't lead him anywhere.

Ouendan are cheering squads. Imamura's memory of a remarkable encounter with Usami Yoshiko, the lonely captain of Kobosu Minami High's ouendan club, sparks an avalanche of events which start with him trying to enter the notorious club. One of the really interesting things about the storytelling is the question of how can we positively influence someone. Just as the ouendan tries to motivate the baseball team, Imamura attempts to inspire his new friends. Initially dismayed by how little the ouendan has to offer to a baseball game, he later learns the power and influence that can be given through encouragement. Although matches start and end with the actions of the athletes on the field, they only got there through the assistance of their friends, families, and in this case - the cheers from the bleachers. Albeit he is merely a young individual, his words and actions carry enormous weight to his friends. No man is an island.

Even though I love many of the characters, I feel like some of the side characters had odd developments that didn't really fit their personalities. Another complaint is that a few times it feels like the author is writing a bit aimlessly. Maybe lack of planning and the publisher's decisions led her astray.

I would divide this manga into three arcs: ouendan arc, drama club arc, and the marathon arc. The first is definitely the strongest. The second starts strange, but it delivers in the end. The third starts awkwardly and slowly grows, but the final volume shifts gears completely and ends everything abruptly. Despite that, I don't regret reading this manga.

Is the ending unsatisfactory? Yes, it is disappointing. Could the story be much better? Definitely. But before reading or giving a rating to this manga, ask yourself this: Does a weak ending ruin everything that came before? Or is it just one more flaw in something good?

This is the kind of manga to… add to “favorites” and recommend to no one.

Again!! is a story that doesn't progress. It's ostensibly a lovely story of some highly dysfunctional people who learn to be better together – except nothing sticks. Though I enjoyed myself most of the way, I'd occasionally look back and realize that nothing had changed; that none of the exciting moments had any lasting impact on the plot nor the characters. Events that seem big and cathartic do nothing – as soon as a character or relationship has developed, it promptly un-develops again. Then, with fifteen plot threads hanging loose, the ... manga ends suddenly and abruptly… and thus left me feeling confused and regretful that I got invested in these characters.

And that's why it hurts: I did get invested in the characters. Despite having no idea how these characters think, or why they do the things they do, I cared.

Is the art why I cared? It's incredible – possibly the most powerful art I've ever seen in a manga. Kubo puts so much passion into every brush stroke – like the ouendan's brusque cheering style, you feel the sheer spirit she pours into each forceful, ink-splattered brush stroke. Or are the characters themselves why I cared? Despite a few despicable apples, and despite a lack of intelligible character development, they're written in such a way that I couldn't help but feel like a part of their found family.

Whatever the case is, I did care… and now here I am, at the bottom of the steep decline that started after 9½ volumes, feeling robbed of a resolution to… anything, really.

Again!! is and will always be special to me. I poured a lot of my feelings into reading it. I know, though, that I'll wish I hadn't.

Make sure you read the reviews of people that have finished the manga. After waiting three years for the scans of the manga to be finished, i binged it in the past three days with full investment and to no avail did the ending do this manga justice at all. The characters were interesting, the story was even more interesting, but due to the manga being cut early from the publishing company, the ending was rushed and half a--ed. But because of this, many problems were left open and little to NO closure was given. It's like watching your favorite flavored cake be baked in ... front of you, only for the cake to be dropped on the floor and you only get the icing The manga had endless potential but it was completely thrown out the window. Some people liked the ending, but I know many that definitely thought it could have been better. I fell in love with the characters, but due to the empty hole of an ending, I do not recommend this manga at all, unless you're open to all kinds of endings.

TLDR: Would have been an 8-9, but after finishing the last chapter, it's become a 4.
-very disappointed
-very sad