Out of the three currently released Four Seasons books by Mei Hachimoku, I'd say this was the weakest. But I wouldn't go as far to say this was a disappointment.
The story was well-rounded, I just wish there was more to the story before time stopped to help introduce the main character, Mugino, more. The entire story is based on the two main characters trying to travel across Japan whilst time is frozen to try and find why time is stopped. Mugino, the main character, is well written and his character development is really good. The same goes for Akira, if you were to compare her at the beginning vs her at the end you'd think they're two different people.
Character dynamics felt good, even if it was just the two of them, and the reveal of how everything worked at the end was really well thought-out too. My only real negatives are about the beginning and ending; it takes about two paragraphs before time stops so we never really get much of an introduction. The ending did make sense but it wasn't really that impressive, it felt more Makoto Shinkai than Mei Hachimoku which isn't a good thing in this case lol. I don't want to get into spoilers but it could have been thought out a lot more. Maybe my opinion will change once the official translation rolls around.
The illustrations were good too. I love KUUKA's style for coloured illustrations! They look so good! My only gripe are the black and white ones. They weren't as good as the ones in Tunnel to Summer or Wait for Me but were still good. I still prefer the black-and-white-only style we got in the Tunnel to Summer rather than the shaded versions we got in Wait for Me and Amber Autumn.
I think the main issue this had compared to previous entries is the lack of tension. In Tunnel to Summer, there's a constant build up to the final time when Tono and Anzu are set to enter the tunnel and a preparing to throw everything away to do so. In Wait For Me Yesterday, there's the constant build-up and tension leading towards April 1st which we know is when Akito dies. But in An Autumn in Amber, there just... isn't.
There also weren't any major events I like to associate with the Four Seasons series, like the summer festival in Tunnel to Summer and sneaking into the school in Wait For Me Yesterday. But again, in this there just weren't any.
This is the weakest entry into the Four Seasons series, but if you like the other two, go and read it. It (hopefully) won't disappoint you, just don't go in thinking it'll be as good as Wait For Me or Tunnel to Summer. I do believe that the reason this wasn't as good as it could have been is because the author was writing another series, which looked more to be the priority, at the time. That series finished recently, so hopefully the Winter novel will be just as good as Tunnel to Summer and Wait for Me!!!
