Manga Report: Ai Yori Aoshi 14

I have had a request for "less anime, and more Bruce Campbell."

I'll take that under advisement. But for now, I'm sticking to the list of reviews I have to catch up on, and there's some manga and anime on it. My apologies.

And break out the confetti, because something *actually* happens in this volume!

Unlike most shojo mangas, which go on and on and on with no change in the base situation, Ai Yori Aoshi has wrapped up a plotline! Woo hoo!

In the abandoned school in Kyushu, Tina admits to Kaoru that she loves him -- and that she's been in love with him for years. It was her fear of revealing her feelings that prompted her to run away before.

But Tina knows she's lost Kaoru -- she's seen how he is with Aoi, and knows that the two of them have something she can't intrude upon. But if he's with someone that makes him happy, she can get over him and be happy too.

This is a sweet and touching scene with some real emotion to it. You have to admire Tina's guts for being able to do what all these other girls haven't -- 'fess up to Kaoru. And you get the real feeling that this is wrapped up, it's done, and these characters can move on.

I could have done without the whole "take naked pictures of me" bit, though.

Aoi gets to be more human too, as the amounts of time Kaoru is spending with Tina have *finally* made her jealous and angry. She and Tina have a confrontation, Aoi tells Tina that she's in love with Kaoru, and they come to an understanding. Nice to see a group in a manga like this act like grownups.

Tina and Mayu have a night out, and you can tell they have a bond, even if they're complete opposites. Tina also admits to the group that she's moving back to America, and with that, I have a feeling we'll be seeing less of her in the last few volumes. What else is there to say?

A chapter with Chizuru falling for a teacher at her school is mostly "meh," just because I don't have any attachment to the character.

But one of the best volumes in the series, and a turning point for the story. A news flash on the last page means there's more big changes to come.