Reviews

I Cannot Reach You, Vol. 7 by Mika

Only show reviews with written explanations

minervaperedhel's review

emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"What can I do... to reach you?"

THIS VOLUME 😭

There are so many sweet and tender moments I want to yell about, this manga feels like both a warm blanket and an explosion of fuzzy feelings...

Things change quickly for our two boys now that Kakeru realised he also has feelings for Yamato. He's looking for the nicest, "coolest" way to tell him, still plagued with imposter syndrome and low confidence. He desperately wants to be worthy of Yamato's affection. Faced with awkward situations, pent-up emotions and quite a few misunderstandings, Kakeru has no choice but to be honest and face his fears.

The emotions in this series are so on point. It's definitely one of the things that makes it work so well. Yamato is left clueless when faced with an increasingly caring and jealous Kakeru. He is so used to his love being one-sided that he doesn't know how to react when Kakeru does nice things for him, like inviting him to the beach or giving him chocolates for valentine's day. He's scared he won't be able to control his emotions and all his feelings for him.

And then he's left in shock and overwhelming happiness when he realises that Kakeru shares his feelings. This overwhelming joy is represented so well with him, and so are his feelings for Kakeru. He still has to learn to respect Kakeru's pace, and this volume shows him being more patient, all the while being honest about how difficult it is and much he wants to be with him. How he is with Kakeru now is nothing short of swoon-worthy (excuse me, what is this "I adore you" moment? 😭)

And so, volume 7 is by far my favourite of the series, it made all this wait, all this slow burn worth it.

Kakeru, on the other hand, feels more erratic as the chapters go by and as he's trying to cope with the intensity of his feelings. Jealous Kakeru is something else, and even him is surprised to see he's feeling this way. He's still not sure of where he wants this to go, but he now knows that Yamato is very special to him. He is very clear about the fact that he developed these feelings over time, unlike Yamato who has always been pining after him, but he is now ready to act on them.

He's even able to push back against his fears and to tell Yamato exactly what he wants with this relationship.

He has changed so much over the course of the volumes, he is no longer running from his emotions and difficult situations. While he still has a way to go to believe in himself, he's more open and honest about who he is and what he wants.

Despite the series being a little too slow in places, it remains a must-read, even more so with this volume. The emotional exploration of delicate social situations, and just of growing up in general, is very well-done and touching. Following these two's story is such a delight!