Anonymous Noise Vol.12 (Manga Review)
By: I.Am.No.Man
Anonymous Noise Volume 12
Summary
In No Hurry to Shout and Silent Black Kitty have finished their concert tour and return for a new school year. After a tumultuous and emotional end to the tour, the groups must learn how to work together with the new dynamic. Yuzu has suddenly left the band and school to deal with a matter concerning his father. Haruyoshi is still dealing with his feelings for his sister in law. Nino and Momo are also testing the waters of their new relationship and struggling to communicate their feelings to each other.
The school year kicks off with the Pop Music Club's performance. With Yuzu gone, Nino off her game, and Haru in the dumps they put on their worst performance ever. Embarrassed, they leave the performance in shame. A new student named Kanamari finds the group in their club room and asks to be part of the club. Astonished, the group asked her why she would join after their horrible performance and she says she recognized Kuro from the streets of Osaka and would like to be a replacement for Haruyoshi (who performed the worst on stage). A little taken aback, the group accept Kanamari and begin rehearsals.
Nino and Momo are still struggling to talk to each other about how they feel. Nino is really torn about not feeling happy even though she has everything she thought she wanted. Momo is dealing with intense jealousy and paranoia that Yuzu will suddenly come back and steal Nino away. Nino dwells on her emotions and realizes that Yuzu was her true inspiration to sing again. All the time that she was singing to try and reach Momo, Yuzu was the one who helped her find her potential. He understands her voice in a way Momo doesn't.
Both bands have signed up to perform in the exciting new concert series called Tokyo Sailing. The bands are busy at work practicing and writing new material for the concert series. In No Hurry is still desperately struggling to keep it together without their song writer and Nino's voice is still out of wack. Momo's jealousy has gotten the better of him and he decides to write a special song that will feature Nino as the lead singer instead of Miou. This triggers all of Miou's insecurities about being replaced by Nino and she threatens to quit the band. Momo chases down Miou and apologizes for being inconsiderate and reveals that Nino has already turned him down and Miou's voice is the only voice that he wants for Silent Black Kitty.
Emotions being to boil over and everything reaches a bursting point when Nino decides to tell Momo that Yuzu is her inspiration for singing. Momo though, is still distracted by Miou's outburst. Just as Nino begins to break down, Yuzu returns from his hiatus. He says he heard that In No Hurry has signed up for Tokyo Sailing without him and forced him to return and get the band in gear. Everyone is happy to see Yuzu return except for Momo.
With Tokyo Sailing just around the corner, how will Yuzu's return affect the bands' performances?
Review
Overall, I actually really enjoyed this volume! I was getting a bit worn on the concert series arc, but was pleased to see the characters grow so much this time around! We also get to see a lot more out of the minor characters. Haru, Kuro, Miou and Kanamari all heavily influence the story and that was incredibly refreshing. I can only handle so much of Nino's inner thoughts about screaming.
Am I the only one that really dislikes the way Momo treats Nino? He's crazy possessive and gets so jealous at just the thought of Yuzu. He literally mentions wishing that sixteen year olds could get married just so he wouldn't have to worry about Yuzu trying to steal away his precious Nino. He has a strange way of showing affection too. Hiding their relationship in front of the other girls at school and being aloof and cold when he and Nino are hanging out together. Blech. She deserves better.
I was enticed by the idea of Nino discovering that Yuzu has been her inspiration all along. All of the love sick pining over Momo for all those years, only to realize that her true friend was right beside her all along? Yeah it's been done a thousand times, and maybe it's my distaste for Momo, but I'm into it.
You know what would be great? If Miou and Nino realize that the men in their lives all suck and they could rock it out together and team up to form an amazing girl band. Miou deserves some time in the spotlight, and not as the insecure Miou we saw in this volume, but as the strong and talented singer that can stand up for herself that we got to see a few volumes ago.
Kanamari is another interesting addition to the lineup. She has already recognized Kuro from the concert series in Osaka. But it doesn't seem like she's put the facts together to realize that her school's pop music band is actually the super famous In No Hurry to Shout and Silent Black Kitty. This little detail could really throw a wrench into their Tokyo Sailing performance.
As refreshing as this little break from touring was, it seem's like we'll be right back into concert mode in the next Volume. We'll see how both bands perform after such a rock and emotional school break.
