Boys Over Flowers 18

This series has an unfortunate habit of drawing out a situation for volumes & volumes before it has a real payoff like this. Recently we got to meet a REAL rival for Tsubasa's affections in Shigeru, his betrothed fiancee. We realized that if Tsubasa hadn't met Tskushi, Shigeru would have been a good match for him. When we last left them, Tskushi had walked in on a very... interesting position between the two teens, only to assume the worst. (For a girl who claims not to care for Tsubasa, Tskushi sure does protest a whole lot. A little too much, actually.) We deal with the aftermath from that, as well as more reminders of how poor Tskushi is.

This volume finally delivers a few needed shots of life into the series, but unfortunately it isn't enough to really give it the oomph needed to pick everything up to high gear. Fans will still enjoy the book, but everyone else will scan through the volume & replace it on the bookstore shelf until the series eventually gets interesting again.