This volume contains the culture festival story.
Before going into the novel, I want to say something about the anime. Seeing as how I'm enjoying the novel and the internet radio, I thought I might pick up the anime, too. Since I was thinking in that direction anyway, I decided to look at some videos on youtube. I watched maybe 30 seconds worth of some episode (probably 2), then stopped. What a worthless garbage. It was like looking through a slide show of screencaps of the real thing. Things were so rushed, it felt like an advertisement. Admittedly, it may not feel that way to people who did not read the novel, but I'm not going to feel sympathetic for them. And the panty shots. What the hell is wrong with these people? It's like putting soy sauce over finely crafted dish. For your information, I happen to like soy sauce, but it doesn't belong on everything.
Then it occurred to me. Even the novel has a fair amount of panty shot moments. The big difference, of course, is that it's just in writing (and occasional illustrations). It gives the reader the full imaginative control of the scene. I tend to just ignore it. It's really nothing more than a thought that crosses Yuuto's mind once in a while anyway. Even he tends to ignore it. The anime version is clearly another example of the industry accommodating for the lowest common denominator. I have a tip for these misguided younguns (or old geezers). The main reason for there being 1% of the population with 99% of the wealth on this planet is because most people are so ignorant as to let that happen. Just realizing this fact will allow you to get out of the mold and get into the top 10% of income bracket, all without playing dirty tricks. In reality, that top 10% isn't even that much, because most of the money is in the top few percentage class. Being that high up isn't that important anyway, because once you have enough, you should be capable of arranging for a fulfilling life. By the way, based on what I can figure out from the Census report, if you make over $100k per year, you're already in the top 5%. Talk about nonsense. How do you explain those who make millions per year?
Now, back to the novel. There were moments in this volume in which I thought of Yuuto in the same bad light as Makoto of School Days fame. Of course, Yuuto makes up for it. After all, this series is a happy ending kind of a series. Then I realized maybe it's not his fault. I think the issue is that he is having an inferiority complex. And who can blame him? A single birthday present Haruka received from some rich snob is worth more than what Yuuto could make as a normal citizen all his life! But the thing is, Haruka is truly innocent from all that nonsense. She is literally like a little puppy trying to pay attention to her master, because that's all she cares about. This description is used many times in the book. I'm sure Yuuto will eventually break out of the mold, though.
Oh, and in case you're a big Shiina fan, I should mention that Amamiya Shiina (from the London piano contest) makes a big comeback in this volume. And unless she transfers out again, she's here to stay.
