Title: 妹 (Akane) Vol. 1 "Meet Again"
Artist/Author: 山花典之 (Noriyuki Yamahana)
Book Size/Pages: B-6, 227pp., w/o furigana
Volume: 1/14
Original Serialization: Weekly Young Jump Vol 17, '00 - Vol 28, '00
First Printing: 9/24/00
Rating: 4/4

This volume is an extended version of the first iteration of this series. The previous two volumes were compiled from special chapters in Young Jump. The series was probably popular enough to warrant a weekly serialization of it, which is how this volume came about.

The story is pretty similar, although there are several differences that allow the story to be expanded from 3 chapters in the previous story to 11 chapters here. Some chapters are really good, especially the one where Akane sees another brother/sister relationship, and it gives me a better sense of each character's motivations. It's not possible to get such depth with only 2 or 3 chapters. Artwork is as great as it was previously.

While I would have been more than happy to pay full price, I managed to get this volume for $1 at Book-off.

For bonuses, there's a color page but that's about it.

1. Meet Again: Stepsiblings Shinpei and Akane are separated after their mothers death. 3 years later, Shinpei has saved enough money so that he and Akane can live together as a family again. At school, Akane is in trouble with a crooked teacher who abuses her and threatens to kick her out of school if she doesn't let him do as he pleases. Several incidents later, Shinpei saves Akane from this teacher. However, Akane doesn't want to leave her aunt who she's been living with.

2. 戻れない理由 (The Reason I Can't Return): Akane's uncle is in debt and let's Akane be taken off to work at a whore house. She reluctantly agrees because she doesn't want her aunt to suffer. After Shinpei hears about this, he rushes over there and is Akane's first client. He begs her not to do this for the sake of her future.

3. 兄貴の役目 (Brother's Responsibility): Shinpei gets kicked out by the next client. Meanwhile, the aunt finds out about her husband (boyfriend?) allowing Akane to work as a prostitute and kicks him out. Back at the "house," Shinpei makes some noise, gets beaten down, but he and Akane are eventually saved by the aunt who comes and clears everything up (including the fact that she's underaged). She tells her to go live with her brother.

4. 硝子の兄妹 (Glass Siblings): Living together isn't as smooth as it could be and Akane is contemplating leaving. At a park, she sees a young boy and girl. The girl seems very attached to the brother and while he's away, she sits around patiently. In fact, the boy is out stealing money.

5. 小鳥 (Small Bird): The little girl, Chiyo is sick, but waits patiently. When he comes back, she collapses from sickness and Akane takes them to the hospital. The brother wants her to be hospitalized, but from the looks of him, he doesn't have the money for it. We find out that he and her sister are living alone because their parents have died. He says he has the money, and so he goes steal some more money. However, his usual escape route of jumping in front of train just in the knick of time (so no one can follow him) backfires and he gets killed. The little girl is then adopted. This whole incident makes Akane rethink her familial relationship.

6. 遊園地へ行こう (Let's Go to the Amusement Park): Shinpei takes her to the amusement park and she thanks him for it. It reminds him of being a real family again.

7. 義妹である前に (Before Being a Stepsister): Shinpei, like any guy, is attracted to Akane. However, despite her beauty, he is determined to not stray from being a good parental figure.

8. 名門星和女子学院 (The Famous Seiwa Girl's Academy): After some resistance, Shinpei convinces Akane to go try and see if she can get into the Seiwa Academy. The teacher, 塚原 (Tsukahara) though, doesn't like Shinpei nor Akane because they're poor. She tries to scare them off with the price tag. Although it costs a lot of money, he works extra jobs to start saving up. Akane goes and takes the test, but the teacher accuses her of cheating.

9. 妨害 (Interference): Although she didn't cheat, the teacher locks her in a room to prevent her from continuing to take the test. The proctor though confirms that she didn't cheat and is very impressed with her performance. He manages to find her in time and allows her to finish her test. She passes, but the teacher takes advantage of another student's parents. She tells them that if they can prevent Akane from coming to the interview, their daughter will gain acceptance.

10. 面汚し (Disgrace): Shinpei tries to ask for money from his uncle, a prick. So he has him dress up like a dog and do things like eat food off the floor for money. Shinpei does this and Akane sees him. She's more determined than ever to gain acceptance into Seiwa.

11. 電気監禁 (Confined by Electricity): On the day of her acceptance interview, the desperate parents keep her confined with a stun gun. Akane manages to turn it against them and arrives at the school. The principal suspects that Tsukahara had something to do with her late arrival. Akane gains acceptance.

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