Title: A.I.が止まらない (Love Won't Stop) Vol. 8
Artist/Author: 赤松健 (Ken Akamatsu)
Book Size/Pages: Small B-6, 234pp., w/furigana
Volume: 8/8
Original Serialization: Monthly Shonen Magazine Special 3/97-9/97
First Printing: 6/16/00
Rating: 3/4

I guess this is one way to end the story. I didn't particularly like the ending because everything just happened so abruptly. Not to mention that at the very end, it does a quick 180 just so the characters can be together again. In the included interview with Ken Akamatsu, he says that there's an epilogue to the story that's on the CD-ROM.

The nice thing about this series is that you can see how Ken Akamatsu's art style changes as he draws. I think I've mentioned that I didn't like the artwork in the first few volumes, but this and last volume's artworks were pretty superb. Like Cindy, the new character Yayoi, also sports a design that rivals Love Hina, which according to the magazine release, would start almost a year later. Overall, this series is pretty average but shows how Ken Akamatsu got his start (after his doujinshis).

Bonuses are the interview and new sketches of Yayoi and Maa-kun.

49. I LOVE トゥエニー (I Love Twenty): Hitoshi explains to Forty how he created Twenty and eventually sealed her up in a floppy. During the days when his family hadn't moved to America yet, Hitoshi had been working on AI programs. He succeeded in creating Twenty and wanted her to have a girlfriend personality. However, she started becoming a bit too risque and wanted to take over the world. At that time, he had the pre-nascent Thirty trick her into being captured.

50. フォーティのキモチ (Forty's Feelings): Twenty and Thirty are up for their routine software maintenance. During their hiatus, Forty offers to do the chores around the house and help out. She transforms herself into the same age as Twenty. Despite being the same age, her skills are terrible and messes up everything. Hitoshi tells her not to be depressed as she's still just a young girl.

51. 劣等感ガール１ (The Girl With An Inferiority Complex, Part 1): 弥生 (Yayoi), Hitoshi younger sister comes to visit. Because she's insecure about her own appearance, she has a tendency to fondle other women. She's also quite a computer geek and has her own AI comrade, Maa-kun, who is just like a Tamogachi. She has come to ask Hitoshi to go back with her to Amerca. Hitoshi, however, says he can't.

52. 劣等感ガール２ (The Girl With An Inferiority Complex, Part 2): Hitoshi, Yayoi, and the 3 girls go to a hot springs resort. They find out that there's a Ms. Hot Springs contest going on. Yayoi doesn't think she has a figure to compete. The other girls try to help her with some padding, but they don't work. With some programming magic from Maa-kun, she has a bigger bust. However, it disappears right before she goes on stage without her knowing. Only until she wins 1st place does she find out that she's back to her normal small self. Afterwards, Maa-kun explains to her that Twenty, Thirty, and Forty are all computer programs.

53. 実体化パニック (Materializer Panic): Yayoi gets pretty excited that his brother has come up with a materializer that brings AI to life. She wants to spread the word, but Hitoshi tells her not to. He then brings them down to the basement of the house where he reveals the mainframe where the AI girls' program core is. There's also a program Zero, created by his father. Yayoi thinks that if she can bring Zero to life, it might convince Hitoshi to want to move to America. However, she accidentally injects a computer virus into it and Zero comes to life as a deranged fellow wanting to destroy the world's computer systems. He first takes out Twenty and has Thirty in his grasps.

54. こころ (Heart): Forty tries to save her sister, but also gets defeated. While Twenty and Forty all go limp, Thirty for some reason is still very much alive. She tries to go into the networks to save her siblings, but just conks herself out with the glass on the screen. Maa-kun reports that program 30 is already inactive, but she still can move around. Could it be the pinocchio syndrome? Meanwhile, Zero is causing havoc around the world and is about to deal the finish blows to Twenty and Forty. Maa-kun tries to help out, but he gets wiped out too. Hitoshi prevents her from going, but with his words, the program aspect of Thirty gets revived and she goes anyways.

55. SAYONARAは言わないで (Don't Say Goodbye): Thirty puts up a good fight on the screens of everyone's monitor and TV sets, but Zero is too much for her to handle. Just as she's going down, she sees another like her float down from the sky. Peter G., that hacker from so long ago has written his own program, #31 who saves the day. Thirty says her goodbye to Hitoshi. Next thing we know, the programs have all be revived and Hitoshi leaves his home in Japan.

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