Title: こどものおもちゃ (Child's Toy) Vol. 7
Artist/Author: 小花美穂 (Miho Obana)
Book Size/Pages: A-5, 296pp., w/furigana
Volume: 7/7
Original Serialization: Monthly Ribon 5/98-11/98
First Printing: 12/20/03
Rating: 3/4

Finally finished. This volume was close to a 300 page monster and took more time than I had originally planned. While it was terribly surprising, I'm satisfied with how this series ended. If it were me, I'd cut out a bit of the "fat" surrounding her illness as that kept going and going. The little epilogue at the end was a nice touch as I'm a sucker for that type of stuff.

Bonuses are the plethora of artwork originally presented in the monthly. There's a feature of the international releases and a lengthy letter from the author.

From the shock of Hayama leaving for Los Angeles, Sana falls into a depression that her mother has seen once before. Her mother left this incident out of her book, but already had the manuscript where she describes how Sana had a psychological illness for 15 days after emotional trauma learning that her mom wasn't really her mom. They recall that it was Naozumi who helped her overcome her sickness the first time around. This time, she's able to overcome her shock by taking a secret trip with Hayama and talking to him. Hayama finally agrees to leave for Los Angeles and Sana agrees as he's being sent to go see a famous doctor who can fix his arm. After a few years, Sana is working at a psychological helpline and Hayama is able to use his arm enough to win a karate tournament. While brief, they have a reunion.

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