After Hours, Vol. 3

I'm staying to think that the translation for this may not be... great. I'm really liking the characters and the way it captures a kind of early-adult career/interpersonal directionlessness, but there are just so many bits of dialog that feel just a skosh awkward or out of place it's hard to really lock in to what the book itself is doing.

The main "event" of this volume was rather unnecessary. I feel like the author only put this in because he wanted to have more excitement, but in my opinion, that totally backfired. I didn't mind the chillness of the other two volumes at all, quite the opposite, so having this suddenly dramatic and "exciting" plot felt off. Not only was it unnecessary but also a bit toxic.
Up until now, they're relationship was realistically mature, but this event totally threw them off the track... Good for them to resolving it, but it's a meh for me. It really wasn't needed to turn the table this much, to get the path the author had planned for the characters, especially the protagonist.

Also, is it just me or did the drawing style slightly change? Not sure, but it seemed more detailed and more "serious", if you can say that. Kinda to match the vibe of the story more.
Isn't necessarily a bad thing; the details were amazing. But I did like the "simpleness" of the drawing style more.

While I consider Vol. 1 and 2 classics in the yuri genre, I can't say the same about this volume. The reason is that the narrative took such a weird turn after the conclusion of the event. Kei just disappears without telling Emi or their friends where she's gone. The later part of this volume has Emi searching for Kei.

Now, I know very little about Japanese culture, but surely it is ok to tell your girlfriend that a relative has died? . I did not understand why Kei had to keep that a secret.

The ending was very unsatisfactory for me. I have the feeling that the later parts of the story were originally meant as a sequel or even a 4th volume, but it was cancelled and the author had to wrap things up to fit in this volume. It would explain the rather sudden ending with things unresolved.

Still, Emi's journey from a lost soul to someone with goal in life is still a great story.