Full Moon O Sagashite Volumes 5-7 by Arina Tanemura

I was hoping to finish up this series by the end of last week for the Manga Moveable Feast, but that didn’t end up happening. I did throughly enjoy the last half of Full Moon O Sagashite. One of the reasons why I liked the series so much when I started reading it was because Mitsuki didn’t seem to have the personality I’d expect from a typical dying shojo heroine with the alter ego of an idol singer. The sentimentality does get ratcheted up in the later volumes, but the sentiments expressed never feel unearned. One big thing that goes into making the series feel fully realized is the way Mitsuki’s shinigami companions all have their own motivations that sometimes conflict with each other. How and if Mitsuki should be supported in her ambitions is something that is debated and at times thwarted. After getting this far into the series I wasn’t annoyed by the the generational connections and coincidences that bound Mizuki’s extended family together with the shinigami, instead I was amused as more of the backstory was filled in and we started to see that Mizuki’s support system wasn’t sent to her randomly at all.

I don’t want to give away too much about the ending of the series except to say it was happy and not unexpected. I wasn’t disappointed by not being surprised by the conclusion of the series, instead by the end of the seven volumes filled with ups and downs and occasional suffering it was good to see everything headed in a positive direction. While I read and enjoy plenty of manga, it is somewhat rare for me to finish a serie with a feeling of fondness. Any shojo fans looking for a dose of warm fuzzies will be well served by Full Moon O Sagashite.