Nisekoi: False Love Vol. 22by Sheena McNeilReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 7 Raku and the others manage to rescue Marika from an arranged marriage ... and her mother! Marika tells Raku he needs to search his heart because it's obvious he likes both Chitoge and Onodera, and he has awkward conversations with them both.The main part of this volume is absurdly over-the-top. It's like an ill-planned action movie where they just toss everything together and hope for the best. Honda's role was the biggest surprise (yes, even more than the helicopter stunt rescue part two). I also loved that the man Marika was to wed was also agreeing to this because of her mother and not because he actually wanted to marry her, and that he was glad to be able to take his dead wife's wedding ring back and leave unindebted to this family anymore! That alone painted the situation in a better light, shifting all blame to Marika's mother. I was glad to see how things turned out with Marika's mom, partially due to the little bit of insight we get at the end. It was nice to see Marika accept that Raku doesn't like her as more than a dear friend, and try to help him with his love-life decision / realization. She points out that he likes both girls, but she fails to acknowledge how these are different. Raku has a full-on, blushing, awkward crush on Onodera, but they're totally not suited to each other beyond that infatuation. Chitoge, on the other hand, is the mature choice. Oh, there's attraction there too, but they suit each other, understand each other, and their awkwardness stems from self-acknowledgement of their feelings for the other. Raku's conversation with Onodera, on the other hand, is awkward because both of them drastically deny liking anyone. Onodera makes a weird comment at the end that leaves Raku (and me) confused. Raku's date with Chitoge is a flop. She's trying to cheer him up by doing a bunch of random activities with him ... ones that he doesn't seem to be enjoying. She tries so hard it fails, basically, but she doesn't try talking. When an opportunity arises to explain, she leaves. Raku gets fed up and makes a mean comment, which triggers Chitoge to retaliate, to which Raku loses his temper. He hasn't tried talking to her all day, and instead unleashes it all angrily after making a snide comment. It's rare to see him be such a jerk, but he's also moping about what Marika said and trying to convince himself that he doesn't like Chitoge .... When Chitoge leaves, obviously upset, he lets her go rather than going after her, and decides all of this points to him not liking her at all. It's frustrating to read, since they've been making better progress ... well at least Chitoge has. I totally empathize with her and feel so bad for her when things turn out badly. At least the cliffhanger shows that they'll get another chance at sorting the day and her intentions. Despite the absurd action rescue sequence during the first half of this volume, this is one of the stronger volumes we've had in a bit. I'm surprisingly pleased with how Marika's arc ended, too! Written: July 27, 2017
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