Since I last reviewed Yukino Sonoyama’s Bless, a TV anime adaptation has been announced for 2027, handled by studio A-1 Pictures! So with excitement rising, this seems like as good a time as any to return to the manga from Kodansha.
Volume 4 of Bless reunites us with our protagonists as Jun invites Aia to the bar she works at for a party to celebrate her casting call for a modelling gig. Here, Aia also gets to meet Jun’s mother, Yoriko, who is excited to finally encounter the makeup artist she’s heard so much about from her daughter. Here we learn that Jun is following in the footsteps of her late father, a man who always followed his impulses and walked his own path in life regardless of what anyone else thought.
Things have been going better for Jun; she’s even planning to travel abroad since there are more opportunities overseas. This comes as a shock to Aia, who has been left out of the loop, but he’s undoubtedly happy for her. Unfortunately, his path toward his dreams is a rocky one, as his prep for the U21 (Under 21 Hair and Makeup Competition) is not going well. Being surrounded by talented individuals at MIRROR is proving a blessing and a curse, as he both learns important lessons from them and finds himself increasingly jealous of their talent compared to his. What he can’t see is that these same people have complicated feelings toward him too.
Aia’s struggles only intensify when stylist Oya informs the MIRROR group that they must undertake a competition to come up with a proposal for using some vibrant new lipsticks from a popular brand. Aia can’t seem to come up with anything that best fits the challenge, and Oya’s advice isn’t particularly helpful to him either. Aia finds himself drowning in bitterness, jealous of everyone around him who seems far more capable. Even with Jun’s encouragement and his love of cosmetics, he’s not sure how to find the path forward.
Volume 5 is largely a continuation of these themes, but it also gives us the backstory for Aia’s biggest rival, Akiharu. And we get to learn about Hajime (nicknamed M.M.) too. This is especially interesting because Hajime is the oldest of the group attending MIRROR, and he can’t compete in the U21 due to being over the age restriction, so he’s fighting harder than anyone to prove himself with every other chance he gets (like with this proposal content). But he’s an adult, and he’s not drawn into the cutthroat atmosphere among the youngsters, which puts him in the perfect position to offer Aia some much-needed guidance.
These two volumes feel relatively short, despite being packed with important character backstories and developments. It doesn’t help that Volume 4 wraps up the main story at page 117, with the remaining 41 pages dedicated to a bonus story about how Jun’s parents met. And don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed this extra, but it does feel like despite reading two volumes back-to-back, we’re not considerably further along in Aia’s current storyline.
Perhaps the bigger issue for me is that it feels like Jun is largely sidelined in these two volumes, despite the series having originally started with the premise that this was Aia and Jun’s story and it had been juggling them just fine up until now. I appreciate #4 being shorter than normal (and arguably her parents’ story ties into hers), meaning there’s not a lot of room to fit her in more while trying to flesh out the MIRROR group and Aia’s worries. Still, I like those two as a pair, and I don’t think Sonoyama has done a good job of making any of the newer characters fill Jun’s role in Aia’s life. Without her, he feels like he’s scrambling to keep it together. Which, to a degree, is deliberate, but I just wish there was a little more of a balance across these two releases.
As mentioned, Bless Volumes 4 and 5 come to the West thanks to Kodansha and continue to be translated by KPS Products Corp with lettering by Nicole Roderick. Both of these read well with no issues. #4 contains the bonus story about Jun’s parents, but otherwise there are no other extras present, which is a shame given how slim these are for the price.
The series is still ongoing in Japan, where they’re up to Volume 8. Here in English, Kodansha has released volumes 6 and 7, with #8 currently scheduled for a release in April 2027. Which is not bad considering we’re more or less caught up!
Overall, there’s a lot to like about these two volumes of Bless, but equally, the story feels a little off-balance as it dedicates all its time to Aia and leaves Jun on the side. Still, if you’ve been enjoying the series so far, there’s no reason not to continue onwards and see what the future holds for these two.
Our review copies from Kodansha were supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK
Demelza
When she’s not watching anime, reading manga or reviewing, Demelza can generally be found exploring some kind of fantasy world and chasing her dreams of being a hero.
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