Saikano Vol- 3 Changes

Product Description In the wreckage after a battle, Chise is reunited with Tetsu, and a new relationship begins. Meanwhile, Yukari still longs for her boyfriend, who was killed in the first air raid. When she comes across a downed enemy pilot in the mountains, he sadness turns to hatred, rage, and bloodshed. Just when it seems things couldn't get any worse, a huge earthquake hits, and another of Shuji's friends is among the victims. Contains Three Episodes: Everyone?s Changing, Akemi, And Then . . . Amazon.com As this sci-fi romance nears its conclusion, its mood darkens. Chise and Shuji agree to "just be classmates," but the war interferes with even their limited happiness. Their classmates are killed in air raids or enlist in the military. While Chise spends more time with the army, Shuji stubbornly tries to remain a normal high school senior, despite increasing shortages of food and medicine. His involvement with Ms. Fuyumi ends tragically, as does Chise's brief friendship with Tetsu, Fuyumi's husband. It's easy to become impatient with Shuji for his feckless inaction and with Chise for her constant whining, but both of them are victims of forces they can neither control nor comprehend. The international popularity of Saikano suggests this grim melodrama has touched a nerve in young viewers who feel helpless in increasingly dangerous world. (Unrated, suitable for ages 16 and older: violence, implied sexual situations, tobacco use) --Charles Solomon