Inside Mari vol. 8

While Shuzo Oshimi’s other current manga flirts again with self-parody, this one is still delivering solid plotting and characterization.  This remains true even as Mari remains in a catatonic state after remembering who “Fumiko” is in the previous volume.  Mari’s condition is taking a special toll on her mother who is at a loss as to what to do about her daughter and is now suspecting her of faking the whole thing for attention.  Meanwhile, Yori makes an attempt to track down Isao, to see if the man whose personality is supposed to be in Mari has anything to do with her current state.  To her surprise, the former shut-in has made a big step towards getting his life back on track.  He also has some thoughts about what’s going on with the girl he used to lust over… and they’re the same kind that I’ve been having for a few volumes now.

As to whether or not that’s actually the case, Oshimi isn’t about to play his full hand just yet.  Vol. 8 does tell us who Fumiko is and offers an explanation regarding Mari’s comatose state that doesn’t look like it involves magical realism – but doesn’t quite rule out the possibility.  Regardless of what’s actually going on here, the real drama of this volume comes from seeing how Yori reacts to everything that happens.  She gets put through the emotional wringer here all because she loves her friend and wants to do right by her.  This is a lot different compared to how she was at the start of the series, yet the change in her demeanor has been so well-handled over the course of the series that Yori’s actions here feel like a natural development of her character.

The title of this series may be “Inside Mari” but it feels like it’s becoming more about Yori’s story as we head into the final volume.  That’s right, this is the penultimate volume of the series and it ends with some key threads up in the air.  The fate of Mari’s personality is chief among them, though I do want to know what’s going to happen to her mother as we see the result of her awful choice regarding “Fumiko” play out here.  It’s the kind of well-written character drama I expect when I read a series from Oshimi and this is him firing on all cylinders.