Silver Spoon vol. 13

Vol. 13 has more of an overarching story to it than is usual for this series.  That’s because Hachiken, Mikage and the rest of their horse riding club are trying to make their way to the national championship at Gotemba.  Expect to see mind games played on and by the team, a horse who loves glasses, the real reason why two of the club members stayed members after a rough start, and Hachiken trying his damnedest to just. not. screw. up. when his time to ride comes.  Of course, if the club does make it to Gotemba, it comes with a bonus for Hachiken and Ookawa’s pig-raising start-up: The chance to taste Jinhua pork, the basis for one of the best hams in the world. It’s a big deal for them, but before that they’ve got another plan:  To set up the ultimate German pizza tasting party. While it may look like just another chance to eat some good food at Ezo Ag, it’s actually research for the kind of pizza Hachiken and Ookawa will be selling at an upcoming Ban’ei horse racing event.

One might be tempted to say that, “Everything’s coming up Hachiken!” after reading that summary.  Longtime readers will know that if there’s one thing mangaka Hiromu Arakawa loves doing in this series, it’s finding new and inventive ways to torment her protagonist.  Sometimes these ways involve genuine drama, and in other times it’s done for comedic effect. It’s the latter version that takes precedence here, though it’s not all that funny since the mistake Hachiken makes while riding feels all too relatable.  That aside, Arakawa is burning through Hachiken’s final year at Ezo Ag at a surprisingly rapid clip. While I miss the deep focus on all of the aspects of school life that made up the first two-thirds of this series, the events here feel like she’s got a plan and is executing it at full steam.  So it’s not really hard to get caught up in her charge to the end because of that.