All-Rounder Meguru vol. 11

We get the finale of the Kanto Tournament in this volume and the winner shouldn’t surprise you.  Meguru turned the tide at the end of vol. 10 and he continues to press his advantage as he gets into the zone against Muroi.  Yet the fact that he wins isn’t the most interesting thing about the wrap up to this storyline.  It’s what he does in the final minutes of the fight against his opponent that really tells you something about his character.  He had something to prove to himself while also recognizing what it would do for the aging Muroi. The end result is a finale where both fighters ultimately get what they want.  Which was cool.

The series then shifts gears entirely for its next arc, a flashback featuring Takashi.  We get to see what it was like for him after his grandfather died and he went to an orphanage.  The young fighter is strong enough to fend off the attempts at hazing and eventually finds a cozy niche for himself at the place.  At least until things go bad and we find out how he wound up working with the mob. Still, it’s a nice little look at what might’ve been for the character.  Even though he’s his usual taciturn self during this arc, it’s still easy to see what’s keeping him here and getting him to change via mangaka Hiroki Endo’s expressive art.  It was nice to be able to infer what was going on rather than have it drilled into my head via some needlessly expository dialogue.

Then there’s the volume’s final chapter, a fun little goof where Maki’s dieting cheat day is interrupted by an awful realization.  Everyone who has read the series will have no idea guessing what it is, but it’s still entertaining to see how she grapples with it.  Both literally and figuratively.