Have you ever felt like you failed, no I don't mean failed to pass a test or please your boss. I mean really failed. Failed to do the right thing for someone or said the most stupid thing ever to the one you love. I know I have, and regret and guilt from it often weighed me down so heavily that it was hard to breathe. The final installment of Baby & Me displays this human frailty. It starts out a little odd and then progresses to the heavy guilt trips and possible death of one of the main characters. It spends its time exploring the very topic I opened with in several different ways.
I have to hand it Marimo Ragawa for taking this lighthearted comedy and turning the last volume into a moving reinforcement of relationships and the stresses that are placed on them. The volume opens with a strange ghost story that is not a ghost story but an affirmation of the important things in life. The middle chapter explores the new family relationships and how we can overcome expectations of others along with turning disappointment into revealing discoveries of our own inadequacies. The final chapter puts our main characters in a life or death drama that reveals the true meaning of family and brotherly love.
Overall
In earlier reviews I mentioned that I was not impressed with this lighthearted manga, but the final volume has given me reason to take pause and re-evaluate my thoughts and opinion of this story. I found myself becoming somewhat more sympathetic toward the characters. I also began to understand the humanistic approach of Marimo Ragawa and what she might be trying to really say.
In this final volume of Baby & Me, Marimo is telling us in three very distinct and different ways that love, in all of its frustrations, is by far the strongest human emotion. There are some people that will sacrifice all for career and the regrets that follow could lead a person's soul to reaching out in very unusual ways. I'm sure almost all of us look back at our choices and see much regret for the things we did. This was not lost in Baby & Me and at times it was taken to a melodramatic height that pushed the validity of the commentary being made.
Not being a big fan of this series I would have to say that Baby & Me came very close to making me a convert, but Marimo was just a little overly dramatic about the ending and it failed to move me far enough. I think this series could have been reworked and Marimo may find that she is a better writer of drama, if she could only tone down the sentiment she lathers up. There are plenty of strong characters that we get to know and it became very easy to empathize with the relationship between our two brothers, Takuya and Minoru. I can see how this series would be loved by an 11 to 16 year old girl, it hits all the softest points in our human frailty and if you are looking for a sentimental journey this just might be for you.
ComicsOnline gives Baby & Me Volume 18 2.5 out of 5 irresponsible newlywed brides.
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