The initial shine of the series has worn off but Endo has settled into a comfortable rhythm that is consistently hilarious, soothing, and pleasing. The gradual introduction of new characters adds to the manic energy of the series; Twilight is often laugh-out-loud funny, but he’s still the straight man to basically every other character. Makes it feel a bit like a Wodehouse novel in that way. Fiona Frost is wonderful as a superspy who is in love with Twilight; who wouldn’t be? Especially because he trained her, which adds a fun Socrates/Plato dynamic to the whole thing.

Yor remains the most underwritten character, but in volume 6 Endo demonstrates his ability to subtly draw on trauma histories and it really got me. In some moments it’s clear that Yor’s desperation to maintain the persona of the perfect wife is based in her fear not of losing her job, but of not being enough to keep the Forgers together. This makes sense for her character because she and Yuri lost their parents and she had to raise him from a young age, and while she doesn’t get a lot to do it does make her mini-arcs about learning to cook and stuff less insulting. The fact that she feels the weight of being in a fake marriage and wants to prove herself to Anya and Loid hurts a little, and I didn’t expect that. Similarly, the chapter with Anya and her friend Becky almost made me break down and cry. There’s a quiet moment where you can tell that Becky and Anya aren’t just friends for the plot; Endo seems genuinely interested in exploring vulnerability and affirmation in relationships. If I had been 1% more tired when I read that chapter shit would have had me sobbing.