I love Ai Yazawa's other works, so I went into this with high expectations and was still blown away! Wow! Such a beautifully drawn and interesting concept, that jumps between several characters woven into the same story. I found both female leads to be so interesting and I loved their interactions with one another as they tried to unravel the mystery at the core of this story. My only disappointment is that I wish I could read the conclusion to this mystery now!

All ghost stories are tragedies. By their very nature, ghost stories involve someone who has died, and there's no escaping that fact, even if the general feeling of the book leans into being scary, comedic, or fantastical. Last Quarter, a 1998 series by Ai Yazawa, fully understands the inherent sadness of ghost stories, even as she mixes that with other elements, and the result seen here in the first of two omnibus editions is one of quiet yearning, bittersweet melancholy, and a few sad truths wrapped up in a mystery.

The potential ghosts in question are a high school-aged girl and a cat, although the mysterious musician Adam could also easily be counted in that number. Fifth grader Hotaru meets the teenage girl when she's walking along a mysterious fence in a strange, white world, looking for her cat Lulu. The girl stands on the other side of the fence, from which Lulu emerges…and the next thing Hotaru knows, she's in the hospital after a car accident. Uncertain that it was truly a dream they met in, Hotaru, resuming her search for Lulu, follows a different cat into an abandoned mansion, where she finds the girl again – but when she brings her friends to meet her, none of them can see her. They decide to call the ghost “Eve” because her only memory is that she's pining after Adam, even though she has no idea where he could be, or even who she is.

We briefly meet Adam in the first chapter, and apart from being a walking red flag, there are a few other things that are decidedly off about him. Why is he dressed in a style from twenty years ago? Why is he so keen on establishing a relationship with Mizuki, a seventeen-year-old girl, that he invites her to the mansion where he's spending only two weeks? And when he says that he wants to take her away with him, where, exactly, is he hoping to go? For a character whom we only see in two full chapters, Adam is the driving force of the story, playing an outsize role in the mysteries of both Eve and the mansion where she's trapped, his song “Last Quarter” playing in a constant loop in her head.

The story is primarily experienced through the eyes of Hotaru and her three friends, who form a quasi-investigative group to try to help Eve. They all suffer in their own ways – Hotaru missing her cat, Sae dealing with her strict parents, Masaki with his neglectful parents, and Tetsu trying to figure out his own emotions. All of these inform Eve's story and her greater mystery, and the way they all start coming together by volume's end is excellent storytelling.

It's incredibly difficult for me to just talk about this single volume. Last Quarter is my favorite Ai Yazawa manga and the first manga to ever make me cry; I even like the admittedly subpar live-action film because it hits on enough of what makes the story good. This is Yazawa distilled down to her strongest form, showcasing her ability to use ethos, pathos, and a little bit of humor. The mysteries are all about human emotion at their core, and if you've ever pondered the tragic nature of ghost stories, this is not a duology you want to pass up.

This was such a beautiful and interesting start to this series. I love that we are getting more Ai content finally. I am interested to see what happens!! Because WHAT?! She’s in a coma!!! Aaahhhh! Was Adam dead too?!

This was a welcome surprise - having not read anything by Yazawa beyond Nana, I wasn't sure what to expect. Though it does feel like you are dropped into the middle of the story, you soon become enthralled with the characters and find yourself unable to put Last Quarter down.

I wasn't sure what to expect before reading this. I love Nana and Paradise Kiss, although I felt like A Neighborhood Story wouldn't be a series that patrons at my library would be interested. I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed reading this! I love the supernatural and mystery aspects to this story and the art style is beautiful.

An elementary student stumbles upon an abandon house where she alone can see the spirit of a girl who cannot seem to leave the mansion. She enlists the help of her friends to solve the mystery. Ai Yazawa is a beloved creator, so the more stories we can get from her, the better, even if they aren't all masterpieces like Nana. This explores a completely different side of her creative works with a supernatural mystery, but there are some common themes with her other works, like yearning independence and teenaged angst.

First off. Among so many choices of titles to get official English translations it's nice to see some of the older stuff is getting lots of love too. This series was written in the 90s, and does have that complete 90s vibe in style. It is a shorter series with only 3 volumes (in Japan, I imagine the same for North America). This series is a little spooky, with some mysterious elements.

I went into this blind but kind of expecting a romance. It is a supernatural mystery with four adorable kids trying to solve it. It’s about how two lives are intertwined at the moment of an accident and the mystical nature of where one could go while deeply unconscious. A ghost story of sorts… It wasn’t what I was expecting at all, but it still was very compelling and you can already tell how sincere the children are in helping this lost soul. I can only imagine it will get better as we learn more about Adam and Mizuki.

Special thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media|VIZ Media LLC for sharing this book with me in exchange for my honest review.

I’m really loving this manga series! I’ve enjoyed other series by this author before, but the ghostly mystery specifically is really well done and has kept me guessing and very invested. The art style is very beautiful and haunting. I actively enjoyed this entire first volume and I’m excited for the next.

Having only read Nana from Ai Yazawa, this was entirely unexpected, but in a fascinating way. The beginning of this is a bit confusing--purposefully so--but once the story buckles down, this omnibus is pretty great at delivering on beautiful art AND a solid-enough mystery. I particularly loved the aspect where multiple characters quickly accepted supernatural elements. It got rid of the potential for tedious conflict/gaslighting, and I can't wait to read the rest of the series in the second omnibus.

I was interested in this title because this is by the same creator as the Nana series. I ended up really liking this mix of life, music, and drama. There is plenty of story potential for the cast of teens and children. I like all the little things that set this series apart from other "child can see things not of this world," types. Hotaru and Eve are an interesting pair of protagonists with their own unique challenges ahead. If this sounds at all interesting to you, give it a read!

This is probably not what you would expect from Yazawa: a supernatural piece with elementary school kids solving a Scoobie Doo mystery about a young woman ghost. Yes, the fantastic styles are all there but everything is still a bit muted and there aren't enough quirky side characters to really make this roll. That said, it's not a terrible read either.

Story: Miserable at home, 17 year old Mizuki falls in love with a guitarists she meets randomly at a park - and then runs away to be with him. At the same time, elementary school student Hotaru is out looking for her missing cat when she is involved in an accident. Before she awakens, she meets a ghostly figure named Mizuki. Together with her best friends, Hotaru will try to solve the mystery of who Mizuki is and what happened to her.

The story of Mizuki and Hotaru are interwoven throughout the book. For the most part, we follow Hotaru as she first has to convince others that Mizuki isn't a dream and then work together to track down information about her. Hotaru feels a connection to her and wants to help her. The mystery of who Mizuki is contrasts with the mystery of why Hotaru can see her. We do get quite a few (obvious) answers to both questions by the end of this first volume.

In all, it was a fun read but also quite sad since the boyfriend seems to be melancholy and abusive while Mizuki looks to have developed a codependant relationship. This plays against the innocence of the kids. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

This is probably my most anticipated release of the year and it did not disappoint. I’m shamelessly obsessed with Ai Yazawa.’s storytelling and art style so I’m a bit biased when it comes to reviewing this, but I was so deeply captivated by this. While I felt like the beginning needed more build up to the type of passion exhibited between the main love interests, the twists and supernatural plotting more than made up for it. I can’t wait to devour the next few volumes. Thank you so much VIZ for the early arc, as well as committing to translating Yazawa’s backlist!

This looks very much like AI’s funky 90s art, a blond hippier version of Nana. Big Bratz boots, glam boho guitarist guys w/ rings. Even though Mizuki is sad, she’s got great drive to runaway w/ the optimism she’ll get a job straightaway and have cash to acquire more than the clothes in her back. Def set around that era because of the kawaii beepers.

Mizuki semi-shacks up w/ that musician Adam who seems to be a couch surfer even though she catches his songs on the radio. I hope it’s an off translation but either way her blurting he must be the reason his ex she knows nothing about is dead is very crazy. Yeah, it seems he has track marks but is she even that involved w/ him to be that rude? Things seem to be moving super quickly off the pg then?

Wait, then there’s choking after the ILY and crying?? Yeah, this story needed to breathe and a clearer progression plotted before it was put on paper. Beautiful cinematic city art and long hair but it’s like we jumped into a romance that not really there. It’s confirming my suspicions this is just put out to be a soft explanation for how Nana would’ve gone if the author ever continued it: latching on to drug sick lonely band members. The guy w/ the dreads looks and acts just like the barkeep friend from Nana.

Any moment with lil kids does get me tearfully sentimental. The limbo scene is good but I am sick of every manga having parents die of a vague illness in a hospital and there to be the most convenient hit and runs. But I don’t like this following around li’l kids in school, it’s boring even though the Siamese cats and secret jewelry bits are cute. As for the ghost part? Those are usually cliche so I won’t be continuing the series I was hoping to be more mature. I’ve read Nana, Paradise Kiss, Neighborhood Story and I think one other story and this is the only one I haven’t liked though the first act had potential. The end is exactly what I figured halfway or sooner through.

Okay, so I was today years old when I realized that I actually was familiar with this story. I thought the plot sounded familiar when I requested the book. Come to find out, this is the manga that the movie starring Hyde, called Last Quarter, is based off of! I had no clue that it was a manga! I really enjoyed the first volume, though the 2004 movie does take some liberties. I like the exploration of death and liminal spaces. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for the rest of the English volumes as the come out.

This digital ARC was obtainable via NetGalley for an honest review.

Okay! "Last Quarter" volume one was not at all what I expected! Firstly, I love the art. "Nana", "Paradise Kiss", and "Neighborhood Story" are all manga created by Ai Yazawa. If you like the art in those you will love how this manga looks. I wasn't a huge fan of the beginning. I found the brief love story of our main character Mizuki & Adam very toxic. However, the story took an interesting turn that I wasn't expecting but actually enjoyed. "Last Quarter" is perfect for readers who love romance and magical realism.

WOW I was so excited to see Ai Yazawa's name on a different manga, and this one did not disappoint! I wasn't sure what to expect, as I knew it would not be Nana, but it really developed in an interesting way!