The Last Uniform
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese manga
series written and illustrated by Mera Hakamada. The series was first serialized in the Japanese seinen
manga magazine Manga Time Kirara Carat
on February 24, 2007, published by Houbunsha
, but later had concurrent serialization in the magazine Manga Time Kirara Max between May 24, 2004 to August 29, 2005, published by the same company. The manga concluded on September 24, 2006, and three tankōbon
volumes were published. The manga was licensed by Los Angeles
-based company Seven Seas Entertainment
. The first and second volumes were released on June 30, 2007 and October 31, 2007.
on each other which makes it impossible for them to stay merely friends.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series written and illustrated by Mera Hakamada. The series was first serialized in the Japanese seinen
Seinen
is a subset of manga that is generally targeted at a 20–30 year old male audience, but the audience can be older with some manga aimed at businessmen well into their 40s. In Japanese, the word Seinen means "young man" or "young men" and is not suggestive of sexual matters...
manga magazine Manga Time Kirara Carat
Manga Time Kirara Carat
is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Houbunsha mainly consisting of four-panel comic strips. The first issue was released on January 18, 2003.-List of serialized titles:*A Channel*Chibi Debii!*Dōjin Work*H・R*Harumaki!...
on February 24, 2007, published by Houbunsha
Houbunsha
is a Japanese publishing company founded on July 10, 1950.-Manga Time magazines:*Manga Time*Manga Time Jumbo*Manga Time Lovely*Manga Time Family*Manga Time Special*Manga Time Original*Manga Home-Manga Time Kirara magazines:...
, but later had concurrent serialization in the magazine Manga Time Kirara Max between May 24, 2004 to August 29, 2005, published by the same company. The manga concluded on September 24, 2006, and three tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
volumes were published. The manga was licensed by Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
-based company Seven Seas Entertainment
Seven Seas Entertainment
Seven Seas Entertainment is a publishing company located in Los Angeles, California. It was originally dedicated to the publication of original manga, but now publishes licensed manga and novels, as well as select webcomics...
. The first and second volumes were released on June 30, 2007 and October 31, 2007.
Plot
The Last Uniform takes place at the Tsubakigaoka Girls' Dorm where each of the female students is paired with a roommate. Beniko Kazura is paired with Tsumugi Kase, and Ai Sawara is paired with Fuuko Yamada, though the roommates have crushesLimerence
Limerence is a term coined c. 1977 by the psychologist Dorothy Tennov to describe an involuntary state of mind which seems to result from a romantic attraction to another person combined with an overwhelming, obsessive need to have one's feelings reciprocated...
on each other which makes it impossible for them to stay merely friends.
Characters
- Beniko is a second year student in high school residing in the Tsubakigaoka Girl's Dorm with Tsumugi Kase as her roommate, and is the dormitory leader. She is in the art club. Due to her beautiful appearance, calm temperament, good grades, and excellent reflexes, she has gained a small group of younger girls who follow her around as groupieGroupieA groupie is a person who seeks emotional and sexual intimacy with a musician or other celebrity. "Groupie" is derived from group in reference to a musical group, but the word is also used in a more general sense, especially in casual conversation....
s. Beniko has a crush on Tsumugi.
- Tsumugi is a second year student in high school, and is Beniko's roommate, whom she has a crush on. She is in the archery club. She has a blunt personality and can get easily embarrassed.
- Ai is a first year in high school living in the dormitory with Fuuko Yamada as her roommate, whom she has a crush on. In junior high school she wore thick glasses, but after entering high school she switched to wearing contact lenses.
- Fuuko, also referred to as "Fuu-chan", is a first year student in high school, and is Ai's roommate, who she has a crush on. She is in the track and field club. She has a cheerful personality, but is seen as somewhat of a troublemaker.
- Asagi is a third year in high school living in the dormitory. She has a cool personality, though is a little abnormal. When Beniko first entered school, Asagi was struck with love at first sight. Ever since, she has been trying to gain Beniko's feelings, but Beniko does not like Asagi.
- Anzu is a first year student in high school who moves into the dorm with Ai and Fuuko. She has a high degree of culinary skill, and often cooks delicious meals for dorm parties. Anzu once had strong feelings for Beniko and thus developed a jealous hatred of Tsumugi, but after Tsumugi rescued Anzu in an incident involving an underwear thief, Anzu's feelings of hatred toward her changed to love.
External links
- Seven Seas Entertainment's The Last Uniform website
- Review of volume one by Erica Friedman of YuriconYuriconYuricon is an anime convention geared toward fans of yuri anime and manga. The first Yuricon event was held in 2003 in Newark, New Jersey with about 200 attending, although Yuricon has existed as an online entity since 2000. The event was organized by Yuricon, LLC., which continues to run...
- Right Turn Only - Review of volume one by Anime News NetworkAnime News NetworkAnime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
- 365 days of manga review
- Ed Chavez podcast