Anonymous Noise Graphic Novel Volume 9 cover image

Nino Arisugawa first finds comfort in singing with Momo Sakaki, a boy who was her next door neighbor.  Then, Momo suddenly moves away.  Secondly, Nino finds comfort in a young songwriter, Kanade “Yuzu” Yuzuriha, who calls Nino, “Alice.”  He tells her that she should sing instead of scream, but he also moves away.  Now, Nino is in high school and is confronted by reunions, and she becomes the lead singer of the band, “In No Hurry to Shout” a.k.a. “In No Hurry.”

Anonymous Noise, Vol. 9 (Chapters 47 to 52) opens as In No Hurry embarks on its first national tour.  The band will play 10 dates over a 14-day period (12/26 to 1/8).  Even with such a busy schedule, Yuzu has come to believe that he can no longer deny his feelings for Nino.  When Momo suddenly shows up at one of the early tour dates, Yuzu decides to show him that he has hardened his resolve to win Nino's heart away from Momo.

However, when the tour starts to go awry, old disagreements arise.  Band members clash.  Performances are poorly received.  And someone loses his voice, because of something from his past.

[This volume includes bonus manga, “After Song 52.”]

THE LOWDOWN:  The Anonymous Noise manga can be quite melodramatic, especially because it focuses on a crazy love triangle – one girl singer and two songwriting boys.  This musical shojo high school romance manga keeps the teen-angst going.

Anonymous Noise Graphic Novel Volume 9 is one of the better volumes in this series.  First, creator Ryoko Fukuyama surprisingly offers a look into the history of one of the characters, and that history is heart-rending.  There is also a few much-needed arguments between characters.  Not only is such airing out of “dirty laundry” needed, but those screaming matches also summarize subplots of which readers may need to be reminded.

As always, the translation and English adaptation by Casey Loe expresses the explosive nature of young emotions and of the constant star of teen angst and self-doubt.  Joanna Estep, who always delivers quality lettering, finds novel ways using different fonts and word balloons to express both external and internal dialogue.  Estep's manner of imparting phone conversations in Anonymous Noise is also quite effective.  I find that I am never confused about who is speaking or about their tone and emotional state.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Shojo Beat high school romantic dramas will want to try Anonymous Noise.

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9 out of 10