From: ryoko@gatech.rmv.this.part.edu   
      
   I am happy to say that as of last month's issue (2 issues ago), Absolute   
   Boyfriend by Watase Yuu is finished. It is being replaced by a Rie   
   Takada series called "Gaba Kawa" (I have read 4 Rie Takada series so far   
   and have liked all of them, so I expect this one will be just as good).   
      
   Also news, _Absolute Boyfriend_ is being made into a live-action drama   
   (for some unfathomable reason... :P).   
      
   _Absolute Boyfriend_ actually ended in a way I find to be very   
   appropriate and satisfying for me, despite disliking the series for most   
   of its run. As I read the series month-to-month, I was mostly of the   
   opinion that I knew Watase Yuu (one of my favorite mangakas as well)   
   could do better than this, what I considered to be derivative drivel.   
      
   I don't know what it is that I hate so much about the human x robot   
   relationship in this series, when I didn't mind it at all in Chobits.   
   Night just feels so cardboard, a generic super-bishi with super-powers,   
   and endless devotion to the main character that seems irritatingly   
   unwarranted. Maybe it's because in Chobits, Chii was the one who needed   
   special care, and Hideki was also far from a perfect specimen. Or maybe   
   it's because I would think that no one in their right mind would choose   
   a robot over another human being where love is concerned, especially   
   when that person has admitted to them both that she loves them equally.   
   There was also a severe lack of likable supporting characters in AB (to   
   me, anyway).   
      
   Anyway, coming in to this final chapter I was really worried that   
   Watase-sense would take the easy and cliche way out, but as a pleasant   
   surprise...   
      
   (spoilers)   
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   Night de-activates for good, leaving Riiko in a rather dramatic yet   
   respectable way, and acknowledges Soshi, who lands somewhat suddenly   
   into his new role as Riiko's boyfriend. And by the end of it, Riiko is   
   actually okay with it, smiling and all that (I was dreading pages worth   
   of crying and moping over something I consider stupid, but luckily that   
   was not the case).   
      
   All in all, it was a good end to what I consider a not-so-good series.   
   :)   
      
   --   
   "Care must be exorcised when handring Opiticar System as it is apts to   
   be sticked by dusts and hand-fat." --Japanese Translators   
      
   "Keep your fingers off the lens." --Elton Byington, English Translator   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)