Yankee JK Kuzuhana-chan Vol 21,22 - Kujaku Makoto's story was a bit sad.

Volumes 21 and 22 of Yankee JK Kuzuhana continue right from where we left off, with Hanako still struggling to talk directly to Saotome after realizing her feelings, while the other girls continue to move at their own pace toward the goal of getting closer to him.

Of course, that isn't all, as the series doesn't shy away from adding new heroines aplenty and exploring minor characters. For example, in the 21st volume, we have a large section dedicated to the yearly "visit" from middle school students. Saotome, together with the other girls, is tasked with accompanying them through the school.

One of them is Nekomiya Shouta, the younger brother of Moe. He is adamant about joining the school because he has a crush on Aoi and is suspicious of what Saotome is doing in a school where he is the only male. It was a fun sketch, especially watching Aoi get serious to protect Saotome. I honestly don't see Shouta as a possible partner for Aoi, as she treats him as a younger brother at best, but I guess it is a subplot.

Makoto gets her own cover art and she looks great in it. Her face is a lot less 'aggressive' here compared to the initial part when she appears.

Aoi getting some love is always welcome. She's such a good girl and she changed a lot since the first encounter

The important bit only comes later, when Suginome Yuna decides she wants to participate in the culture festival, as it is the last year she can before third-year life becomes hectic with exam preparations. She asks everyone to help her, and they start recruiting enough people to perform.

This is initially blocked by the student council, which requires at least fifteen people to participate. The two members of the student council are Kujaku Makoto (student council president) and her assistant, Karasuno Rin. Initially, their image is not the best, with Makoto acting like the typical teasing gal trying to lure Saotome.

Whoa, Aoi face when in front of males that aren't Saotome is quite something. It's awakening something in me!

The imagination of Yuna and the other girls when it comes to Makoto is wild. Is she a queen or something?

This changes once we learn the reason behind this through a good flashback scene. It goes back to when there wasn't a student council at the school because nobody wanted to do it (I understand why, given the amount of chores they have to do). She wanted to make a movie as part of the culture festival and lured many friends into it, but they didn't keep up with her passion, eventually causing them to grow tired and ruin the mood in the classroom.

She eventually decided to revive the student council alone; she was a much more tame and reserved girl back then. Then Rin arrived, inspired by the movie Makoto created, and they built a strong friendship working together. Am I the only one sensing the yuri direction of this?!

As usual the second-page images for the volume sporting Hanako are just downright splendid. She's great

Hanako is the poster girl of the series for a reason even though I still like other girls more than her overall.

Either way, Yuna and the others managed to gather enough people and are starting to prepare costumes and everything else needed to succeed. Will Saotome manage to resolve the misunderstanding with Hanako during the culture festival? What will happen with Koharu's conflicted relationship with Hanako and Saotome?

The next volume will get into the heart of the culture festival with all the various events lined up: the performance, the clothes design contest, and much, much more. Honestly, I am excited to see where this story is going; over time, I've become quite attached to the characters in this series and want to see how it continues.