Yoshinaga's final instalment of the Antique Bakery series is a psychologically driven piece, with inner turmoil and emotions playing a large part of the story arcs within. The humour is still there in part, with light deft touches here and there, but appropriately, the overall tone is more sombre. I quite liked how Yoshinaga sensei tied past plot threads in previous volumes into the current events without missing a beat. She also managed the feat of taking such a potentially disturbing plot line and not turn into a gloating, in your face spectacle that demeans such events. And while the volume ends with our friends looking forward to the future with slightly troubled, yet hopeful, expressions, it does not leave us hanging, as a closure of sorts is reached so that they are literally able to move mentally and emotionally forward and not just drift along with life's tides. It is a sentiment that one encounters again in Flower of Life, and also in Ichigenme, being a seeming trademark of Yoshinaga sensei's. I was sad to leave the bakery behind, but hey, with hard copies available to sit on my bookshelf and the animé and live action versions available to watch, it is not like it is goodbye forever. Now if I can just find Yoshinaga's Antique doujinshis... Additional Reading suggestions: If you like the gentle comedy and the setting found in Antique Bakery, you may also like Happy Boys and Café Kichijoji de, also from Digital Manga Publishing.