In this volume, our newlyweds get to know each other better, discussing food preferences and such. Also, Tsukasa and Aya bond over retro video games, and Aya admits to herself that Tsukasa is worthy for Nasa (especially after enjoying Tsukasa's home cooked meals!). Nasa gets his wife a smartphone, and finally gets to have a real date with Tsukasa, ending with a walk in the park that (finally!) gets a bit steamy. Still no clue about Tsukasa's mysterious past; it almost feels like it's been forgotten, though I hope the author addresses it soon- I want to know who and/or what she is! Overall, very cute and sweet, and the art remains gorgeous.

#FlyMetotheMoonVol5 #NetGalley

While there's still no sings of aliens... the romance is slowly building up for this newly married couple.

Nasa and Tsukasa are staying at the apartment in the bathhouse and are having a ton of adventures. There is never a boring day with the Arisagawa sisters and the work of running the bathhouse. Tsukasa reveals a new skill and Nasa falls deeper in love with his wife.

This volume features more short chapters with mini stories. There is an introduction for a new character and many funny moments. The illustrations perfectly capture the humor and emotions. The dialogue is to be expected, with more humor than usual. There are fewer awkward scenes but still no aliens.

While I enjoy the characters, I hope something more happens soon. This series is on it's way of remaining dull.

Read more graphic novel reviews at www.graphiclibrary.org.

Nasa and Tsukasa still live in the bath house after the destruction to their apartment, so Tsukasa decides she needs to help out with chores around the bath to repay them for their kindness. Tsukasa and Kaname end up getting pretty close and exchanging nicknames. Older sister Aya still hasn’t given her approval to Tsukasa, especially considering she has had a long-standing crush on Nasa, but Tsukasa starts to win her over with her delicious home-cooked meals. It also turns out that both are highly competitive video-gamers, and they challenge each other to many bouts of a new fighting game and a classic shooting game. Later, Nasa tries to plan a date for the two of them, including a stroll in a park where he hopes to hold Tsukasa’s hand and exchange some smooches.

At this point, I’ve given up on finding out what is different about Tsukasa. It’s clear she’s really old and potentially ageless, but other than that, there haven’t been many clues. Tsukasa prefers the older, classic games, and believes the Sega Genesis to be one of the greatest consoles. Between Tsukasa and Aya, girl-gamers will find some validation in a positive portrayal of girls enjoying and being amazing at playing video games without there being any conversation or dialogue about them being girls and it being impossible for them to be actually good at games. Nasa and Tsukasa are also growing more bold with their affection, but it’s still pretty chaste considering they’re a married couple. Their little “adventures” are adorable and, for the most part, pretty wholesome.

Sara's Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

Some nice character growth in this one - we see Tsukasa's competitiveness, Nasa plans a date, and we see his thoughtfulness and quick-wittedness. This is just a cute and fun series. Sure the hesitancy around physical intimacy is a bit old after 5 volumes (just kiss you wife, Nasa!), but there is enough sweetness and mystery here to keep me engaged.

Fly Me to the Moon Volume Five has a strong focus on Tsukasa and on some of the characters trying to get to know her better.

Fly Me to the Moon Volume Five
Written by: Kenjiro Hata
Publisher: Shogakukan
English Publisher: VIZ Media
Release Date: May 11, 2021

The volume opens with Tsukasa offering to help Kaname get the bath house ready for the day. As they spend time together, Tsukasa learns just how much Nasa has modified various piece of technology for the bath house in order to make things more efficient. This helps to illustrate just how little Tsukasa truly knows about her husband and that she has more she has to learn about him. But Tsukasa impresses Kaname with how well she cleans the bath house. Through these interactions, Tsukasa and Kaname become friends.

However, there’s quite a focus on Kaname’s older sister, Aya, who had had a crush on Nasa. She finally realized in Volume Four that Nasa and Tsukasa are married, and she hasn’t taken it well. Since Nasa and Tsukasa are still boarding in the spare room at the bath house, this gives Aya an opportunity to get to know Tsukasa. The funny thing is, she goes into this thinking she’ll find something negative about Tsukasa, but that doesn’t happen. Instead, she finds that Tsukasa is a good cook and that she’s an almost equal match to her when it comes to video games. Of course, this result was predictable (which is something Kaname even comments on by breaking the fourth wall), but it was still kind of amusing to see. I was glad to finally see Aya get a storyline that focused on her, since prior to this point, she had been more of a background character.

We also get the occasional lovey-dovey story of Tsukasa and Nasa as they navigate their relationship, and it’s obvious that things are still a little awkward between them. One of these stories sees Nasa buying a smartphone for Tsukasa and taking her on a date to an aquarium. It was kind of amusing to see him think about the various things that could go wrong on the date that he’s seen in entertainment, but none of it ends up happening. Nasa has book smarts and is creative, but sometimes he seems to be lacking in common sense. But I think this is part of what makes him an endearing character to the reader. When Tsukasa gets the smartphone, she starts getting into various apps and learns about various ones from Nasa, Aya, and Kaname. I wonder if Hata will end up pursuing anything further with Tsukasa and her smartphone, especially in regards to social media. I can’t believe that the phone was bought just to be referenced in this one story.

Volume Five also sees the return of Tsukasa’s sister, Chitose. She discovers that the apartment Tsukasa and Nasa lived in has burned down. Just when Chitose is about to go searching for Tsukasa, she happens to come by as she’s heading home from a trip to the grocery store. Tsukasa knows that Chitose is gullible, so she tries to make it sound like she and Nasa are now living in a park nearby in the hopes of giving Chitose the slip. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work and Chitose tracks them down. This particular story doesn’t truly advance the plot, it’s just something humorous. Chitose tries to convince the two of them to move in with her, and the bargaining Chitose does to try to convince Tsukasa is what provides the humor. While it was nice to see Chitose return, since she was absent from the previous volume, her appearance here doesn’t truly add anything to the story.

An interesting story is Nasa running into his teacher from junior high. She’s been thinking about him, since he dropped out of high school and never graduated. They have a chance meeting, and when the teacher discovers Nasa is married, she declares that she will make a home visit (never mind that Nasa is no longer her student). As expected, the teacher is impressed with Tsukasa, and the interactions the teacher has with our protagonists convinces her she needs to slow down and enjoy life a little more.

The bonus chapter included at the end of the chapter is simply an extension of the awkwardness Tsukasa and Nasa have, especially when it comes to being more physically intimate. I was left to wonder why this was a bonus chapter, because this would have worked just as well as a regular chapter for the manga. Generally, it seems like when a bonus chapter is included, it usually is a story that just wouldn’t fit in or work well with the main storyline of the manga. So to me, this “bonus chapter” didn’t really feel like a bonus.

It seems that for me, at least, I’ve gotten to a point in the series where the interactions and lovey-dovey storylines between Tsukasa and Nasa have become less cringeworthy. Either I have become acclimated to this aspect of the series, or Hata has finally found a way to make these two and their relationship feel less saccharine. This is still a light-hearted manga, but this volume feels like it’s a little more rooted in reality. It’ll be interesting to see if this trend continues with Volume Six, or if we return to the more saccharine and cringeworthy aspects of the series.

I continue to love and adore this series. This volume pretty much wraps up what we see in Season 1 of the anime, and I am excited to see where the story continues! They are too adorable, and I want to see where they go from here.

If you would like my more in depth feelings about this title, please check out this review vlog! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6vAlr5I5CE

In this volume, Tsukasa helps clean the bathhouse and learns more about how Nasa saved the business. They discuss food preferences and take a walk through a park on the way to the store. They then have a takoyaki party with Aya and Kaname where Aya and Tsukasa have a video game battle. Tsukasa and Nasa go on a date to the aquarium. Chitose discovers that the apartment burned down and finds out where Tsukasa and Nasa are now living. She tries to convince Tsukasa to move in with her by bribing her with video games. Tsukasa discovers the world of smartphones. Nasa's former teacher makes an appearance.