Around three years ago, I reviewed a coming-of-age comic called Taiki about a teenage girl in high school. While I initially considered the comic to be yet another high school comic, Taiki ended up being more about Taiki’s realization that she was gay, and her relationships and friendships while in school. Still, I must admit one of the reasons I read the comic was it was on my update schedule; there weren’t really any special moments or elements that stood out and encouraged me to review the strip after the initial review.
This saddens me as the notable event that has finally drawn a Secant from me is cartoonist Laura Knatt’s decision to wrap up the comic with Taiki’s graduation from high school. While Knatt originally intended on the storyline continuing past high school, her decision to end things here make sense. The comic first began when Taiki started school (though I don’t recall if she was in her Junior or Senior year; she was sixteen, so it seems likely the comic went through a couple years of school). Thematically, ending things now creates a proper sense of closure for the strip.
If there’s one problem that Taiki suffered from, it would be the diffuse nature of the strip. The comic accurately portrayed the lack of purpose that many teenagers in high school suffer from… but when telling a story, it’s helpful to have a clear objective in mind. The lack of a significant plotline resulted in the comic drifting from story to story without leaving a true impact. This isn’t to say the comic wasn’t enjoyable; it is (and worth reading even as it has ended). But while the comic touches upon several elements including a young lesbian’s realization of who and what she is, it failed to impart much emotion into these revelations.
