** spoiler alert ** With The Light is the story of Sachiko Azuma and her family and their lives including the adorable Hikaru, an autistic boy. The story is touching and clever and brings sad tears, over joyed tears and frustrated tears easily to the eye.

The Azuma family have moved into the house of Hikaru's paternal grandmother (Masato's mum) with a smoother transition than expected in the case of Hikaru. It is Sachiko who struggles with a mother-in-law who can never give her a passing grade. After meeting the writer, Ryoumou, grandma Azuma returns home with dreams of Hikaru having a hidden artistic talent.

Long before I even purchased this volume I learned that the creator died before she could finish the series in the way she originally wanted to. I had hoped to read the series through until Hikaru became a happy working adult (a dream for the future Sachiko has for her son in volume one) but unfortunately Tobe-sensei was unable to last that long. She did manage to storyboard two more chapters before passing away, and Yen Press have included these in this final volume for her fans to enjoy. These storyboarded pages bring us to a nice conclusion which resonates well with the opening.

Sachiko seemed a little more down on herself in this final volume, though it is understandable considering her mother in law, I'm just used to her being a bit more plucky. I did love in the storyboarded pages however that she was going to start building a 'Sunshine House' of her own in her new area with some friends. This was such a wonderful note to end on.

So, while I'm disappointed I only get to imagine Hikaru as a happy working adult, I'm still happy with the ending.

Even though she will never have the opportunity to know this, I want to thank Tobe-sensei from the bottom of my heart for writing this magnificent series. It has taught me so much and made me so happy.

I recommend this book/series to lovers of manga, anyone who wants to try manga but wants to start with something great and anyone interested in the tale of raising an autistic child.

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There are also two follow up stories at the end that were originally published before Tobe-sensei began work on With The Light.

The first one, 'Thank-you Sensei' tells the story of substitute teacher Hiromi Yamamoto and her students and the upheaval when she is forced out of her position as teacher. This story makes me think Tobe-sensei must have a passion for teaching since it plays such an important role in this tale and With The Light.

The second is a bittersweet tale of a grumpy old man meeting a lively young boy and while we can all see the boy warming the old mans heart the end and method are different to the usual way this tale is told. I love whne the little boy referenced chikorita (the pokemon).