Since Be Forever was the first new high-profile feature film since Farewell to Yamato two years earlier, every effort was made for it to surpass its predecessor. It didn’t quite accomplish this in terms of the quantity of books published, but the quality, creativity, and variety more than made up for it.
Despite the smash success of Be Forever, Office Academy hit a rough patch that forced a transition to Westcape Corporation. The fact that all this was roiling in the background makes it even more amazing that these works not only upheld but even surpassed the high quality of previous publishing projects.
Hio’s Be Forever was based on a script that had not yet been edited for film production. So once again, the manga captures a version of the story that didn’t make it all the way to movie theaters. This turned out to be the hidden jewel in an adaptation that otherwise offers little variance from the source.
