Many thanks to Yen Press for providing a review copy.

About the Mangaka

This time around I was able to find something out about them :)

JiSang Shin and Geo are actually a couple (as in they live together), and they collaborated on the project, with Geo doing the art, and Shin doing the story.

About the Manga

chocolat_7

*sigh* what a depressing volume this was.

While it’s true that I wasn’t having high hopes for this volume, I was disappointed at how it played out

I really wish Geo would be more consistent with his art, it goes from good to bad faster than traffic lights changing colours.

That’s not to say his art is all bad, because it isn’t. In fact several times his art really does impress me in this volume. However as I said in my previous review the good parts only highlight how bad the rest of it is.

Nothing showcases this better than the little chapter at the beginning, done in full colour and looks awesome; probably the best bits of art in the entire volume. However after that it’s almost as if he just didn’t care anymore, and it slowly gets worse and worse.

JiSang once again is left with the burden of carrying the volume, and I have to admit that initially he does a good job of it. I found the interactions more fun and flexible than in the previous volume, so there was little pressure on him compared to previous volumes.

However later in the volume things take a turn for the worse. The sudden change of story is to fast, and a bit disappointing. While a change was expected, I thought the way it was handled was really bad and could have been handled a lo better.

This sudden change spoils the rest of the volume since it destroys the feeling and atmosphere it’s been building up. While it’s true that the change was expected, and some elements of it show that some thought had gone into it; it also shows how rushed it was to get it into the volume. As a result it feels like a lot of build up is missing, as well as some after effects and emotional scenes.

Sadly this is the last Chocolat volume from Yen Press for a while, as this is the last volume that was originally licensed by IceK. While Yen are trying to re-license the series, as well as other series that are incomplete in the IceK line-up, there’s been no answer as of yet.

As I’ve come to expect from Yen, this is a good quality release, the colour pages left intact and on glossy pages. The translation is smooth and consistent, and no major guttering problems. There’s no real extras in this volume, just a few pages of ads for other titles and the credits page.

I think it’s pretty obvious this isn’t going on my Essential Read List, it’s not bad enough to go on my Junk Pile list though. However it’s just to damned inconsistent in art and story to really be considered an Essential Read.

Where to Buy

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