About the Mangaka
Iwahara Yuji is the master mind behind Koudelka, which remains unlicensed , and also for Chikyu Misaki, licensed by CMX. He also helped with character designs in the Darker than Black anime.
About the Manga
I liked this volume, despite it going the route I thought it would. But it was done in a rather fun way that made the cliché all the more palatable.
I liked the cover of this volume, even if she does look a little on the tubby side heheh. Like the other though it does feel a bit skimpy, and I think a darker background colour would have made it stand out all the better.
The insert colour panel is cute, and I like it, not really a lot more to be said on that. I love cats and Yuji has done them really well.
Sadly the first few colour pages aren’t that good. Rather Yumi looks a bit weird. I think that part of the problem is the same reason I don’t really love the covers. The colouring feels, and looks like it was done by computer, and has a inflexible feel to it. The colours don’t blend really well, and feels rigid and stagnant.
Once we get into the volume properly we get Yuji’s trademark art style. I found I really didn’t mind it this volume, since we’re finally getting to the meat of the story.
The art isn’t bad, and I have to admit I do like the way certain characters have been drawn, but the art also lacks something his other works have.
The story gets a bit clichéd in this volume, and the assumption I made about the first volume is proved right, but I do like the way it unfolds. Though I do have to wonder about him revealing the entire plot right now. This volume is the halfway mark, and we get given the who, what and why in what appears to be full. This makes me wonder if we’re basically going to get two volumes of one big fight.
If that’s the case I’d be disappointed, since I still think this series could turn into something pretty decent.
I also have my suspicions about Yumi and Kansuke, and while I’ve always had them this volume brought them to mind again and made them firm in my mind. I’m really looking forward to seeing how they turn out.
The same can be said for the others in the group, they also have several interesting bits that was revealed this volume. It certainly has got me interested in the next volume at least.
Yen Press do a pretty good job with this release, a nice and smooth translation, some excellent font use and only minimal guttering. Though once or twice I had to bend it a bit further than I like.
I doubt I’ll ever add this to my Essential Read list, but its a fairly decent series. Though no where near Yuji’s best. I wonder if he peaked with Koudelka.
Where to Buy
