STORY
This volume has it all! Rousing action! Plot twists galore! But most importantly, it has a ton of new characters running around who all wear the same clothes who will make you think to yourself... "Who is that again? Have I seen them before? Why did this random guy just make that decision? Oh, right. We were introduced to him a couple of chapters ago before he disappeared!" I thought this was a great volume, there were just too many characters running around that I didn't know, which lead me to be confused throughout a lot of the dramatic moments.
But oh, how dramatic they were.
The moments where I did know what was going on, I was stuck to that book with a solid coat of Gorilla Glue. Not even the second coming of Jesus Christ himself could've torn me away from the action on the page. This volume holds the epic and emotional conclusion to the Alya Academy arc, and make sure you have a stick with you, because by the time it finishes, you'll need one to prop your jaw back up.
As much as it sounds by that first paragraph that I didn't like this volume, that isn't the case. Story-wise, this has been my favorite arc so far. Character-wise... That's a different story.
ART & PRESENTATION
Every panel in this volume must have taken ages to draw. The detail, the backgrounds, the characters' expressions... Everything is flawless. I'll include my favorites below, but there's going to be a lot more than two this time.
Yen Press presentation is spot on this time. The colors are bold, the translation is smooth, the spines line up nicely, and there's a few bonus pages with alternate cover art, which is new.
CHARACTERS
Well, my only issue with this volume lies here. There are simply too many new characters thrown in that don't get enough individual character traits for me to tell them all apart. The only new character I really care about is Shijima, mostly because the plot twist involving her was crazy and also cemented hes as a character here to stay.
The main cast got a ton of development this volume. Standouts include Kouichi (holy crap, that twist) and Yoite. Every character is near and dear to the reader, and that's exactly how it should be. My only complaint was Raikou pointing out that he was feeling like comic relief, which was out of place feeling.
FINAL VERDICT
This volume was insane. The twists and turns of the story, the characterization of or main cast, and the phenomenal art all came together for a great end to the Alya arc. Too bad there were too many secondary characters. Plus/minus!
+ Stunning art
+ Game-changing plot twists
+ Excellent finale to the current arc
+ Great characterization for the main cast...
- But too many secondary characters lead to confusion during key scenes
A- - BUY IT
Phenomenal volume. Seriously. I cannot wait to see where the series goes from here.
(I don't own Nabari no Ou. All rights go to the author, Yuhki Kamatani, and the licensing company, Yen Press).
No comments:
Post a Comment