Nozomu and Natsuki team up to take Soichiro down!
Creative Staff
Story: Rinko Ueda
Art: Rinko Ueda
Translation/Adaptation: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
What They Say
Pronouncing Sumi and Soichiro’s marriage superficial, Nozomu becomes even more dogged in his quest to make Sumi his. As Nozomu teams up with Natsuki to bring Soichiro down, Soichiro finds his carefully arranged life unraveling before his very eyes…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Despite his original resolve, Soichiro is warming up to Sumi, and although it is infuriating how he alternates between hot and cold toward her, Sumi/Soichiro fans will have a lot to squeal about in this volume. There’s a tender moment when he makes up with Sumi using wedding rings, and he even gets hurt protecting her shojo-hero style. I thought that would be plenty of fluffiness for one volume, but then Ueda-sensei tops it off with a skin-baring bedroom scene that will likely leave readers delighted and frustrated at the same time.
It’s a sharp contrast to the Miu/Nozomu marriage. We’ve got a number of demented-eye close-ups in this installment, and most of those belong to either Miu or Nozomu. Nozomu has definitely gone off the deep end in his obsession with Sumi. When he slyly teams up with Natsuki against Soichiro, I expected him to be cool and sneaky in his efforts to make Sumi his. Not so, as everything he does after that is as subtle as a maddened bull in a china shop. Given his behavior, it’s perplexing that his public reputation hasn’t yet suffered while Miu’s social position suffers a mortal blow. Little wonder she’s going nuts.
You can’t help but feel sorry for Miu. When you think about it, her circumstances aren’t so different from Sumi’s. Neither truly chose to be in their marriages, but both do their best to endear themselves to their respective husbands. But unlike Sumi, who only has to contend with Soichiro’s nebulous “you are never to love me” order, Miu has a living, breathing target for her frustration and anger. Misplaced as it is, her hatred of Sumi never comes off as villainous, and her violent reaction to Nozomu’s announcement at their party is very believable. Although she’s being swept aside for now, I have a feeling she’ll show up again.
Speaking of people showing up again, Komai’s back in butler uniform and running around Ashida Products – but for a new master. Despite his curt attitude toward Soichiro, I get the feeling he’s still on his side, and I’m quite intrigued as to what his game is. In the meantime, it’s amusing to watch Keiko ask Komai what he’s scheming.
In Summary
Things are looking up in Sumi’s marriage, but Miu’s is crashing and burning. Having learned Sumi’s marriage is for show, Nozomu doesn’t care who he hurts or what he has to do to make her his, and there’s melodrama in spades as the casualties of his scheming come crashing down.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: July 5th, 2011
MSRP: $9.99