It may be too late for Mion and Shion to live happily ever after, but will either of them survive long enough to see the error of their ways?
Creative Staff
Story: RYUKISHI07
Art: Yutori Houjyou
Translation/Adaptation: Alethea Nibley and Athena Nibley
What They Say
One year after his disappearance, the police are no closer to finding Satoshi or solving his aunt’s murder, and Shion is quickly running out of patience. Dressing alternately as “Shion” and “Mion,” she positions herself as close to Keiichi as possible. Given that he too entered the forbidden Saiguden with this year’s victims, Shion suspects he will be the next to be “demoned away.” Shion hopes her actions will spur on the true murderer, so that when the serial killer does attack Keiichi, she will be ready.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Bat Shit Crazy Town, next stop!
Shion’s pure hatred for her clan and the people of Hinamizawa has never been more evident than her viscious murder of her grandmother. Followed by no remorse when Shion tosses the corpse into the pit in the Sonozaki torture cavern. This lack of remorse shows me that Shion has completely lost it, not to mention the fact she imprisoned Mion so she could take her place in hopes of learning what the Sonozaki’s are up to. At this point, Shion will stop at nothing to find out what happened to Satoshi, and if he was murdered, who did it. Furthermore, Shion doesn’t believe Mion was innocent in Satoshi’s disappearance.
Shion isn’t just out to discover Satoshi’s condition, but she also has to protect herself from Hinamizawa and Oyashiro’s curse. Shion entered the forbidden temple with Keiichi, Miyo Takano, and Jirou Tomitake on the night of the Cotton Drifting Festival. Takano and Tomitake have already fallen to the curse, leaving Keiichi and Shion as the next likely victims. Now Shion has to keep the town guessing as to why her grandmother doesn’t take visitors, and she has to stay in character whenever she masquerades as Mion. Shion interacting with people as herself and then pretending to be Mion in the next scene is only asking for trouble. I really don’t think she can keep this up for long without making a mistake that will tip people off to the truth.
Throughout all this, the artist does an excellent job depicting all of Shion’s emotions; fear, surprise, anger, rage, uncertainty, including a two-page closeup of her enraged eyes in chapter 14. Whew, scared me just to look at it. To be blunt, Shion is on an emotional roller coaster.
Eventually, Shion breaks down at the realization that Satoshi is dead. She believes he has been thrown down the same well that she threw her grandmothers body down. Shion even seems to have a conversation with Satoshi’s spirit. But for the reader, it is difficult to tell whether or not this is real since Shion seems to have completely lost her sanity. Although, this realization seems to give Shion some peace of mind as it gives her a clear goal. Find Satoshi’s killer and kill him.
In Summary
I’m really torn between feeling sorry for Shion or Mion in this arc. In the beginning, it seemed clear that Shion had gotten the shaft. Shion had to move to another town and attend another school and live in their dorms. While it seemed Mion was the golden child, enjoying all the benefits that came with being the next to succeed the Sonozaki family. But at this point, Mion has become the tragic figure that has endured the weight of ruling the family. Things got even more confusing when Shion imprisoned her sister and murdered their grandmother. While I can understand why Shion would be driven to this point, it still seems that Mion loves her sister, even going through the same kind of fingernail ripping torture that Shion had endure to atone for her crimes against the Sonozaki’s.
At this point, for me, if Mion was in on Satoshi’s murder, then Shion has the right to be seeking out her vengeance the way she is. However, if Mion knew nothing about Satoshi’s murder, and the curse of Oyashiro is actually real, then Shion has gone too far and it becomes easier to cheer for Mion. Albeit, Mion hasn’t been seen for awhile, so maybe she is already dead. Either way, the next and final volume of this arc should be real good!
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: A-
Age Rating: Older Teen
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: June 21st, 2011
MSRP: $11.99
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