Great power comes at great cost and it also attracts the attention of those who look to keep the users from realizing their full potential.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Oh!Great
Translation/Adaptation: Christine Dashiell
What They Say
The confrontation between the Juken Club and the Executive Council enters a brand-new phase. With only a month to go until the Imperial Martial Arts Tournament, Soichiro continues his intense training. But what good is all that sweat and pain if Soichiro can’t figure out what he’s truly fighting for? The appearance of the mysterious group known as “F” might help him get a clue – if they don’t kill him first!
Then a rescue mission to Kyushu to save Mouki, the last survivor of the Enmi family, puts everything on the line in an epic battle that will decide things for Soichiro one way or the other!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
There is an old saying that nothing worth having comes easy and in the case of the new members of the Juken club even working beyond what they think they are capable of may not allow them to reach their goals. After hearing the tale of tragedy that occurred two years previous Soichiro and Bob have dedicated themselves as never before to the task of becoming worthy of their membership in the Juken club and look to be ready to do anything to improve themselves-even if it might kill them in the process.
That dedication is important- particularly the idea of even if it kills them- because it turns out that may just be the case as they discover just how connected the Executive Council is and how skilled in ability if not disciplined in following orders some of the extended members of the Council’s offshoots are. Mitsumi’s family has long held a seat of power among some historically very gifted families and there are those who serve under him who are determined to see his rise in the dark underworld they manipulate come to fruition at any cost. And once Mitsumi leaves the school it is believed by many of his followers that a new age of power will be born that will bring them power and glory and even he may not be able to control those who would act in what they think is his behalf.
That cost to keep Mitsumi’s ambitions in check is going to be paid in blood and one of the main targets is Soichiro and everyone involved feels he has a hidden talent- a feeling that is found true by the revelation that he is from a blood line renown in the hidden circles for its supernatural powers. As assassins from a group known as “F” come for Soichiro the secret of these hidden families comes to life as the older heads of the clans who were displaced by their children try to train Soichiro in the hope he can prevent a future tragedy but his lack of current strength will endanger him as well as his friends.
Things turn exceptionally nasty however when members of “F” decide they need to try to limit the Juken club’s power as much as they can. “F” sets off and launches an assault on a family whose very existence may help the Juken fighters focus and control their abilities- something that “F” feels they cannot allow under any circumstance. As members of the Juken team ignore Maya’s orders and split their forces and head off to Kyushu in the hope of helping a new ally they will find that there may be both more to “F” and the behind the scenes interplay and goals than they thought. They will also discover the limits of their power when they come across an incredibly gifted and incredibly twisted member of “F” who is willing to go to any lengths to seize his goal and he cares nothing for the human lives he leaves in his wake.
With this fifth collected volume the series hits just about the half point in its twenty one volume long run and to mark the occasion it brings a whole lot of the series strengths up to a new level but it also opens up a few weaknesses. One of the strengths that gets amped up is the humor as the introduction of two members of the Juken club who have been part of the club for years but who were just being introduced to the readers in the flashback allows Oh!Great to throw in some parodies as well as some additional raunchy humor which he really excels at.
Also on the strengths front the action is definitely cranked up as the fights get more brutal but the flip side to the coin comes into play as now with the supernatural element added in an even greater helping the split with realism becomes even more pronounced. This might not be a problem for everyone but I can imagine some might decide this is where they might decide to “check out” of the series as it looks to be going down a rather stereotypical path with some events.
And if that break doesn’t cause people to check out, a particularly nasty torture scene within might. Since the very first chapter Oh!Great has shown that he is extremely capable when it comes to drawing naked flesh and very willing to do so on the drop of a hat. In this volume that is turned in a fairly dark way as one character is tortured in a very sexual manner which has a very real chance of turning some readers with the level of brutality that he showed he was capable of early on in the series but held back a bit on- at least when it came to actually drawing the events.
Not so much here however and that the whole part of this arc feels a bit “off”- like it exist just to unbalance the reader with events like that. This make it feel less like what has come before and more like some sort of event that exists mostly for the shock it can try to elicit from the reader. Still, despite some flaws that come flooding in the relationship the reader has developed with the characters will be the determining factor as to whether these new events are make or break for them. For those on the fence this may be the final straw but for those who are really invested and enjoy what they have gotten from the series so far it may be more of a speed bump than major impediment to the series, and some may not see it as a problem at all.
In Summary
Volume five of the collected series arrives and with it any doubts of the “M” rating for the series will be cast aside forever. How this plays depends greatly on how one has reacted to the previous scenes in the stories and alone they (probably) won’t be the deciding factor. What might be the deciding factor though is the introduction of a new team of adversaries who set out to protect Mitsumi from the Juken club and the somewhat generic nature of them, particularly those who mirror some other character’s abilities and will force the Juken club to rely on some help from some new, and not terribly original in origin, characters. The series took a turn after the flashback and this continuation down the path plays more than a little heavy for a series supposedly focusing on (and around) high school students and their school feels more and more like a stretch but the continuation of some of the fanservice and the detailed fights may keep even those who feel the plot has derailed coming back for more.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade: B
Readers Rating: [ratings]
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: February 21st, 2012
MSRP: $17.99
