Creative Staff
Story/Art: Kumiko Suekane
Translation/Adaptation: Camellia Nieh
What They Say
ELIZABETH I (1533–1603)
Elizabeth I was an English Queen. The second daughter of Henry VIII, Elizabeth’s royal standing was called into question for a period of time following her mother’s execution. At the age of 25 she succeeded the throne after the death of her sister Mary I. Her appointment was warmly welcomed by her subjects. Under her reign, England defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588, achieving a major advancement in the nation’s international standing. The country enjoyed great industrial, economic and cultural prosperity during Elizabeth’s rule, and the period is often considered a golden age. Elizabeth never married and was consequently known as the “Virgin Queen.”
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
I have to keep reminding myself that Afterschool Charisma is at it’s heart a mystery, and I can’t expect it to be a serious discussion on the morality of cloning. It wants to pretend it is, but between the fanservice and absurdity the series can’t pull it off. They science as portrayed in the story is silly, shaky and doesn’t even make a hell of a lot of sense. As of this volume that subject of natural twins still hasn’t been brought up. Common sense seems to be lacking in the universe of this manga, so I’m finally going to stop fighting it and just go with the flow.
Kai finished telling his story that reveals the entire sordid history of his generation of clones. We discover exactly what the buyers of the students had in store from them, and it turns out that those motives are all quite terrible and disturbing. Joan of Arc’s fate is particularly gross and shocking. Kai and his fellow clones are tasked with keeping dibs on the whereabouts and condition of the students. After the death of that generations Hitler-clone, they start to question the fate of the rest, who are all suffering from their lot in life.
That’s when the Kai with the scar takes matters of fate into his own hands and becomes something of a cleaner for St. Kleio Academy. The origin of the organization seeking to ‘free’ the student clones makes sense, even if Kai’s logic is far from sound. He goes through all of the same conversations that the current students have about fate and destiny, duty and identity. His natural conclusion is a broken, skewed logic that reeks of desperation and anger over the cards life dealt him.
Meanwhile, the current students don’t seem to be as shocked about the history as they aught to be. They act as though they are being put to some test of wills or morality, and the Kai with the scar promises that they are all failures doomed to share their predecessor’s fate before making a break for it.
Despite all of the clones and and multiple Kai’s running around, I didn’t have trouble following which character was which. The author keeps the two groups carefully segregated to the present day or flashbacks, outside of one instance where the two lead Kai’s interact with the first generation Elizabeth. Still, a flowchart might help keep track of who is currently alive or dead in future volumes.
Shiro, after all that he has discovered about the past and potentially himself, simply wants to tell his father that he’s grateful for having a normal upbringing. He is the living proof of nurture over nature, if what Kai claims about him being a clone of the same source is true. That’s when this volume really gets interesting.
We still don’t know much about Dr. Kamiya. I have my suspicions about his existence, but they might just be coincidences of artwork. He’s been distant and almost dismissive of events surrounding his son. It’s great to see someone finally laying into Rockswell, and for it to be Kamiya just makes it ever better. The ending of this volume promises that more violence is likely in the near future, but I’m just hoping that Kamiya opens up and explains some things to Shiro, and us, next volume.
In Summary
Afterschool Charisma continues to tell a sordid tale of a group of kids trapped in a deadly spiral of fate, destiny, and free will. It’s an interesting mystery that’s developed, and now that we know the who and why of the mystery assassin’s, the mystery falls back on to Shiro and what role he has to play in this. Is he the one who’s supposed to ultimately declare that everyone has free will? If he is, he’s taking his sweet time. Hopefully Dr. Kamiya will have some secrets to share next volume.
Content Grade: B +
Art Grade: B +
Packaging Grade: B +
Text/Translation Grade: B
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: July 10th, 2012
MSRP: $12.99
