Gangsters and spirits abound in this latest volume!
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Akihisa Ikeda
Translation: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
English Adaptation: Annette Roman
What They Say:
Rescue Mission
When your would-be rescuers are themselves in need of rescuing, draw on…
A. Their unconscious faces
B. A trust fund
C. Your inner strength
Content:
Though they were once friends in the distant past, Fangfang is now forced to face Xilong in combat. Unfortunately for Fangfang he’s still atrocious at summoning, while his former friend is a master at stylishly summoning gun/plant hybrids in order to mow down his foes. As Yukari learned how to summon during their training, however, she is able to lead a counterattack. This simply serves to make Fangfang feel even more useless, leaving him to stare dumbstruck as the pair engage each other in a summoning battle. However, as Yukari is unused to summoning, the battle soon takes a toll on her body and leaves her unable to fight. Furious at his own inadequacy and the prospect of Yukari’s death, Fangfang leaps into battle, proving that even though he isn’t much of a summoner, he’s a master martial artist. By combining this newfound strength with the power Yukari has left, the pair is able to succeed over Xilong. Their victory turns bittersweet, however, when they learn that Xilong was forced to cooperate with Fairy Tale by the mysterious “Masked King” who created both Miao and Fairy Tale. Just as it appears that Xilong and Fangfang will be able to rekindle their friendship, the Branch Leader Yuki Gairen steps in and collapses the room, burying everyone inside under the rubble.
Upon advancing further into the headquarters, Tsukune and company run into Miyabi, who claims to be acting as their ally. They are hesitant to trust him after what he did to them in the past, but are left with little choice when Kiria appears and forces Tsukune and Ruby through a portal. On the other side, our hero is faced once more with Kuyo, who threatens to kill him once and for all. Meanwhile, Kiria moves to kill the remaining girls, but Miyabi steps in to protect them, sending them on ahead in the process. Kuyo proves to be an even more powerful enemy than before, but when he makes the mistake of declaring Fangfang and Yukari dead, Tsukune snaps and lets forth his full power. Tsukune proceeds to crush the monstrous fox, and a second wave of help arrives at Fairy Tale headquarters.
As the volume comes to a close, Kuyo moves to trap Tsukune and Ruby in the dimensional void, and Kurumu and Mizore do their best to stand up to Aqua’s immense power in order to save the Outer Moka.
In Summary:
Once more, the series provides another great volume in this climactic arc. Tsukune and Fangfang take the center stage here, with Fangfang in particular getting some much appreciated character development. Not only that, but Kurumu and Mizore get a great, brutal battle at the tail end of the volume as well. Add in plenty of intense action and some nice callbacks to previous volumes, and you have a fantastic entry into the series. The only real disappointment here is the way Miyabi is used, but hopefully the next volume will serve to flesh out the character and his motivations further. Either way, this arc continues to build up to what is certain to be a stunning finish.
Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: A-
Package Rating: A-
Text/Translation Rating: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released by: Viz Media
Release Date: March 5th, 2013
MSRP: $9.99