The darkness grows.
Creative Staff:
Story: Kevin Panetta
Art: Paulina Ganucheau
What They Say:
They saved the world two years ago, but when a new, monstrous threat arises, can they put aside their differences and become a team again? Hopefully they can; otherwise team leader Emma, who’s been infected by an evil magical force, is a goner! Will the Zodiac Starforce reunite and enter the dark realm of Nephos to save their captain, or will a fierce rivalry on the volleyball court tear them apart?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Zodiac Starforce gave us an interesting first issue in a way that a lot of series really avoid doing, or when they do it they do it in such a poor way that it’s a turnoff. Giving us our introduction to the story, concept, and characters after they’ve finished the big fight and aren’t sure what to do anymore is an interesting area to explore. There’s a lot of history that can be mined, but what it does is give it some weight if handled properly enough because it’s not all about the learning the ropes thing together. And since they’re riffing the magical girl squad here in a big way, well, most of us already know the basics of that genre and repeating them would just be boring for the potential crossover audience side of things if they want to draw in anime and manga fans.
With this installment, things are certainly a bit familiar for those fans as we get a lot of standard first-half of an anime episode character material. With the group dealing with the fallout from the party and what may be going on with Emma, it works well to show the way the dynamic works now that everyone is a bit more on speaking terms after drifting for awhile. It’s not completely back on track, though mostly because Emma is secretly struggling with what’s going on and is doing her best to avoid thinking about it. Which is always a recipe for disaster. The book does some nice reinforcement of the bad girl Diana and her group, including that Alice is definitely a part of it now and hotter looking than ever as a part of it. The general dynamic between the two groups is expected and a bit blunt yet there’s that ring of truth to it. The amusing piece that comes into play is the way Savi is spending more of her time with new friend Lily, with a less than subtle bit of potential romance in the air. Romance that her boyfriend is oblivious to since he’s either annoyed at having to go to a volleyball game or frustrated by Savi’s seemingly regular lashing out at him as a way to push him away.
Naturally, into any magical girl story where sports are involved there must be an attack from the bad guys. We get a fairly basic piece here in a sense with nameless monsters appearing due to Diana’s apparent beckoning after finding her authority on the volleyball team subverted by Molly and Kim and this leads to a decent action sequence that kind of helps to get everyone back in the groove. They’ve missed it and it’s becoming more apparent that this is an area where they feel alive. But it also segues into a piece later with the fallout from it as we see just how badly Emma has been hit with what’s ailing her, which caused her to underperform in the fight. It’s another nice bit of team bonding, something that we get several instances of in this issue, and it sets the stage for some really bad things to come because it’s made clear that if they don’t act she’s going to die. But to act means putting the world in danger. What’s a girl to do?
In Summary:
Zodiac Starforce moves right along here with what it wants to do and I can easily see this as a standard length anime episode. Which is both good and bad because it follows the structure that provides familiarity but also locks it into certain things. I like that the issue spends most of its time with the girls just being teenagers and dealing with the social interactions, school side, and sports side of it – both on the court and as supporters. The action element is nicely done for how short it is, transformation sequence included, and we get some good hints at what’s to come. I’m really curious to see how far Savi is taking things with Lily since it feels like a hard push to a fast relationship, teenage-style, while also bringing in some reveals that could be dangerous depending on who Lily really is. All in all a solid issue even if it does feel like they’re moving fast to get to certain points.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: September 30th, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
