Wrapping things up and moving on
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Daisuke Ashihara
Translation: Lillian Olsen
What They Say
With only seven seconds left until the crossroads, time is running out. Black Triggers face off as Miwa activates Fujin to bring the invasion to an end. But did they really escape the worst possible future?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Following up on last time, we join Osamu in the midst of his desperate final charge. It is pretty cool seeing everyone give it their all to make their plan work, and there’s even a clever trick or two played in the process. And in one last push, Replica sacrifices himself to bring the fight to a close. It’s not terrible, but it’s not an especially powerful emotional beat, and it’s also undermined a tad when it turns out later that he’s totally still alive, but they’ll of course need to get him back later. But yeah, the battle comes to its end, and after a little bit of wrap-up the arc is essentially concluded.
It’s then that we get a surprisingly neat little chapter digging into Osamu’s past. It’s all done in first person which makes it unique from the start, and it also does a lot to subtly flesh out his character. After this we waste time essentially recapping the battle results of who did what, as well as what rewards they earned, which is kind of eh. But after that Osamu gets another moment to shine, as he’s taken to a press conference where Netsuki is blatantly trying to use some trickery to throw him under the bus in order to save Border’s reputation. However, Osamu uses the opportunity he’s granted to talk back, and he does a wonderful job of showing off his convictions. It’s a powerful moment of a different sort than all the fighting that’s been the focus lately, and it’s pretty cool to see.
And from then on, the rest of the volume goes to setting up the next arc, which is the B-rank wars. The idea is that the various teams within Border’s B-rank are to combat one another in what amounts to a huge tournament, with the “winners” earning the chance to rank up, which is important for being considered for away missions. But at least this time around, it’s pretty much just a chance for Chika and Yuma to shine a little at the end of the volume, since Osamu took center stage for the most part this time around.
In Summary
This volume actually aims for something a little different, largely focusing on fleshing out Osamu’s character. There are two amazing moments in particular that feel masterfully done, and they really do pack some oomph. And what little action we do get here is of course exciting, though there’s not a lot of it. On the other hand, a lot of the book is used on wrapping up one arc and setting up the next one. This can get more than a little slow, and some of it hits the level of a pure information dump, which is disappointing. In all, though, the good points shine through enough to make for a solid read, even if it’s not a high point, so be sure to give it a read if you’ve been enjoying the series thus far.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: May 3rd, 2016
MSRP: $9.99
