Eyes bigger than the stomach.
Creative Staff
Story: HaccaWorks*
Art: nanao
Translation/Adaptation: Jocelyn Allen
What They Say
After learning that Yoshiki, the person who saved Tsubaki’s life, is inside him, Yue is shocked by the fact that he “ate” Yoshiki. While the shrine takes steps to keep Yue confined in preparation for the Meal, Kurogitsune plays his cards close to his chest, resolving to take action… Meanwhile, Sagano incites Akiyoshi to put out the light at the entrance to the shrine. Once there, Akiyoshi, with Tsubaki at his side, makes a decision–! The motives of ayakashi and the humans intersect, but where will that leave Yue and his friends…?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Kurogitsune, the small black fox who has been Yue’s constant companion, is the one to finally come clean about the meal. We already had pieced together much of this information before, but it’s also obvious that Kurogitsune still isn’t telling Yue the entire truth. Yue can’t remember anything since before waking up after the last meal he ‘ate.’ His first memory is Kurogitsune waking up in the shrine. That seems to suggest Yue was a different person before.
Which leads me to question the attitudes of the others in the shrine. The priest comments on Kuro becoming attached to Shin’s host. They remained concerned about Yue after he flees the shrine with Kuro, but it doesn’t seem to be a concern for him as a person. If Yue doesn’t eat, Shin’s soul dies with him, and Shin’s soul maintains the shadow of night over the town which allows the ayakashi to eat at will. It’s literally a matter of life or death for them. Whatever fondness they have for Yue is secondary to his role in maintaining their lifestyle.
It’s not only that attitude which paints them in an even darker light in this volume. Desperation leads to the residents of the shrine taking Tsubaki hostage when the boys arrive to check on Yue, who they haven’t seen in days. They don’t realize that Yue had run away from home to visit them after he was told he was too weak to leave. Tsubaki is the likely choicest meal for a hungry ayakashi, and clearly who they want Yue to eat, but I’m still not entirely sure that Yue is a pure ayakashi. To complicate matters, it seems that ayakashi don’t really need to eat people. After all, Kuro hasn’t made a meal of a human and he has no problem maintaining his life force. Eating too many people turns an ayakashi into a monster, a problem Shin was well aware of.
Akiyoshi, who has mostly wavered between his father’s wishes and his own, finally succumbs to doing Sagano’s bidding. It feels justified, Tsubaki and his life were threatened and that meant it was time for a counterattack. However, Sagano is just as bloodthirsty as the manic monsters roaming the town. Sagano’s personal reasons for attacking the shrine mean that many innocents could get hurt in the process.
Yue he has no idea his friends are in mortal danger from his family. Kuro is torn between wanting Yue to be healthy and to stay who he is, and Kuro’s duty to the shrine. He’s been a cute sidekick up until now, and to see him struggle with his own demons (some physical) and desires is rough.
In Summary
Kurogitsune starts to have second thoughts about what Yue should do. Once again the question becomes to eat or not to eat. Yue’s shrine family are beginning to lose patience, and in their haste, they may have doomed themselves. Akiyoshi moves to rescue his captured friend, firmly deciding that the shrine is not on his side. Yet Sagano is no saint. It’s becoming tougher to tell which side is out to do more harm. It’s either Yue’s life or one of his friend’s, and time to choose is running out.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: B +
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: December 13th, 2016
MSRP: $12.99
