The end is here- and if the members of Z-Loan can’t rise to the occasion it will be the end of everything that is, was or ever will be.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Peach-Pit
Translation/Adaptation: Christine Dashiell
What They Say
Chika and Shito may have escaped the clutches of the video game they were cast into by Kanro’s tactics, but they still have yet to save their princess! Grasping Michiru’s true identity as a “singularity” – an existence created to bring the world to an end – Chika and Shito throw all caution to the wind and turn their attentions to the rescue of their friends. Along the way, hidden truths about the identities of Yuuta, Shiba, and Shujji are revealed, and each proves himself a major player in this moving and action packed finale!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Thanks to Bekkou, Chika and Shito now know the truth behind Micharu’s existence but just as she makes an appearance with Shiba in the midst of a storm she created she suddenly vanishes, plucked away by the work of the committee. Life isn’t made any easier either by the appearance of Bekkou’s sister Kanro who carries with her a hatred for her brother and a peculiar habit which may spell new chains for a member of Z Loan.
And Kanro isn’t the only startling appearance as a familiar face appears and brings along with them a number of new keys to events as well as some spectacular secrets of their own. With his motley crew assembled Bekkou will explain to those in attendance about how Michiru came into existence through a secret program known as the Eliza Project- a program designed to create children who shouldn’t be and are thus are outside the paths written in the Akashic Records.
When the secret plot is reveled about the reason for the Eliza project is known will it motivate this group to risk everything that they are, were and ever were to be into action or is the plan in motion simply too great for them to fight? With existence and reality on the line, hard choices will have to be made and some will have to pay a price unlike any other if anyone hopes to survive the end of everything. But if they do save reality, what comes after…?
The final volume of Zombie Loan pays off the recent story arc in a rather big way, though it isn’t exactly the most original ending and it feels like it doesn’t line up quite as well with the beginning of the series. The coming up with a Biblical tie in for the project feels a bit like the story is trying to be as big as Evangelion was but that it also lacks some of careful construct throughout the that series did as well and parts feel like they were created almost ad hoc.
It isn’t exactly bad, but given where the story began the change in focus seems to undervalue some of what has come before, which the lack of appearance of some formally important characters also reiterates. In the afterword Peach-Pit talks a bit how the series had been running over eight years and one can’t help but wonder if maybe a tighter, more focused schedule might not have produced a work that feels a bit more fluid and organic rather than one that gives the appearance of being rushed at the end.
Still, it is was an enjoyable ride and even if the end doesn’t finish in the way that I might have liked the journey is definitely one I enjoyed undertaking and one I may do so again in the future with a re-read. As an added bonus, the presence of eight color illustrations certainly is enough to make this volume a major temptation even for those who may not feel as connected to the current arc but want to bask in some full color Peach-Pit greatness.
In Summary
The end of Zombie Loan is here and the end of everything maybe coming with it as well when the secret machinations of a small group are finally revealed. When the true identity and secrets of the birth of Michiru, Shiba and some other characters are reveled will it turn out that their designed role to upset all that is be carried out, or will those who have chosen to fight fate in a different manner be able to keep the wheels moving, even if the cost to them is staggeringly high? With this volume the series comes to a conclusion, but will the reader discover that they enjoy how things played out or will it be a case where the journey was more enjoyable than the final destination?
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Readers Rating: [ratings]
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: January 24th, 2012
MSRP: $11.99
I agree with that. The ending felt rushed and I am totally unsatisfied with the way things played out. Moreover, It ruined this great storyline.
(SPOILER)
Everyone loses their memories? And it happens all over again? What the heck? (Were the authors in lack of oxygen or/and sleep? It seems so.)