The birth of a king.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Yuki Amemiya and Yukino Ichihara
Translation: Satsuki Yamashita
What They Say:
When Ayanami storms the Barsburg Church in a ruthless effort to drive the Eye of Mikael from Teito’s body, Frau is forced to make a terrible choice: let the Eye fall into Ayanami’s hands, or abandon Teito to die. But Teito may be powerless to accomplish his search for truth without it…
Content:
Castor contacts Ayanami in the form of Fest, one of the Ghosts, but his prey manages to slip away. Afterwards, Teito chews out Frau for saying that it’d be okay to die by his hands. Things start to really get crazy when Ayanami decides to enter into District 7 with a massive airship, blatantly disregarding the Church’s jurisdiction. Frau and Teito head to check things out, but the pair quickly find themselves in a distressing situation, especially due to the knowledge that the Eye previously absorbed a Wars in order to protect Teito. Realizing that it can do nothing else at this point in order to save its master, the Eye appears before Teito as an angel and unleashes a powerful spell before separating from his hand. Though this apparently marks the birth of a new King of Raggs, it forces Frau to make the decision to retrieve the Eye or save Teito. Frau of course decides to save our young hero, letting the Eye fall into enemy hands in the process.
Though he realizes all that he has lost, Teito decides that his only course of action is to become stronger in order to reclaim everything. As such, he throws himself into studying, and soon the day of the test arrives. However, before the exam can start, Teito ends up literally stepping on a new face, that of Bishop Lance, who is acting as proctor. The test is shockingly grueling, testing the applicants’ cunning, skill, and even friendship.
As the volume comes to a close, the exam enters its second part, where the applicants must take on an enemy solo. For Teito, that enemy takes the form of Ayanami, forcing him to come face to face with his past.
In Summary:
All around, this book makes for an enjoyable entry into the series. Ayanami manages to force a rather large event here, one that really sets the stage for Teito’s growth as a character. Furthermore, the test provides a great stage for fleshing out the relationship between Hakuren and Teito, which is definitely nice to see. It’s also interesting to see the Ghosts step out of the spotlight, giving the main character a bit more of a chance to shine. This volume certainly marks a turning point for the series, and it will be interesting to see just how the characters and plot manage to evolve from here on out.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: B+
Package Rating: B+
Text/Translation Rating: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released by: Viz Media
Release Date: May 14th, 2013
MSRP: $9.99
