The Black Cat Ranking Exam begins!
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Rumiko Takahashi
Translation: Christine Dashiell
What They Say
Rinne’s Black Cat by Contract, Rokumon, is going to take the Black Cat Ranking Test! Rokumon’s rival Black Cats, Oboro and Suzu, have also joined the battle, and Rinne seems disturbed about the exam fee! From haunted pools to a fracas over mushrooms, Rinne always has his share of ghostly problems to solve!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
After a short story with an idol ghost, the core plot of the volume, the Black Cat Ranking Exam, begins. Though Rinne is at first uninterested in the idea due to the entry fee, he starts to get excited upon hearing that cats with ranking are able to obtain Shinigami tools for cheap. Kain and Ageha also join in the exam, making for a fierce competition. The first event, a written exam, proves just how stupid Oboro and Suzu really are. The second part of the exam is a concentration test, where the black cats must make it through a distracting obstacle course while their masters’ scythes are slowly but surely degraded. Surprisingly, Suzu’s level of distraction is so great that she actually ends up making it through the course first, giving her and Kain a distinct advantage for the next round.
Things heat up significantly in the third round, where the victor will obtain a coupon for a free scythe repair. This event tests the cooperation between shinigami and black cat and, thanks to their quick thinking, Rinne and Rokumon are able to keep up with Kain. However, everyone’s progress grinds to a halt when a door only allowing black cats blocks the contestants’ way forward. Apparently, the black cats must enter inside and steal a key from Kurosu, who is helping out with the exam. By jumping him together, the black cat examinees are able to finally unlock the door, leading to a final rush for the coupon.
In the final part of the exam, the black cats are given a budget based on their previous performance in order to buy tools for one last battle royale. Thanks to the thriftiness he picked up from Rinne, Rokumon has a definite advantage despite his meager budget, but will he be able to come out on top? The volume rounds out with some short stories involving a cursed doll, a strange power stone, and some mysterious mushrooms.
In Summary
Thanks to a significant central arc, this volume actually isn’t too bad. The Black Cat Ranking Exam gives the relatively minor black cat characters a chance to shine, and brings with it a number of fresh gags, which is definitely appreciated. Hopefully the series will move towards more of these lengthier arcs, as it most certainly results in more interesting volumes. The final mushroom story is also a surprisingly fun one off, which is nice to see. The rest of the fluff filling up this volume is pretty much standard fare for the series, but at the very least none of the stories are bland enough to drag down the volume completely. This may not be a great book, but it’s a definite step up from what the series has been putting out lately.
Content Grade: B-
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: July 9th, 2013
MSRP: $9.99
