Creative Staff
Original Concept: Stan Lee
Story/Art: Hiroyuki Takei
Translation: John Werry
What They Say
Yamato decides that the only way to return his life to normal is to defeat the dastardly puppet master Dunstan, and to do that he’ll need all the doji on his side. Unfortunately, he hasn’t quite figured out yet what is good and what is evil! Memories from past lives reveal centuries-long love-hate relationships between doji and their masters – both good and evil! Untangling the threads is a battle in itself…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With Eco’s wake, the reality of the Hundred Machine Funeral starts to truly sink in for our hero. Even so, some words from his allies and a little contemplation on the nature of good and evil reinvigorates Yamato’s desire to win and return everything to normal. However, things are still tense between Rune and Otake, who has arrived on the scene and gets more than a little angry when Yamato’s former friend reveals that he has been leaking information about the Doji on the internet. A fight inevitably breaks out, and though Otake is surprisingly able to use an Icon Suit, Rune is able to quickly use Jealousy’s mental powers to catch up. Even so, Otake is able to use Slow’s fate manipulation to bring the battle to the most favorable outcome, with both of them being pierced through their bodies.
Matsumoto tries desperately to use Pardonner to heal them, and then attempts to call Yamato to help, but Jun steps in, armed with his underwear and crossbow. To Jun’s surprise, Matsumoto is able to revive Pardonner, and she decides to thrust the young boy into the past. She forces the memories of a World War II soldier into Jun, and in the process shows him her past life as a nurse in that era. Though she seems to shut down his immature “evil,” he ends up breaking and deciding to take down K and become Vice’s new master.
As the volume wraps up, K proves why he’s Vice’s master, and Hibari and Gauge end up getting involved in the battle. What will happen when Hibari’s nastier traits emerge, and her father shows up at the scene?
In Summary
For the most part, this is mainly just another entry into the series, throwing out a decent battle and some bits and pieces about the characters’ pasts. However, after so much of the characters’ past lives being routed in feudal Japan, it is interesting to see a change of pace that tries to tackle a slightly more troubling time in Japan’s past. Furthermore, this is actually done in a way that really takes Matsumoto from something of a background character into someone really intriguing. Add in some surprisingly neat moments dealing with K, and you have a volume that may not do anything too exceptional, but is still a pretty entertaining read.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: B+
Package Rating: B+
Text/Translation Rating: B+
Age Rating: 16+
Released by: Viz Media
Release Date: November 5th, 2013
MSRP: $9.99
