Creative Staff
Story/Art: Shiwo Komeyama
Translation: Mari Morimoto
What They Say
Tsukimiya and Hinata thought they had at last secured the divine power of God that will allow them to break their deadly curse, but they and Tsuzuki are not the only ones after the power. Even as Tsuzuki collects the power that will fuel his ascent to omnipotence, there is one who would see him brought crashing back to Earth. As both sides race toward the prize, Tsuzuki calls on the half-bloods Tsukimiya and Hinata to join the hunt and prevent the power from falling into dark hands…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Though our heroes were slaughtered at the end of the last volume, the story continues on as Tsuzuki contemplates the appearance and loss of the relic of God. This puts him in a bad position at the start of the game to decide God. However, he has a more direct issue as he notices his attendant Hanamura doesn’t smell quite right. It turns out that this fake is actually Momose, but since the real Hanamura was hiding in her shadows she is easily captured. Thanks to some cunning, they are then able to use her to track down the location of the fallen angel Satsuki, the other candidate for God. Though they aren’t able to capture the powerful foe, they are able to steal the divine power back as he flees. In a surprising turn of events, Tsuzuki then uses the divine power to revive Tsukimiya and Hinata.
In exchange for reviving them, Tsuzuki decides that the half-bloods should now work for him, but Tsukimiya manages to haggle him down to a single job. Before that can start, though, we learn a little more about the game to decide god, in which the candidates must fight to collect God’s relics. Tsukimiya and Hinata’s job is to collect one of these relics, the “Holy Ark,” from its resting place. Due to the powers of the ark this proves tricky, especially when an enemy wielding the mighty Gungnir appears. Will our heroes be able to work together long enough to escape alive, or will they fall before the dangerous foe?
The rest of the volume is spent on a struggle with the group Arcana, who are also collecting relics. When it turns out that Hinata is in cahoots with them, will he turn on Tsukimiya once again? Or is the time for double-crossing finally at an end?
In Summary
The plot starts to solidify in this volume, with the appearance of several important plot points and groups. At the very least it’s neat to see that the main characters aren’t really the key players in the story, and are more pawns getting thrown around. With the appearance of special weapons the battles have also taken a step up, gaining a little complexity and cohesion. The constant backstabbing is also a little bit less focal this volume, which gives the characters’ personalities a bit more time to shine. The first volume may have felt a bit more unique and certainly had a bit more flair, but this volume sets the series on a more sustainable and potentially more interesting path.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: March 25th, 2014
MSRP: $11.99
