Creative Staff
Story/Art: Toshiaki Iwashiro
Translation: Camellia Nieh
What They Say
Ageha and his fellow Psionists and Elmore Wood launch an attack on Astral Nava to rescue their kidnapped friends and confront Miroku Amagi once and for all. The Star Commanders are formidable opponents, but Ageha’s team gets a boost from some surprise reinforcements. As the ferocious battles rage, Miroku begins to set his ultimate plan in motion: the creation of an entirely new species to replace the human race!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
As the training to learn Nova continues, Ageha appears to be adapting, though Sakurako is having trouble. However, the two share both their emotions and their troubles, with Ageha telling Sakurako that he loves her, and that he wants to be the one to take care of her this time around. Unable to wait any longer, the rest of the group heads out and begins their assault without Sakurako and Ageha. The fighting kicks off with Fredrika and Kyle taking on Uranus, the Third Star Commander with a mastery of ice. The battle is intense, and though they’re able to hold their own our heroes seem to be getting overpowered. However, thanks to Hiryu’s group breaking the cloud cover they’re able to gain an advantage, even if Granar uses his massive powers to block the sunlight soon after.
Uranus decides to go down in a blaze of glory, and with this the others kick into action. Granar blasts our heroes with sunlight, Shiner goes after Van’s group, and Riko unleashes some real monstrosities. However, Oboro appears on the scene fitted with a plethora of Illumini, and begins absorbing and controlling Riko’s Taboo in a shocking spectacle. Riko then summons an even larger beast, and the clash of the titans begins! Meanwhile, Mari comes under attack by the creepy inhuman Senator Mithra, who seemingly wants to possess her body, only to be unexpectedly defended by Vigo. Just when it looks Shiner is going to cripple our heroes’ support, Ageha and Sakurako appear on the scene. Sakurako takes the charge and proves that she’s become quite formidable, releasing both her dark and light selves at the same time for a brutal assault. She takes down the powerful foe, and heads off with Ageha into the heat of battle.
Oboro’s charge comes to a stop when Granar joins in the fight, but Ageha steps in before his friend is completely mutilated. However, fortunately for Ageha he’s able to conserve his energy, as Kagetora and Matsuri appear on the scene to take over the battle. Finally, we get a look at Mithra and Miroku’s past, just in time for Miroku to call out to a mysterious Sephiroth. When Ageha stands before his ultimate enemy, will he open the door to salvation, or ultimately fall in defeat?
In Summary
With the series coming to an end and a number of enemies left standing, it’s little surprise that this volume is an action packed extravaganza. There are a number of huge fights here, and they certainly don’t disappoint. Even though the heroes have certainly powered up, the enemies remain impressively powerful, making for some great battles. Sakurako also has a number of great moments here, which is definitely nice to see. It’s a little concerning to see some new plot developments here considering how much is still left to wrap up in the final volume, but if it ends up even half as exciting as this book then it’s sure to end up a solid finale. For now, though, this book remains a great entry into the series that’s sure to get fans fired up.
Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: March 4th, 2014
MSRP: $9.99
