Love and trust should go hand in hand.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Arina Tanemure
Translation/Adaptation: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
What They Say
Devastated by Chiaki’s deceit, Maron decides to cut him out of her life and never to rely on anyone. After the announcement is issued that Phantom Thief Jeanne intends to steal another painting, Maron goes missing, leaving the painting for Phantom Thief Sinbad to take. Has Maron now turned her back on being Phantom Thief Jeanne too?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Maron has been flustered at the reveal that Chiaki only got to know her because she was his rival. More than a little upset, she’s letting the betrayal hit her right where it hurts, and even though Chiaki told her that he sees her differently now.
So we have a few chapters of Maron letting her angst effect her personal and heroic life. She throws herself into her school work and gymnastics, never telling her friends the emotional pain she’s going through. The situation only becomes worse when she finally receives a letter from her mother which is a blunt declaration of the long awaited impending divorce, capped with a backhanded ‘we don’t know who gets custody of you yet.’
It’s a lot to ask a teenager to handle, on top of the savior stuff, and Maron finally allows herself to break down to Chiaki. In a weird way Maron’s been running from her problems and the truth. She just didn’t bother to communicate with anyone else or confront her family problems head on, she didn’t have the courage.
With that out of the way it was time for the demons to attack a main character’s loved one. The target is Chiaki’s strange father, who has his own marital issues. This time it’s Chiaki’s turn to confront the situation with his dad, and the memory of his mother. It’s the explanation we needed for as to why Chiaki had moved out of his father’s house into an apartment. (It’s interesting to note that tall these parents make enough money to pay for their teenage children to live alone. Working class these kids are not.)
By the end of this volume Maron and Chiaki have become quite close even if, as Maron says, Chiaki is working for the demon lord. Chiaki seems surprised by the statement, which means that Access either hasn’t told him the full story or something else is going on here. That’s far more interesting than all of the puppy love going down. Maron even gains a power up, although it’s a subtle one, allowing her to transform without the help of her magic cross. Magical girl series have spoiled me into thinking there would be a costume upgrade or new attack and I’m disappointed there wasn’t.
The final bit of business in this volume revolved around Maron’s friend Miyako and why she acts the way she does. A demon possesses her brother and Miyako asks Jeanne directly for help. In a way Miyako has been protecting her best friend in exchange for all the times Maron protected Miyako when they were younger. Miyako believes that clearing her name would be paying her back. Miyako doesn’t want to suspect Maron is Jeanne, because that would mean Maron has been keeping a terrible secret from her, and all her work would be for naught. I’m worried that when Maron does admit the truth to her friend it might cause result in a breach of trust similar to the one with Chiaki. Miyako is a little more sympathetic now, but she’s still a hard character to like.
In Summary
This volume of Phantom Thief Jeanne gives a firmer idea of what the series is and where things might go from here. The relationship stuff is a bit over the top, and the family dynamics feel forced, but all’s fair in love and cuteness. The enemies seem to be stepping up there game and while none of the violence feels life threatening it’s certainly more dangerous than in the first volume. With such a strong focus on character relationships this time we don’t get much development in the magical powers department. I want to know why Chiaki is also doing the magical boy routine and what lead him down that path. Who exactly is he working for?
Content Grade: B –
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: May 6th, 2014
MSRP: $10.99
