Creative Staff
Story/Art: Yuki Amemiya and Yukino Ichihara
Translation: Satsuki Yamashita
What They Say
Teito joins the Black Hawks, unaware it is the very organization that has conspired to ruin his soul, end his life, and revive the evil death god Verloren inside him. Using the military’s sinister laboratory, they intend to brainwash Teito into reviving Verloren himself! But Teito’s true past resurfaces when he coincidentally attends the funeral of his best friend, Mikage.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Though they may have our protagonist thoroughly brainwashed, the enemy scientists still can’t quite handle the massive amount of data hidden inside of him. Even so, Ayanami is hopeful that he can withdraw the key to opening Pandora’s Box from Teito. Meanwhile, Teito ends up running into Hakuren, but when the young man mentions Mikage’s death, our hero snaps and refuses to believe his friend. Even so, the idea does spark something inside Teito, starting to unravel the strings of the brainwashing just a bit.
Thanks to Ayanami’s machinations, the Oak family patriarch ends up dead, and Teito coincidentally gets a notice that he’s missed Mikage’s funeral simultaneously. When Teito goes along with the Black Hawks to the Oak funeral at the God House he’s disgusted by the greedy emotions on display. He also has a real distaste for the black gems that have become popular there, sensing that they’re filled with negative emotions. However, he gets a real shock when he meets up with Mikage’s family, who work for the Oaks. Though Mikage’s younger brother isn’t so willing to trust our hero, this ends up being a huge experience for Teito that really helps him forgive himself some for his friend’s death.
After a look at the Ghosts and their movements, we rejoin our hero taking in the art. When the one responsible for the black tinted “art” turns out to be a twisted Warsfeil, will our hero be able to pull out a win even with a warped memories? Or will this unexpected stop on his larger journey prove to be his downfall?
In Summary
Though the last volume may have ended on a huge cliffhanger, this volume does unfortunately little with it. It’s actually surprising how little things feel changed with Teito brainwashed, and it’s only just barely touched on here. Fortunately we do get some surprisingly nice moments regarding Mikage in exchange, which is certainly appreciated. Even so, hopefully things start really moving again in the next entry, as this book unfortunately feels just a tad stagnant, even if it makes for a decent enough read.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: November 11th, 2014
MSRP: $9.99
