Big changes for Hokuto in this latest volume!
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Maki Enjoji
Translation: Tetsuchiro Miyaki
Adaptation: Nancy Thistlethwaite
What They Say
Hokuto resigns from Mamiya Commerce and takes on a failing company, risking everything to become heir in one year. Chiwa and Hokuto are closer than ever, so why is he saying they can’t be a true married couple?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Thanks to a visit to take care of Chiwa’s sick dad, our married couple ends up discussing Chiwa’s happiness and where it comes from. Afterwards, they make a visit to Hokuto’s father, and after some embarrassing dialogue we find Hokuto asking to step down as CEO of Mamiya Commerce. Rather than giving up though, his plan is actually to take charge of the failing Mamiya Travel, with the condition that if he makes it profitable in a year he becomes rightful heir, but if not he drops out of the running. In the aftermath, we also get to see a powerful reaffirmation of the pairs love as well.
When Chiwa tells Asahina about what happened he starts talking poorly of Hokuto, causing our heroine to become distracted as she wanders into the street. As a result she’s almost hit by a car, and she’s only saved by Asahina pushing her out of the way and shielding the blow with his body. In the hospital, Chiwa ends up fervently taking care of her ex, and in turn Asahina and Hokuto are able to come to an understanding. Perhaps most surprisingly, though, Hokuto also runs into his father and is able to manage a civil conversation!
After a chapter in which Hokuto and Chiwa have a bit of fight, we enter into the final story of the book. When Chiwa finds herself with an unwanted and dangerous stalker, will she turn to her husband or try to tackle the problem alone? And just who is behind these mysterious attacks?
In Summary
With a lot of progress and some nice character moments reaffirming the connection between the married pair, there’s a lot to like here. It is a bit of a shame that there’s still some awkward distrust going on here and there, but it’s nothing too bad fortunately. There’s also some high stakes going on here and there, and it’s nice to see Hokuto really take a risk. All around this is a nice enough volume for advancing the series along, but it’s nothing too special.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: October 7th, 2014
MSRP: $9.99
