Impending invasion!
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Daisuke Ashihara
Translation: Lillian Olsen
What They Say
Border headquarters is abuzz with gossip about talented new rookies Yuma and Chika. But it’s Osamu who attracts the most attention when an A-Rank agent challenges him to a duel. Then it’s Yuma’s turn to fight when another A-Rank agent challenges him! Plus there’s that meeting with Border’s top brass that they just got called to… Is there such a thing as too grand an introduction?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Surprisingly, Osamu finds himself challenged by A-rank agent Kazama. Though he’s a little confused, Osamu decides to accept in order to gain the experience. Almost immediately, our hero finds himself with a slew of losses thanks to Kazama’s invisibility trigger, the Chameleon. With 20 wins, Kazama determines he’s seen enough, questioning why Jin would give up his black trigger for the bespectacled boy. At this, Osamu gathers up his courage and manages to gain one more range. Using all his strategy and skill, our hero pushes for one last display, and actually manages a single draw at the end!
Thanks to their various shows of strength, the team manages to make quite a buzz around HQ. However, it turns out the top brass have more important things to worry about, with an imminent large-scale Neighbor invasion drawing near! Meanwhile, thanks to his new-found reputation spiraling out of control, Osamu finds himself bullied by another A-ranker, Shun Midorikawa. Before Midorikawa can get too cocky, though, Yuma steps in and puts him in his place.
Finally, Yuma and Replica are called upon for information about the Neighbor world. Will their information be enough to prepare Border for the coming storm? Or will the invasion simply prove too much for them to handle?
In Summary
With this volume, we get a few nice surprises mixed in with a good bit more set-up. The big event here is probably Osamu’s battle. Though he certainly doesn’t appear powerful enough to keep up with the rest of his team, he actually gets a chance to look cool and show off, which is definitely appreciated. We also finally get some information about the mysterious world of the Neighbors, which is certainly interesting. Add in another fight for Yuma and the promise of escalation with the next volume, and you have a solid book. The series is definitely ready for a shake-up and some real danger, which, fortunately, seems to be on the way in full force, but for now this is definitely another worthwhile entry.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: April 7th, 2015
MSRP: $9.99
