After a lull, the story offers suspense.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Ichirou Sakaki (original story)/ Shinta Sakayama (manga)
Translation/Adaptation: Athena and Alethea Nibley
What They Say
A tip from the mysterious Guy leads Toru, Chaika, and Akari to a means of transportation–and the location of one of the heroes of the battle of the Gaz Imperial Capital, Dominica Skoda. But the journey to Dominica’s residence is dangerous, and when the trio is ambushed by beasts in the wilderness, they’re saved in the nick of time by a mysterious female knight!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
For those coming to the series for the first time, the story involves two saboteurs, trained fighters, and their employer Chaika, the childlike daughter of a murdered king. Chaika has hired the saboteurs to help her recover the pieces of her father’s body that had been distributed among the heroes who had defeated him. Now they face Dominica, a dragoon cavalier. She has made a pact with and shares the powers of a dragoon, a magical, shape-shifting dragon. Volume 3 gave us the backstory on the Dominica, and volume 4 opens with the group searching the forest for her manor.
After a chapter of Toru getting information in town, he tells Chaika and Akari what he has learned. During this lull, they come under attack by a pack of two-headed dogs. A full chapter is devoted to the battle as Toru stays behind to fight the dogs as the others try to escape. Just as he finds his position compromised, Dominica appears and scares away the dogs. Dominica asks the group to stay at her manor, and the final four chapters take place in that setting.
Once in the manor, the group must decide how to retrieve the body part without getting killed. Dragoon cavaliers have near invulnerability, and Chaika’s group have not been tested against an opponent so strong. The group does not know where the piece is hidden nor do they know where the dragoon may be hiding. When given the choice to poison Dominica or find another means of confrontation, Chaika will not allow the group to poison.
While they plan their next move, the group has many encounters with Dominica including two at a holographic portrait of her sister that stands in the manor courtyard. Without giving away any twists, much of this volume and part of the previous one explores the psychology of Dominica. While she has great power, she isolates herself in the forest. The manor has no servants and appears that no one really lives there. Dominica welcomes the group even though the reason they give for being in the forest is deviant. As the group tries to decide their next move, Toru looks deeply in the psyche of his host and opponent.
Only Toru and Dominica seem to have any character development in these chapters. By remembering information from previous volumes, his actions have more meaning. That said, I’m not sure if a reader just coming to the series would fully appreciate some aspects of the plot because they do require knowledge of previous volumes for full impact. Chaika seems more childlike. When there is no purpose for her, she becomes a secondary character that only exists to be cute. In some ways, I feel the character has lost some of her edge we saw in the early chapters.
This volume contains an extra chapter that puts the characters in a contemporary high school romance comedy. Chaika seems more present than in the real manga, but the jokes fall flat—at least for me. It was originally created as part of a promotion called Chaika If, so it has interest as a curiosity.
Art in this volume ranges from detailed towns and characters to low detailed action lines. While I would still hold this as an above average example of art in a shonen series, many sections seem to be rushed. For example, many panels in the battle with the dogs have been devoted to low detail close-ups of Toru’s head or face. Some of these may help advance the reader through the action, but others seemed redundant or oddly out of place.
This volume contains two leaves in color, and the print quality is good. Like others in this series, panels are printed up to the gutter, requiring a reader to open the pages wider than normal to see all of the image and text.
In Summary
This volume has better pacing than the previous two. Instead of a focus on world building, we move through the story more quickly. The decision to begin with a chapter devoted to action helps the characters settle in to the suspense of the remaining chapters. A reader must have knowledge from earlier volumes to understand some points in the rising conflict between Toru and Dominica. Since we are in a story arc that began in the previous volume, these chapters only offer progression without resolution.
Recommended for all who have been enjoying the first volumes but wanted more focus on the primary story.
Content Grade: B-
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: C+
Text/Translation Grade: A-
Age Rating: Teen
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: March 22nd, 2016
MSRP: $13.00
