Time heals all wounds, and memories of broken pasts are slowly resurfacing.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Touya Mikanagi
Translation/Adaptation: Su Mon Han
What They Say
The battle at the base of the Mermerai mountains draws to a close following the entrance of the silver-haired Yogi. However, even after the trouble ends, Silver Yogi refuses to revert to Yogi’s normal self! Aboard the 2nd Ship, Nai awaits Gareki’s return…Later, a visitor turns up at Uro’s door–Azana. Though his thoughts have remained with Dr. Akari, Azana has been working under Uro to further his research on Varuga. Meanwhile, back on Hirato’s ship, Karoku reveals a shocking truth about the mysterious notebook he left behind in the Rainbow Forest. What secrets do its pages hold…?!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Yogi has probably been my least favorite character in Karneval. He’s been the weirdly childish, upbeat, and terribly insecure sort that makes you wonder if the author was attempting to make him cute and missed the mark by landing in annoying. It turns out that Yogi is indeed supposed to be developmentally arrested, as we learn why he has a dangerous alter-ego during the first half of this omnibus.
His tragic backstory is rife with kafka and varuga manipulations, and one surprising lineage note which seems unnecessary. It’s as dark as any other tragedy that we’ve witnessed in this series when it wants to delve into the violence. Suddenly everything about how he acts and behaves around others, that crippling separation anxiety, makes a whole lot of sense. While I’m still not particularly fond of him as a character, at least now he has a grounded origin. Plus, I appreciate that Mikanagi took the time to create a completely different culture for a throwaway country.
It also takes a moment to explain what we long suspected about the varuga and the ties kafka has to the government. None of that was surprising in the least, and it’s not dwelled upon for long. Not even Gareki or Nai are surprised at the revelation, although you can see why it’s a huge secret from the populace.
A large amount of this volume is recuperation and downtime after the events of the previous volumes. I would say that it drags a bit because of that. Karoku doesn’t gain any further character development, he mellows out and drifts into the background as his memory slowly returns. There’s still the messy matter of the other Karoku still residing at Kafka, which remains a confusing mystery. Kafka is shown to also be regrouping and preparing for their next attack, gathering Azana into the fold for whatever’s to come.
Part two of the book sees Gareki, Nai, Yogi, and Tsukumo invited to a party Yanari is hosting. Yanari is one of those rare kids in manga that I actually like. He has the large party planned as a business presentation to find investors in a theme park he wants to open. It’s a direct challenge he made with his father, a father who tries to sabotage his son’s plans. Luckily Yanari’s friends manage to salvage the party without undermining the effort Yanari put into the presentation. It’s a cute diversion, although it doesn’t seem to be furthering the plot. At least, not at the moment, although Hirato must have had some reason to want his crew to attend.
The impactful actions of the previous volume aren’t forgotten. Gareki is still in a tight spot about leaving school, and he likely won’t be readmitted into the Circus program. He’ll have to find another program to graduate from that would allow him to work with his Circus friends.
The artwork in this series continues to be solid. It might be my imagination, but it appears to me that the line work is getting thicker. Yen continues to present this series with the first few pages of each volume as color spreads. As for extras, there are still the short panel strips, which don’t stray far from the series usual humor. This volume was originally released during the time when the anime was coming out, so the author has quite a few words to say about her voice cast.
In Summary
This volume of Karneval digs deep into Yogi’s past, giving us a long-delayed yet satisfying explanation for his slighter off-kilter personality. The reasons for his abilities aren’t as obvious as I once thought, although the origin of the varuga is exactly what I expected. The rest of the volume falls into cleanup and setup for the next arc as everyone heals up, bonds are reestablished, and the gang partakes in some much-needed R&R. I’m not sure the reader needed all of the downtime. I can only take so much cute and fluffy antics, of which there is a lot of in this book. There’s always that darkness lurking just at the edges of the page, waiting to be sprung.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B +
Packaging Grade: B +
Text/Translation Grade: A –
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: November 22nd, 2016
MSRP: $20.00
