Chiaki’s life is crazy … can he handle someone even more spontaneous?
Creative Staff:
Story & Art: Ato Sakurai
Translation: Caleb Cook
Lettering: Bianca Pistillo
What They Say:
Chiaki’s new classmate, Haruna, was already a handful, but now that he can see spirits, how is Chiaki supposed to manage him? Fortunately, his new friend wants to help him be more in touch with his emotions. Chiaki practices giving compliments and presents, but he’s not the only one who has trouble expressing his feelings …
Content (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
After his last encounter with a monster, another of Chiaki’s classmates has now become involved within his special circle – Haruna. While never able to participate in school activities due to being sick as a child, he now is trying to make up for lost time, and unfortunately has latched onto a new best friend. Although he may be trying to deflect some of the jealousy from male class members due to the Cerberus girls always hanging around, there was also another side effect from his pestering, Shirogane lost her temper and hit him. Now due to this impact, the poor boy can see and hear creatures which only those possessing spiritual powers were able to detect, much to his unusual joy. If he can participate in all of this unseen fun, so much the better, much to everyone’s chagrin. And it was only due to his hyperactive enthusiasm and quick thinking were the gang able to defeat the latest creature, make it all the better by freeing up more time with his new comrades.
After all of the chaos has settled down, Haruna now sees the main problem Chiaki has in dealing with his roommates … he does not know how to deal with the girls. Before they became separated, he only had to contend with one girl at a time, but now, all three are under the same roof. Kuro’s eagerness to please, Roze’s suffocating shyness and Shirogane’s need to protect those she cares for are all now center stage, and bombarding their master at the same time. Now with his new best friend, in payment for expanding his world, Haruna decides to help Chiaki by giving him lessons on how to express his feelings, for better or worse – most of the time being the latter. Although he may be making some progress, the delivery and misunderstandings of these teachings are causing more problems for everyone. And while two may be able to deal with these new problems, a certain white haired wild child does not know how to tolerate these new emotions, only causing more trouble. Is this a good thing or will it erupt into something which she will eventually need help with, if only she can ask?
In Summary:
It seems with each new volume, Sakurai-sensei cannot help but add new characters to the story, and sometimes this works to his advantage, but not this time. It was bad enough to have three girls causing problems under one roof, but now to have the same chaos happening at school is at times too much. In the beginning Haruna was an incidental student, but with a smack from Shirogane he gains the ability to see monsters – that is stretching the line of believability, even for a manga. However getting over that lapse, there is still his hyperactivity which tops even Kuro in trying to help Chiaki, why is he needed? With each new actor to the stage, the story becomes watered down, splitting our focus into an ever widening cast of characters. Is there a reason this emotional teaching could not be shouldered by one of the regulars instead of using someone new who might be swept off when they are no longer necessary? It is strange to understand this concept, while Sakurai-sensei may have his reasoning, for now it eludes us into thinking it will only complicate the story later on … or even sooner.
Today’s Cerberus is trying too hard in expanding the standard formula for a generic harem manga. While the need to open up Chiaki’s emotional base is understandable, at the same time it is taking over too much of the story and burying elements exposed in the beginning. Though Sakurai-sensei may be taking a roundabout approach to solve the our hero’s dilemma in retrieving the missing part of his soul, the need to add more characters seems to be expanding the narrative more than is necessary. Hopefully the tale will be streamlined soon, but if the past volumes are any indication, we can look forward to more of the same diluted stories.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade:A
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: Teen
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: November 14, 2017
MSRP: $13.00