The stage is set for upcoming confrontations between Miharu’s small group and the Gray Wolves, with an interesting twist thrown in for good measure.
Creative Staff
Writer/Artist: Yuhki Kamatani
Translation: Alethea Nibley and Athena Nibley
What They Say
As the besieged Fuuma village recovers from the Grey Wolves’ attack, its leader suggests Miharu and company adopt the objective of those who laid waste to his village: stealing the forbidden arts of other ninja clans. Shocked, the ninja of Banten are left to wonder just how far Miharu’s enemies – and his allies – will go to possess the Shinra Banshou – and at what cost?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With Miharu, his friends and teacher rescued from death at the hands of the Grey Wolves, it’s time to ask some hard questions. Miharu’s starting to feel some guilt that his friends were hurt because of him. Kotarou Fuuma and his clan claim to be trying to help Miharu, but Kotarou also openly admits he’d love to have the Shinra Banshou’s powers for himself! None of this seems to surprise Miharu. Even if their reasons aren’t exactly altruistic, they genuinely don’t seem to want Miharu to come to harm.
The group formulates a plan to steal the technique scrolls of the other remaining ninja clans in order to research a way to remove the Shinra Banshou from Miharu. The Grey Wolves have the same plan, and so the race to recover them begins.
Miharu, Reimei, and Kouichi return to Banten and their school, where Kumohira-sensei stashed the Banten ninja’s secret books. Everyone seems to be questioning their own motivations in this volume. Reimei is carrying some guilt of her own about using Miharu to further her own agenda. Kumohira stays behind, in Fuuma village, to recover, and has some misgivings about how everything is progressing. Kotarou points out that Kumohira is too naive and kindhearted to be a good ninja. (Kumohira has an interesting background; he was raised in Ireland and was forced to go to Japan ten years ago by his ninja-loving grandfather.)
Back in Banten, Miharu and the others find themselves confronting a disgraced Iga clan ninja. This turns out to be just a minor annoyance when it’s revealed that Yoite, the young ninja from the Grey Wolves that almost killed them at the end of volume one, is in Banten. He snatches Miharu right out from under Reimei and Kouichi before they can react. When Kumohira finally returns, exhausted, he’s at a complete loss. This is where things start getting interesting.
Yoite is, apparently, a loose cannon. The young rival ninja, acting on his own, takes Miharu to his hideout in some derelict trolley cars. Yoite’s demand of Miharu is shocking and unusual, and one Miharu simply can’t refuse. To meet this demand, Miharu has to learn how to control the Shinra Banshou.
Yoite’s desire makes him the most interesting character in the entire series so far. Now I’m dying to know about his background and why it would cause him to make such an extreme request.
Extras in this volume include a page of translation notes, an author’s note, a character profile on Kumohira, and two four-panel comics. The first printing also includes a color title page.
In Summary
The story could have easily fallen into the systematic “go here, beat these guys, repeat” pattern. But, thankfully, the actions are more complex than that. Hopefully, it won’t resort to that in the future. The art continues to be pleasing to look at, minus a few oddly drawn panels in the last chapter, and the pacing moves at a good clip. I’m looking forward to seeing how Miharu is going to fulfill his promise to Yoite, while continuing, with his companions, to gather the other technique scrolls.
Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade: A-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: October 27th, 2009
MSRP: $10.99
