Never underestimate the enemy … if you wish to live to see another day.
Creative Staff:
Story: Takahiro
Art: strelka
Translation: Christine Dashiell
Lettering: Rochelle Gancio & Rachel J. Pierce
What They Say:
The unhinged Commander of Tenrou Nation, Kyoukotsu, has laid siege to Shiranui Fortress. Hinowa and friends are on high alert, determined to hold the fortress no matter what comes their way. But what Kyoukotsu schemes is beyond their comprehension, and it will take all their combined efforts to impede the infamous Commander. Meanwhile, plans are stirring in the Tenrou Nation, and an unexpected face makes an appearance …
Content (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With the death of Buaku during the last engagement, newly promoted Captain Hinowa now finds herself in command of her own team of thirty fighters, including Tobari and her father Yanagi, to which she confidently presents herself and proudly proclaims no one will die as she leads them glory. But as the next clash between forces begins that morning and the men of Shiranui Fortress continue to press their advantage, they are soon surprised by the unexpected – gigantic boulders flying through the air and easily decimating the fortress’ towers, even stunning strategist General Kahei. Meanwhile, on the battlefield, the genius commander Kyoukotsu is immensely proud of his unexpected idea of bringing trebuchets to this mountainous area, taking the time to boast to Yomihime of his cleverness, even as he has a new bombardment prepared. However, it does not take long before the Soukai forces predict the trajectory and return fire, destroying all of this inventor’s wonderful siege machines and maddening him to have his next plan set into motion.
But as the frenzy of war continues, the next plan of action is much more insightful, involving nonflammable ladders to scale the impassable walls, along with specially trained troops who ascend at a frightening rate. And yet as cowardly Commander Maruge watches these monstrous men easily enter his protectorate, he panics and orders Hinowa’s unit to repel the invaders, keeping Hisame’s group in reserve. Even as the wall patrol is about to be overwhelmed by these demonic attackers, the newly appointed captain and her able-bodied men leap into the fray, effortlessly destroying each of these inhuman soldiers, throwing Kyoukotsu into a frenzy as he helplessly watched his scheme utterly fail. While his anger continued to grow by how easily his masterful tactics had collapsed before him, it was only stout kick from behind and Yomihime’s calm voice which reined in this madman before he tried anything foolish. With no more tricks to use this day, the Tenrou commander called for a general retreat even as he jokingly asked his frightening friend if she thought his temper would get the better of him, to which she coldly replied – it did.
In Summary:
As the war for Shiranui Fortress finally gets underway, the story which Takahiro-sensei has so carefully crafted to portray the valor of Hinowa and her friends to gain glory on the battlefield has begun to slow down once we are confined to the interior of the fortress. And while mangaka strelka-sensei still manages to keep our interest intact as we delve within the dynamic scenes of hand to hand combat, the pages appear static as if they are stop action shots of key moments within the conflict. Then it only gets worse as they take a break after the initial assault, allowing the men to celebrate their victory and showing how Princess Rinzu is able to relate to these ruffians with her kind and gentle nature. This pause in the action was meant to dissolve the guard of the troops before the next meeting, but at the same time it also allows the reader to become calm within this frenetic atmosphere, making the next scene all the more predictable since this tactic has been used many times before in other conflicts. It is only as we are introduced to the Freaks that the excitement ramps up again, but at the same time we are never given a clear explanation as to their relation to Tenrou and this is especially troubling once it is revealed their relation with our main antagonist. This neglect makes their introduction feel hollow, nullifying a much deeper impact it would have had if we knew how firmly these abominations are involved within this struggle between nations.
Hinowa ga CRUSH! began with an interesting premise to show how one girl attempts to live up to her mother’s reputation to surpass her on the battlefield, but as the story progresses the excitement which we were presented in prior volumes now slows down to a painful crawl. While the artistry is just as enticing to draw the reader into the narrative, it too suffers under a static pause that is inevitable as we delve into convoluted themes which lack any plausible explanations. Although the story is still captivating, this volume lacked the undeniable excitement that was present before, and hopefully as we move forward the complexity of new characters will not bog down the incentive to watch Hinowa grow into the hero we all want her to become.
Content Grade: A
Art Grade: A+
Packaging Grade: A+
Text/Translation Grade: A-
Age Rating: Older Teen
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: February 4th, 2020
MSRP: $13.00
