A HAIR-RAISING RESCUE!
Creative Staff
Story: Gakuto Mikumo
Art: Manyako
Translation: Jeremiah Bourque
What they say
The sealing ceremony for the relic of The Cleansing has begun at last. But to everyone’s surprise, the ceremony is disrupted by an incredible surge of magical energy triggered by Avrora, the former Fourth Primogenitor sealed within Nagisa. Her presence has caused the calamity sleeping at the bottom of Kannawa Lake to awaken… Caught up in the mix, Yuiri and Shio of the Lion King Organization find themselves facing off against draconic demon beasts! Meanwhile, Kojou and Yukina, who sank beneath the frigid waters at the end of a fierce battle, wake up in a strange hot spring inn to find their wounds have completely healed. At the root of it all is a mysterious girl named Glenda. Just who is she? And can she be trusted…?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Who are you gonna call when the situation is dire? When the world is at war and everything seems to be ending? Not Kojou Akatsuki, who continues to prove how horrible he is at saving himself never mind other people. However, his father seems pretty useful.
Most of this story actually doesn’t even involve Kojou, who seems to be off having fun at a hot spring resort with the ladies from Dimitrie Vatler’s expensive yacht, Yukina, and Kiriha Kisaki. The story actually starts off with Gajou—Kojou’s dad—and the two girls from the Lion King Agency—Yuiri and Shio. They’ve found themselves in a bit of a predicament. The sealing ceremony meant to keep a calamitous power from escaping the bottom of the lake has taken a turn for the worst, strange creatures are attacking them, and there are even traitors in their midst. To top it all off, Yuiri discovered a mysterious girl named Glenda and doesn’t know what to do with her.
The situation doesn’t look good.
There’s a lot of action in this volume. I think I like the action here because none of it involves Kojou. During this time, we learn that the JSDF has been infiltrated by the Knights of Cain who wish to bring about something called The Cleansing… which I guess is like the destruction of all demons. The leader of this group is Azama, who was the captain of the JSDF charged with helping the Lion King Agency seal away the monster sleeping at the bottom of the lake. They want Glenda, who is actually a dragon. However, Yuiri and the others have no intention of handing her over—though they may not have a choice as the situation seems to be overwhelming.
Fortunately, the cavalry has arrived.
By cavalry, I mean the man with plot armor.
Kojou and Yukina eventually show up and do their thing. Kojou seems to be losing at first and even gets trapped inside of another realm that threatens to erase his existence, but through the power of the plot—excuse me—I mean, through Glenda’s power, which he absorbs by drinking her blood, he is able to come back and defeat Azama after the man uses the power of the Node.
In Summary
While the story itself contains a lot of action and intrigue, the characters continue to drag the story down. Kojou has found himself in so many life-threatening situations that I feel like it’s time he got his act together and began actually learning how to defend himself and those important to him. However, in typical harem anime fashion, not only does he not decide it’s high time he became stronger and more intelligent, he continues to be a disappointment on basically every front that matters. I’m at my wits end with this kid. I’ve never met a more useless protagonist in my entire life. The only time he ever proves useful is when the plot demands it—in other words, at the very end where he wins despite the fact that he should have lost.
Content Grade: F
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: B
Age Rating: 13 & UP
Released By: Yen On
Release Date: October 15, 2019
MSRP: $14.00
