With age comes experience, but youth brings speed…who will win this battle to the death between Higaki and Kuroko?!
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Yoshimurakana
Translation/Adaptation: Christine Dashiell
What They Say
Higaki, of the Sakura Pruning Group, was forged in the fires of war and fueled by a passion for revolution. Now an old man, he’s engaged in a life-and-death battle with Kuroko in order to achieve his ultimate goal. But is Higaki animated by a desire to conquer Japan or by something more personal? The secrets of the Sakura Pruning Group reach far and wide-even right into Hinako’s past!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Kuroko’s duel with Higaki ends the way you would expect with Kuroko triumphant. However, Higaki’s musings during their fight hint at something about Kuroko’s seemingly unmatched reflexes. It is brief and easy to miss, but I have to believe it hints at a future reveal about our protagonist. But what was unmistakable was Higaki’s shock over Hinako. Perhaps he knows something about why Hinako is a badass herself? Either way, Kuroko definitely knows more about Hinako’s origin than she lets on.
With the Sakura Pruning Group’s mission for Higaki finished, the remaining members will be arrested or disappear into society. This gives Kuroko and her gang of girls a chance for some rest and relaxation. But the last remaining piece of business is what the police will do with Higaki’s subordinate, Shizuka. She’s too dangerous to be released and her skills would go to waste if she was thrown in a jail cell. Putting Shizuka under Kuroko’s watch is the easiest thing and it grows Kuroko’s girl gang by one. At this point, Kuroko has a small army of lady assassins. Or maybe a harem of assassins would be more accurate?
Considering many of Kuroko’s exploits reminds me of a female James Bond, it only makes sense that she also has a mad scientist friend. But this friend doesn’t design cool cars and weapons for Kuroko. Instead, she just manages to drag and Hinako into a mecha on mecha slaughter fest. But as tough as Kuroko is, she can’t fight a towering mecha with lasers! Kuroko and Hinako may have finally met their match!
In Summary:
This volume quickly wraps up the Sakura Pruning Group story arc before skipping across some seemingly unrelated chapters. It feels more like a transitional volume as the reader has a chance to enjoy some of Kuroko’s sex antics before starting a new story arc in the next volume. But volume nine is not all fluff. There are some hints dropped about Hinako’s past and maybe even something about Kuroko’s own past. This many volumes in and we still don’t know why Kuroko seems to be Hinako’s guardian or why Hinako seems to be bulletproof. Or at least why Hinako seems to have nine lives!
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: Older Teen
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: January 22, 2019
MSRP: $13.00
