No big intro this week, but I’d love to get some reader perspectives! If possible, could you drop a comment answering any (or even all) of these questions:
This week:
Black Bird vol. 11
Boys Over Flowers vol. 9
Dawn of the Arcana vol. 6
Demon Love Spell vol. 5
The Demon Prince of Momochi House vol. 3
Dengeki Daisy vol. 2
The Devil and Her Love Song vol. 1
Black Bird vol. 11
Sho has miraculously returned to the tengu village, and while he seems content to live quietly on the outskirts, Kyo has learned the hard way not to trust his brother. To make matters worse, the villagers are resentful that Kyo won’t share the restorative power of the Senka Maiden with them. But most demons don’t possess Kyo’s willpower, and one taste of Misao’s blood would send them into a frenzy. Is it possible for Kyo be a good leader and a good husband? (summary by Viz)
2 points
The prospect of having her lost memories returned wracks Misao with insecurity and fear for her relationship with Kyo. With Kyo violently jealous of Sho, going to see him alone seems to be a dangerous prospect, and what if Sho were her actual first love? With the way Kyo has treated her in the past, it’s no wonder that Misao feels torn about whether to recover her memories. Just last volume, he assaulted her over completely imagined slights, and if his insecurities were proven even somewhat correct, it could mean bad news for Misao. So how does Kyo react to all of this? He’s incredibly sweet and supportive, of course!
Wait, what?
That’s right. Kyo, who felt so threatened by his brother only a volume ago that he violently accused his partner of cheating in her thoughts, is kind and patient as she struggles with idea that, once upon a time, she fell in love with him first. Kyo has always been somewhat inconsistent, but this complete change in attitude is a bit jarring. Taken in isolation, it’s actually quite nice – Misao struggles with a lot of internal turmoil in this installment – but it’s pretty fishy considering past patterns. Maybe I’ll be wrong, and this time around he’s really changed, but the series indicates that he’ll be right back to emotionally and sexually abusive as soon as the plot hits a lull.
Boys Over Flowers vol. 9
Tsukasa is headed for New York to break away from his Tokyo life, but just before leaving Rui whispers something to him. When this news finally sinks in Tsukasa goes into another one of his frenzies. Financial troubles weigh heavy on the Makino family as Tsukushi’s father is out of a job. It becomes clear that they are completely dependent on her marrying a rich boy from Eitoku Academy. A new boy enters the scene! He is a bit of a nut, but is determined to help Tsukushi. (summary by Viz)
9 points
Nine points for nine volumes! How nice!
Tsukushi and Doumyouji end up spending most of the volume separated, which explains the single-digit point count. When they are together, Doumyouji continues to be an utter ass, which Tsukushi is thrilled about. No, seriously. She’s achieved the mentality of an abuse victim: he’s cruel to me because he loves me, and if he’s not being cruel, it means something is wrong. And it’s true, the apathy he was showing earlier is the opposite of love, but that isn’t necessarily better than the barrage of insults, threats, and violence he usually subjects her to.
Tsukushi has a reputation as a strong-willed character, but that’s really mostly just lip service. She may get angry and yell, but otherwise she pretty much just does whatever the people around her tell her to. When her father is fired, she takes on the burden of supporting the family. Her parents tell her she has to keep attending Eitoku so she can marry rich right out of school and they can live in luxury. When she’s scammed and trapped in a hotel room with skeezy photographers, a young man rescues her, then berates her for thinking she could be pretty enough to really be recruited as a model. Rui and Doumyouji argue over who gets to date her with talk of “giving” her to the other as if she’s a piece of meat.
Dawn of the Arcana vol. 6
Princess Nakaba of Senan and Prince Caesar of Belquat only married each other for the sake of peace between their two warring countries, yet the two find themselves drawn to each other even as political forces threaten to tear their world apart. Nakaba’s secret ability to see the past and the future proves to be an asset—but things turn deadly when she chooses to use her power to help a friend! Will Caesar still stand by her amidst the ensuing bloodshed? (summary by Viz)
1 point
Oh Caesar, you were doing so well.
The plot continues simmer in the sixth volume of Dawn of the Arcana. Toma actually handles the issue of marginalization pretty well – other than, you know, using fantasy races as a stand-in for real oppressed groups – with some solid world-building. One particularly striking moment came when Leo, a young ajin, is ordered to accompany Nakaba and her friends. He objects, and Caesar snidely comments that they don’t want him in. The leader of the ajin village says, “He doesn’t hate humans. But he does fear you.” It’s only natural for oppressed groups to fear and distrust their oppressors, leading them to avoid them, and it’s nice to see a manga recognize this.
But anyway. Abuse.
Things have been going very well for the last few volumes – Nakaba and Caesar have both been growing as characters, and their relationship has been sweet and supportive. But the moment they’re alone together, he shoves her down on a bed. Ugh! It’s so common in shoujo manga, but it’s not at all cute or romantic. When it’s out of nowhere, without any foreplay, it’s threatening and forceful, particularly from a former abuser. Given half a chance, the two do have some chemistry, but the bed shove comes without any buildup so it feels unnatural. They’re interrupted only a page later, so the situation doesn’t have much of a chance to develop, but it’s one of my least-liked tropes.
Demon Love Spell vol. 5
Shrine maiden Miko has sealed the powers of the sexy incubus Kagura, who has vowed to protect her. Kagura and Miko ask her father for permission to move out of the shrine and live together on their own. Surprisingly Miko’s father readily agrees, but just what has this powerful priest done to Kagura? (summary by Viz)
6 points
Nothing reeks of creepy sexual politics so much as a father trying to control his daughter’s sexuality, which is exactly what the final arc of Demon Love Spell is about.
For a moment, let’s take Demon Love Spell at its word and accept that instead of just giving in to being pressured, Miko genuinely wants to have sex with Kagura in a way that is normal and healthy. (That’s not the case, but oh well.) Her father’s response is to let them move in together, but to also curse Kagura’s dick so he can’t do much of anything at all. Now, Kagura’s power is weakening, even though he’s gotten by fine up until now with groping, kissing, and having sex with her subconscious (ew). For some reason, that’s not enough now.
Miko’s father’s motivations make, frankly, little sense. He’s let Kagura live in their house, go alone on a hot springs vacation with his daughter, and now is allowing them to move in together, but still makes a last-ditch attempt at policing his daughter’s sexuality. He ignored her discomfort up until now, but now that she finally is, he’s trying to stop it. It’s creepy, and it deprives Miko of sexual agency, now that she was ready for it within the narrative.
The Demon Prince of Momochi House vol. 3
Himari Momochi inherits Momochi House, an estate that exists on the barrier between the human and spiritual realms. Four friends come over to visit Himari, but Aoi can sense that one of them is no longer alive. This spirit is absorbing Momochi House’s power and is quickly transforming into a demon. Will Himari be able to stop its progression and save her friends? (summary by Viz)
1 point
The Demon Prince of Momochi House is, along with Dawn of the Arcana, one of the highlights of my week. Sweet, gentle-natured Aoi treats Himari with respect and care. Even in his Nue form, with a different personality, he’s never arrogant or dangerous. His shikigami Ise pushes limits sometimes and treats Himari, with her ignorance of the world of ayakashi, as a burden or annoyance, but that doesn’t happen too often across the volumes. The sole point comes from him kissing her on the cheek, but she seems more confused and annoyed than genuinely upset. I’m actually looking forward to seeing how their relationship develops.
Dengeki Daisy vol. 2
When Teru’s home gets burglarized, she ends up staying at Kurosaki’s apartment. The close quarters lead to tension, but things get even more complicated when a woman named Riko Onizuka shows up, bringing up a past that involves Kurosaki… (summary by Viz)
13 points
More of the plot is starting to come out in the second volume, and it is making me wish intensely that there weren’t a romance at its center. It has a stronger plot than most shoujo series, with Teru dropped into the middle of some struggle for a program her brother wrote. She makes a great POV character for this kind of story; she’s slowly becoming embroiled in it, but her ignorance about the details of the situation keep the mystery sharp. Her being a child with a group of dangerous adults after her adds to the tension.
Unfortunately, one of those dangerous adults is also romantically interested in her.
Kurosaki is an asshole. Mostly it’s played for laughs, not drama, with a healthy dose of slapstick. Part of the humor is supposed to come between the contrast between his actual personality and the care he shows Teru as Daisy. It would be fine if her were a) not an adult, b) not the closest thing she currently has to a guardian, and c) would just tell her what was going on. But none of those things are true, and so he absolutely cannot be in an equal relationship. Were he Teru’s peer, I’d be slightly more accepting of his “rough around the edges” attitude, even if it’s not ideal, but an adult punching her and making comments about her breasts is far worse. He can be a peer and a romantic prospect, or he can be an adult and a platonic ally. He can’t be both.
A Devil and Her Love Song vol. 1
Maria’s frank nature gains her more enemies at her new school, but her angelic singing voice inadvertently catches the attention of Yusuke Kanda and Shin Meguro. Can these boys mend her hardened heart, or will they just end up getting scorched? (summary by Viz)
5 points
Fun fact: Kanda and Meguro are both wards of Tokyo. Kanda has a university of international and foreign language studies that I studied at for a semester, and Meguro has a cool parasite museum!
But anyway. Hooray, a new series that I like! I fell for it just looking at the cover – Maria staring defiantly out at the viewer, head tilted and her cross necklace hanging from her mouth. “Here’s a heroine I can get behind,” I thought. It turns out she’s not so much as defiant as incredibly perceptive and blunt, which makes it hard for her to get along with people as well as an easy target for bullying. Still, she’s an unconventional heroine for sure, and I think truly weird girls are something of a rarity in shoujo. Even if she has a drive to get along with people, her stubborn insistence on staying true to herself, even if it makes her a bullying target. She also struggles with internal dissonance around the Christian values her previous education was steeped in and her sense of being “tainted”.
As for the romance angle, it’s hard to make a judgement. It’s certainly setting up for a love triangle between Yusuke and Shin, who are the classic light-haired and dark-haired, cheerful and brooding odd couple. Shin in particular is the biggest source of points, since he’s a bit of a jerk and insults Maria’s taste in shoes. However, when juxtaposed with Maria’s bluntness, it feels more like his own form of social awkwardness in a way that doesn’t particularly bother me.
Next Week
Black Bird vol. 12
Boys Over Flowers vol. 10
Dawn of the Arcana vol. 7
Demon Love Spell vol. 6
The Demon Prince of Momochi House vol. 4
Dengeki Daisy vol. 3
A Devil and Her Love Song vol. 2
The Earl and the Fairy vol. 1
