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Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 16

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By Mizuho Kusanagi. Released in Japan as “Akatsuki no Yona” by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by JN Productions, Adapted by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane.

The actual resolution of the plot in this arc is treated as an afterthought, with Hyo, the villainous drug merchant, getting blithely killed off so that we may reach the real confrontation of the book. Because, having spent several chapters deliberately having Hak not meet Riri’s new bodyguard, when the moment arrives it takes pride of place above anything else that might be going on. It is truly an amazing setpiece, and shows off how good Kusanagi is at her craft. The rage that pours from Hak, his desire to kill Su-Won dripping off of him, is stunning to see. And you know that, at this point in time, it would be the absolute worst thing in the world for Hak to do that. Thank goodness for Jaeha, and later on Yona herself, for pointing out what’s important here: Yona is fine, she doesn’t need Hak to get revenge for her. Not like this. It’s only one chapter in this volume, but what a chapter.

I also definitely want to talk about the continued growth of Riri. Having stolen her father’s political seal as a means of showing that she has his power, she puts it to good use, getting the soldiers and merchants to unite to defend against Hyo’s fleet. What’s more, when events wrap up, she’s ready to take her punishment for what she did, even if that means being killed. That said, Riri’s political activism seems to have finally sunk in , as her father not only “punishes” her by exiling her to Sensui, where she can continue to do what she was planning to anyway. What’s more, he himself is now no longer content to be passive – which means that the tribes are now united in taking a more active role in the kingdom… even if that means war. All this from a young woman who was inspired by Yona (and is arguably in love with Yona, because their final scenes together really read like Riri wants to say something but chooses to hold back).

Riri is not the only woman in this volume who is awesome. Yona and Tetra are recovering from serious injuries, and are visibly exhausted, but are not letting that stop them from doing what needs to be done. Indeed, Tetra and Ayura have figured out Yona’s secret (such as it is), but are content to let her get on with what she needs to do. Heck, even the Sensui divers, who at first look to be introduced as a joke to show off “Jaeha is a player”, are swimming out towards enemy ships with bombs strapped to their heads. One of the best reasons to read Yona of the Dawn is that the cast is trying to effect change, and we see everyone who wants it step up and make that happen. It’s made explicit here with Riri’s father, but previous volumes also show that everyone Yona comes into contact to takes up her idealism… even if they’re cynics. It’s nothing to do with romance, though her own party does have guys who like her. It’s her sheer presence and drive.

I will end this review as I have many previous Yona reviews. This is possibly the best shoujo manga currently coming out in English. Everyone should be reading it.

Toradora!, Vol. 4

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By Yuyuko Takemiya and Yasu. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Jan Cash & Vincent Castaneda. Adapted by Will Holcomb.

This fourth volume of Toradora! does a very good job of playing to the series’ strengths. The core of it is getting the five main characters to become closer and bond as friends, and it achieves that. That said, there is also the romantic comedy/drama part of it, and that’s even better. It was always going to be hard for a series where the winning pairing is literally in the name to try to have “who will they end up with?”, but this volume comes closer than any so far. Ryuuji is still crippled by his awkwardness around Minori, but when he tries to can actually have a really meaningful conversation with her where she opens up (obliquely) about her own insecurities. As for Ami, not only does Ryuuji force her to open up a bit more (a very little bit more) about her own insecurities, but she also flat out states she thinks Minori and him would be a bad match, and that he should hook up with her. As for Taiga? Well, there’s the puppy dream.

The puppy dream is great. Starting off as ridiculous, with both Taiga and Ryuuji completely disgusted by it, the reader is immediately thinking “they’re sharing dreams now!”. By the end of the book, Ryuuji is seeing how the dream could also be taken as really sweet and familial. That said, for the most part the Taiga/Ryuuji antics take a backseat here… or at least the boil settles down to a mild simmer, as there are no shortage of scenes showing them being each other’s perfect halves. Taiga fares far less well in the romance department here, partly as she’s still cripplingly shy and partly as Kitamura is even more Kitamura than usual, complete with accidental flashing. I do sort of wonder how clued in he is to everything going on around him – like Minori, he thinks that Ryuugi and Taiga are meant to be a couple, if not already, but it’s not clear that he’s realized Taiga’s feelings.

That said, this is Minori’s book in the end, as she shows off a fragile vulnerability here, and there’s the first signs that she may feel something for Ryuuji as well. Unfortunately, both are the sort to back off at the last minute – as Ami bluntly points out, they can’t get close to each other. But we also have lots of Minori acting goofy, and of course the giant “let’s try to scare Minori” horror movie plotline, which gives us the opportunity for some great laughs. Toradora! holds up over a lot of other comedy romances in that the comedy does not feel forced or cliched, a la “whoops I just fell into your boobs”. The humor is natural, realistic, and both situational and character-driven. But it’s the drama that readers may take away from this volume. Will things change when they go back to school? Will Ami press her suit/ Will Minori do anything? Will Taiga yell at Ryuuji? At least one of those things is guaranteed to happen!

Arifureta Zero, Vol. 2

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By Ryo Shirakome and Takaya-ki. Released in Japan as “Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou Rei” by Overlap. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Ningen.

In my review of the first book in this prequel series, I said that it was Miledi’s book and Miledi’s series. Here I’ll go further: I think that Miledi is meant to compare directly with Hajime. Yes, in terms of personality, she reads more like a horrible fusion of Shea and Tio, but as we see a lot in this book, even more than the last one, she is wedded to her ideals and prepared to do anything in her power to preserve them, even if that means taking on the Church, a bunch of pirates, or even a giant seas monster with her ungodly gravity powers. (Ungodly would suit her fine, I think). As for Oscar, he has Hajime’s snark down pat, but after this book we really know who he’s meant to be. He’s Shinpachi from the Gintama series. No, really, the author even straight up ripped off the glasses joke. Oh yes, and we get a new Liberator as well. That’s her on the cover.

The author suggests that the seemingly sweet big sister type who’s really a sadistic tease is a surprise for this book, something which… isn’t true, but whatever. Meiru is a lot of fun, though, and is not only a big sister to her captured real sibling, but also to a huge pirate family that she heads up. Yes, it’s Arifureta does One Piece. Miledi and company are arriving at the city the pirates work out of to find the next Liberator, and after a host of misunderstandings that eventually get resolved, find she… doesn’t want to join them. Well, that’s fine, we went through this in the first book. Till then, there’s sea monsters that get attracted to Miledi’s magic, and casino capers, etc. Of course, eventually the Church is ordered to destroy these pirates once and for all, which leads to the last half of the book, which is one giant melee battle that is highly entertaining provided you love 120-130 pages of fights.

Honestly, I’m surprised there isn’t a much higher body count in this prequel. We already know it’s going to end badly, and it always seems like there’s going to be some dead innocents, but so far the author has done a pretty good job of having them saved at the last minute. (There are a couple of Oscar’s orphan kids who are in a coma from the last book, but Meiru may be able to save them too). In fact, despite the grim Church and the ever-present threat of death, this is a fun book – I would say of all the Arifureta books, this one balances the wacky humor and the thrilling serious plot the best. Miledi is annoying as hell, but not to the reader, just to the characters – an important development! Even the art is really good, showing off both the silly and dramatic (the picture of Miledi giving the finger to the villain may be my favorite).

This is a long book, like most of the Arifureta series, but for fans, it’s a must read. Even casual readers who are turned off by Hajime being Hajime in the main series may want to give the prequel a shot.