Stravaganza: The Queen in the Iron Mask, Vol. 1

Leave a reply

By Akihito Tomi. Released in Japan as “Stravaganza – Isai no Hime” by Enterbrain, serialized in the magazines Fellows! and Harta. Released in North America by Udon Entertainment. Translated by Zack Davisson.

Sometimes when you see manga brought over to North America in omnibus format, it’s because the series would be too long otherwise (see, for example, YowaPeda). Sometimes it’s because of financial considerations. Sometimes it’s because the series is only 2-3 volumes long so it makes sense to release it all at once. And sometimes it’s because the publisher knows that the series only really gets good at the second volume, and doesn’t want everyone to read the first one and then drop it like a hot potato. After reading Stravaganza, I’m fairly sure that this last one is the reason we start with an omnibus of the first two books. The first volume is not bad per se, particularly if you’re a fan of nudity. But the nudity seems to be the point of the book, and it doesn’t really impress. That changes when we start the equivalent of Volume 2, when suddenly things turn very dark and very violent.

Queen Vivian is the titular Queen, leader of a small Kingdom who wears a knight’s mask to disguise her face. She takes advantage of this by walking around the kingdom posing as a common adventurer, Claria, confident that the mask means no one will recognize her. This is annoying to her lady maid as well as her lead Knight, but what are they going to do? The Kingdom seems to be fairly isolated, and also has several species of monster living in its forest, including the Umber, whose snarling face can be seen in the background of the cover. The manga starts off with wacky antics, and while “Claria” is briefly in danger from the monsters, it gives every impression of being relatively lighthearted, including a “guess which of us is the queen” scene and tripping and falling out of her gown, revealing her breasts to her subjects. It was very much “for teenage boys.”

Then we hit the halfway point, and suddenly a huge herd of Umber are slaughtering everyone in the kingdom, climbing the walls to the castle, and looking for all the world like they’d stepped out of Attack on Titan. You sense there will be an arc where the kingdom unites to subdue the monsters, but these monsters are simply too overpowered and terrifying. In the end, they’re forced to flee the land after over 90% of its people are killed. The humor does not entirely go away (the Queen races forward ahead of everyone else, and is later found panting on the ground begging to be carried) and the nudity is still around, but there is a definitely “fun times are over” sense to things, which makes some plotlines such as the return of a lecherous old man from the first part (who’s far more dangerous – and lecherous – here) seem out of place.

I was interested enough in the first book to get another one, but it has to be said: the tone of this is all over the place. If you want a good action manga and don’t mind a lot of nudity, you might enjoy this, but be prepared to have it wander all over the place before it settles down.

Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 22

Leave a reply

By Takehaya and Poco. Released in Japan as “Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?” by Hobby Japan. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Warnis.

The plot continues from the last volume, with Koutarou, Theia and Yurika stranded away from the rest of the cast and needing to make their way towards them without getting caught by the military. The rest of the cast have little to do, though Ruth does meet her father, who is happy his little girl is maturing, and also happy she’s fallen for a guy, though Ruth has not quiet told him the “let’s share Koutarou” plan she and Theia have set up. And then there’s Elexis, Maya, and the rest of Darkness Rainbow, who are joining up with the military in order to pursue their own goals, only to find that the military’s “burn everything to the ground” strategy is inimical to their own desires and goals. With that in mind, can Koutarou and company trust Elexis and company long enough to save the planet from a killer virus? And is it time for Magical Girl Pretty Yurika to shine once more?

Most of the book is as good as always, though I wasn’t very much into the part where, to get through a city, Koutarou, Theia and Yurika have to disguise themselves as dogs and cats, something which sounds like it was written in order to create a color illustration more than anything else. More interesting by far was the plot with Elexis, Maya and Darkness Rainbow. They’ve been set up as the best of the villains we’ve had to date, and it’s because their goals are, while not the same as our heroes, at least not evil. Darkness Rainbow want a place to return to and freedom. Elexis regards the kingdom’s rule as a failure and wants it replaced with his own as he thinks it’s better. This is why one of the best scenes shows Elexis coming up against the military leader Vandarion and being overwhelmed by his presence – it helps to show us that a) this guy IS ready to do bad things, and b) he’s not going to be a pushover like Kiriha’s villains were..

Despite being filled with battles and fights (indeed, one of Darkness Rainbow decides to help our heroes because a planet with everyone dead from a virus is a planet where she can’t FIGHT EVERYONE!), Rokujouma’s main success continues to be showing how a harem romance does not need constant conflict between either the fiancees and the heroine or the fiancees and each other to tell a good story. Everyone gets along. Yurika may whine, but she stops immediately when it’s something that she’s best at – indeed, stopping the virus bomb may be her finest hour to date. Likewise, Koutarou and Theia get into a stereotypical “tsundere yells and hits hero” fight, but they’re both hitting each other, and it’s actually a way to make her calm down and blow off steam, and everyone knows it. We’re at the point in the series where “there’s a wacky misunderstanding!” is not needed anymore, and that’s the main reason this is still so good.

We’ve caught up to where the “fan releases” were before J-Novel Club’s unique license, so I expect that the next few volumes may come out in clumps – indeed, I may review them in clumps. Till then, despite being 22 volumes and counting, this is still a series everyone should check out to see a Battle Harem done right.

The Promised Neverland, Vol. 11

Leave a reply

By Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu. Released in Japan as “Yakusoku no Neverland” by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Satsuki Yamashita.

The cover of this volume, which shows Emma defeating Leuvis by his metaphorically shattering into glass shards, sort of makes her look like a witch given that his hat is right above her. Certainly I’d argue her determination has reached almost supernatural levels, even for a Jump hero. The kids and Lucas are faced with the fact that their plans worked but Leuvis is JUST THAT TOUGH so is coming after them anyway. Clearly time to punt and retreat. But no, Emma knows that this is the best time to try harder. He’s partly blinded and has shown his regeneration is imperfect, they need to bring the hammer down. And it works. Leuvis was a sadistic asshole, but he also made one of the more thrilling villains of the series, and his death gets a nice montage and him praising humans as “the best” before he goes. Oh yes, and he also slices Emma through the stomach with his Freddy Kreuger hands, leaving her too at death’s door.

Now, I think the average reader knows that The Promised Neverland is not going to kill off its heroine like this. But the book is titled “The End”, and the chapter with that title has Emma having a near-death experience as she tries to force herself to get back up despite life-threatening wounds. We see the kids of Grace Fields encouraging her, Krone talking about how weak she is, and finally Norman and Isabella reaching out to help her stand once more. That said, she does spend much of the latter half of the book unconscious, and the others have to take up her ideals for her, as they argue whether it’s safer to try to escape with everyone or to leave behind those who are so injured the journey might kill them. Again, the idealistic choice wins but it is debated, and I like how this series wears its heart on its sleeve but also shows why it chooses to do so every step of the way.

Meanwhile, that geezer has a name! It’s Yugo, and the reunion he has with Lucas is touching. In addition, while events in this book means there is next to no humor, I did crack a smile at Yugo returning to the rest of the Grace Fields children with Emma’s body and immediately being thought of as her killer. See, this is what happens when your plan to kill someone goes awry! But things work out, and Emma is now awake, and Goldy Pond is destroyed. More importantly, we have a new goal for the second half of the series – make a new pact with the demons that does not involve the children farms. That’s a tough row to hoe, especially given that the villains are also going to be gunning for them harder. Can they escape and find the supporters? More importantly, can they find Norman?

This continues to be one of the best Jump series I’ve read in years. A must-buy.