Durarara!!, Vol. 8

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By Ryohgo Narita and Suzuhito Yasuda. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

At the start of the Baccano! anime, Carol is sorting through the various events and people that she and her boss are reporting on, and is asked who she thinks “the main character” is. She responds by picking Firo, saying he looks “Main character-ish”. The -ish being intentional. And so it is with Durarara!!, a series that may be beloved by its fandom for the hot sexual tension between Izaya and Shizuo (something pretty much absent from the actual novels), and whose ‘iconic’ character is probably Celty. That said, if I was to say who I thought the ‘main characters’ of the series were, it would be the trio of Mikado, Anri and Masaomi and their tortured relationship with each other. They’ve been separated for several books now, and give every appearance of reuniting in this book. But, while I think they’re being idiots in avoiding it, I do agree now is not the time, if only as I want to see more of the author making Mikado a semi-villain.

The Dollars have been Mikado’s pride and obsession with Book 1, and here we see him take the philosophy of “By Any Means Necessary” to heart, using the Blue Squares to viciously purge from the ranks of the “gang” any muggers or other lowlifes. Theoretically, he’s being manipulated by Aoba, but honestly, Aoba just seems to be sitting back and staring at Mikado more than anything else, as the boy is clearly descending into a sort of madness. Anri is worried sick, but unfortunately Celty regards Mikado’s secrets as more important and decides not to tell her what’s going on. (Celty is probably correct, to be fair.) Speaking of Anri, it was amazing to me to see the short scenes from Mika’s perspective this volume, especially following after the insanity-fest from last time. Here she shows genuine concern and worry for Anri, and it’s pointed out that Seiji is not everything to her, but merely the highest thing on her list. It almost feels like seeing canon change mid-page.

There are other things going on here, of course. Ruri Hirijibe returns, with her new boyfriend (Shizuo’s brother) trying to save her from a psychotic stalker. We see the stalker’s POV several times, and it once again reminds you how good Narita is at writing the truly cruel and hateful person. As for Ruri herself, it was interesting to me to see how much the book avoided using the word “vampire” unless it absolutely had to, and it’s still not clear how much of one Ruri is – though her grandmother seems to qualify. (An unlicensed Narita series, Vamp!, may be useful here, though as yet we can only speculate). And the message board explodes with new characters, as everyone seems to invite some new person to join in. So we see Saki (using her own name), Kid (Akabayashi, whose use of (lol) may be the funniest part of the book), and Chrome, whose identity is unsurprising but gives us a wonderful callback to previous books as we start the Hot Pot Party Of Evil!.

And then there’s Masaomi, who I left out of my talk earlier, who ran away from his problems 5 books ago and has returned to find they’ve gotten much worse. Can he really do anything to make amends and help his friends? In the meantime, this is another ‘setup for future books’ volume, meaning it’s low on action but still worth a read.

One Piece, Vol. 84

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By Eiichiro Oda. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz. Translated by Stephen Paul.

I’ve talked before about the pacing of One Piece vs. many of the other Jump titles we’ve seen over the years. One Piece packs so much into each chapter it’s as if these 84 volumes have really been 168. Bleach, on the other hand, could probably come in under 50 if you sped things up to a normal scale. It’s also one reason why I feel the need to give each new volume a full review rather than a Bookshelf Brief. Even when a volume is mostly a bunch of fights, even when it’s mired in an arc I thought went on too long like Dressrora, even when Oda is doing things I’m not a fan of… it’s still one of the best shonen manga out there, and there’s still a lot to talk about. Let’s start with Sanji, as this is in many ways his arc.

I’ve possibly mentioned before that while I love all the Straw Hats, I love Sanji perhaps the least most. This has always made me feel a bit guilty, and therefore I am pleased as punch that we get this volume, showing off his best qualities, revealing more of his horrific childhood, and keeping his bonkers libido in check, even when he’s around a hot girl who’s ready to be his wife. It’s never easy being the unfavorite son, and of all the family it’s no surprise that I’m most interested in Reiju, who actually has empathy but goes along with her family’s wishes anyway. She seems the sort who will either change her loyalties later on or get killed. It’s also interesting to see the Vinsmokes appear to be genetically engineered superhumans, and that Sanji, who has merely normal abilities (for One Piece), is seen as a failure. (I was less pleased with Sanji’s brief “don’t hit women” flashback, which seemed tacked on – I suspect too many fans wanted to know why.)

Sanji is also determined to make sure the rest of the Straw Hats aren’t wiped out by Big Mom, enough to break things off with Luffy. He should know better than anyone that this won’t work, and all it gets him is Nami belting him across the chops. That said, in more important revelations, we see Luffy so full it’s hard for him to eat, something I didn’t think possible, and it actually takes his rubber body a while to slim back down. I’d assumed that he and Nami might have an in to the wedding due to Lola’s vivre card – sadly, a) Lola is persona non grata with Big Mom right now, and b) everyone thinks Nami killed Lola to get it, which is what they would have done. So they end up captured, though that doesn’t last long – I do wonder what’s going on with Charlotte Pudding, who seems far too good to be true.

And there’s also Chopper and Carrot’s mirror adventures, which are mostly comedy, and the revelations about Pedro. As I said, there’s just a LOT going on in each volume of One Piece, and most of them also make you want to go back and check previous volumes to find the hints Oda put in them eight years prior. Even after all these years, this should still be on everyone’s reading list.

Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 7.5: The Silver Princess and the Blue Knight, Part One

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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 first of a two-part side story devoted to Koutarou and Clan’s adventures during the climax of Book Seven, Rokujouma 7.5 is solid but does suffer from the fact that throughout the book, the reader knows far more about what’s going on than the main characters. From the moment that Koutarou, dressed in his Blue Knight armor, rescued the princess it was clear that he was going to be making history rather than changing it, adnd that he was the Blue Knight. But Clan doesn’t see it that way (understandably, perhaps, as this is such a touchstone) and they spend a frustrating amount of time searching for the “real” Blue Knight. Of course, another major goal of this book is to get us to like Clan, who I suspect may end up part of the harem; she’s still not as likeable as the rest of the cast, but she’s getting there.

There’s a bit less humor in this volume than prior ones, mostly due to the main plotline, but there are moments that made me smile. The princess’ female companions on her journey all seem to remind Koutarou of his companions from the future… and they tend to act like said companions as well, with Charl, Alaia’s younger sister, behaving exactly as you’d expect a younger Theia to do. As for the Yurika analogue… I don’t want to spoil, but it may be the best joke in the book (unless it’s the food torture, which also involves the Yurika analogue). Koutarou and Clan discuss how much of this is just coincidence. The Rokujouma reader knows that not all of it is, and that Harumi certainly seems to be Alaia’s reincarnation, but it’s not clear how much this applies to the others.

The main plot is more serious, with the Kingdom already being ruled by the enemy Grand Viziers (so to speak) and Alaia fleeing for her life through the countryside. This serves to show off what a good Princess she is, as well as show the brutality of those currently in power – she actually debates just giving in and letting them rule if it means the people are safe and happy, but it rapidly becomes clear that no, the people are sacrifices they will use to destroy Alaia. And of course you see Koutarou and Alaia growing closer, but as the play says (Koutarou is trying to do things as the play laid out, but it didn’t cover everything). Their flirting is top notch, and while time and distance are likely going to ensure they can’t be together, I suspect Harumi will get more and more of Alaia’s memories as time goes on.

So this isn’t the best Rokujouma out there, but it’s decent, and reads very quickly. Fans who haven’t already read all 20-odd volumes should pick it up. Next time we’ll be back in the present for Book 8, but after that 8.5 should conclude this side story.