Cipher 2

Something tells me I’m going to have to go out and buy the rest of this series, like, immediately.  Not only is it fantastic, but a lot of the story involves being able to tell the twins apart personality-wise and appearance-wise.  I could do so pretty well after the end of the volume, but I’m not going to remember their various nuances by the time another sale rolls around and I can get the others.  Plus there’s, what, nine more volumes?  I think I can handle that type of shoujo marathon after abstaining relatively well for most of a month.

So the contest involving Anise telling the twins apart ended at the end of last volume, but she’s still around a lot, friendly with both of them.  More and more at the beginning of the volume, you can see Anise mentally noting the differences between the two.  It’s pretty clear right away she can tell the two apart, but the boys don’t mention/notice until around halfway or two thirds of the way through.  Siva suggests she actually did win their contest and didn’t want to force them to tell their past if they didn’t want to.  Siva thinks she might have some other plans for the two in mind, whereas Cipher doesn’t really believe this.

Anise, for whatever reason, also listens to rumors at school about how “Siva” (the identity the two share) doesn’t care for anyone except the person he likes most in any given situation.  She spends a lot of time trying to get them to express any sort of emotion about her.  I’m not sure what her aim for this is, but one of her main goals is getting Cipher to admit out loud he actually wants her over in the afternoons.

Another thing that happens is that we find out a bit about Anise’s past.  I’m not sure if there’s more to it than that, but she does carry around a lot of guilt.  Not only is the scene where she tells the story pretty great, there’s also a really nice scene that leads up to it.

By the end of the volume, we have the beginnings of a romantic triangle, which you knew was coming.  Cipher seems to be the more likable of the two, but it’s possible that Siva is actually the one that has his eye on Anise.  Very light hints are given along these lines, so I’m waiting to see what else develops.

I’m not sure what it is that I like so much about this.  The characters are developed really well as Anise and the twins try and guess what makes each other tick.  It’s an extremely unique method.  I also like the pace, and the story takes its time around certain scenes, which appear at just the right moment.  I love it, and I can’t wait to read more.