Nora: The Last Chronicle of Devildom 5

I was ridiculously excited about reading this volume. The Kazuma cliffhanger from last time was just too much, and I was barely reading anything the first part of the book until I got to the part where he reappears. It’s pretty obvious what’s going on as soon as you see the first page, actually, but it takes awhile to reveal things.

Actually, it takes the whole book to reveal what exactly was going on with Kazuma. I was not disappointed, even though what happened to him was much different than what I had imagined. Not only was it different, it deals with what Kazuma’s payment with a different twist than what you usually see for these time-as-payment things. I was quite impressed with what was going on with him.

I was equally impressed by his motives, and Nora’s reaction to them. This doesn’t come until the end of the book. To be fair, they are kind of shounen manga-y, but in the context of the series, between those two characters, it was great. Plus, the entire volume kind of builds up to first Kazuma, then Nora’s reactions. And then there’s a great fight at the end that serves to reinforce their decisions.

While all this stuff is being explained, the characters are almost constantly fighting. I actually wasn’t paying attention to these fights at all while the plot was being explained. I’m not sure if that was because the fights were bad or the plot was that good. Probably the latter. The fight scenes are actually pretty decent… but again, not the best thing this series has going for it.

I LOVE THIS SERIES. I have a feeling nobody else can appreciate this series like I do, but I love it. Mostly this has to do with the mysteries it sets up for itself surrounding Kazuma, the way the characters are “training” Nora, why Nora is important, and what exactly is going on between the Dark Liege Army and the Resistance. I was drawn in because I wanted to know what was going on (and what is going on is quite interesting), and I continue to be impressed with the way everything is unfolding and being explained. It’s quite good.

But again, I think a lot of people will read it and see a middle-of-the-road shounen manga. It does use its share of typical shounen plot devices. Nora is the biggest trap, because he’s very egotistical, but in a comical way, and the other characters enjoy insulting him and knocking him down a few pegs. The dog jokes are still going on, but I actually didn’t find them all that annoying.  Sometimes they’re even a little funny.

The cliffhanger for next volume involves Nora, and what exactly his deal is. Not even Nora is sure why being Cerberus, the hound of Hell, is significant, and why it is that both the Dark Liege and the Resistance show such a high level of interest in him. He’s arrogant, and he just wants to be stronger, but next volume we’ll find out why it is that Nora being stronger is a bad thing.

This was a review copy provided by Viz.