Wild Ones 7
November 23, 2009
Kyo Fujiwara – Viz – 2009 – 10 volumes
I did like this volume better than the last, but this series still isn’t making much of an impression on me. I do like the fact that Sachie is a sjoujo yakuza heiress with a bodyguard, but it’s a little more goofy and off-the-wall than I like. It’s good to see that this volume focused a lot more on the main characters than the previous one did, though.
There was a story at the beginning where both Sachie and Rakuto muse on their future after high school, though nothing much comes of that. The rest of the volume focuses on developing the relationship between Rakuto and Sachie little by little, though I hated the sometimes inconclusive ways the chapters would cut off and go back to square one. Little hints are dropped that Rakuto’s feelings are getting through to Sachie, but for the most part, Sachie is completely oblivious to much of anything until the last chapter in the volume. I was surprised by how much happened there, and how it differed from the average shoujo plot devices. Normally a female rival is introduced in these situations to make the heroine come around and realize her feelings, but in this case, when the rival is introduced and starts hanging all over Rakuto, Sachie seems more concerned that Rakuto is being made uncomfortable than that the rival will steal him away. The end of the volume comes about in a different way.
I also have to admit that I was sometimes very puzzled about what was going on in action scenes. Most of the time, it really didn’t matter, so I would usually stop and move on in the one or two instances where I had to stop and try to figure out the art. However, I re-read the introduction to the rival several times before I understood what was happening and why the rival challenged her to a battle. The sense of place in this series just isn’t very good.
There is quite a cliffhanger here. I wasn’t really hooked or interested in this volume, but I did think it was a huge improvement over the last, and I have one more to read after this, so I’ll see if things keep getting better.
This was a review copy provided by Viz.
