Cipher 5

Minako Narita – CMX – 2006 – 11 volumes

Wow, I love the subtle touch this series has.  Jake has been completely mute all this time that Roy and Anise have been getting close.  We were given hints towards the fact there was something wrong, but never, ever anything solid.  A new character in this volume cracks his character wide open, not only in the present, but also leads into a long flashback about the twins, so we can finally learn about the circumstances leading up to their lifestyle.

I accidentally started reading volume 6 before this one, and I initially didn’t like Dana.  I love the closeness between Roy, Jake, and Anise, and I hated the thought of someone else splitting the three of them apart, even Roy and Jake.  But Dana’s not like that.  Dana is someone for Jake to reach out to and let his feelings out.  Someone that he doesn’t feel responsible for, and really, a love interest, which is important if this series isn’t going to run off into twincest territory (and I give it a lot more credit than that, even with all the weird, but somehow still sentimental and not creepy, smooching those two do).  Jake feels comfortable at Dana’s house in a way that isn’t possible where he lives, and he winds up opening up to Roy and Anise a little more as a result, too.

Dana dabbles in performance, and it turns out she has a role with “Siva” in their next job.  Basically, Roy is doing the job and the two have to lie to Dana about their identity, which she doesn’t notice but her mother does.  When her mother threatens Jake, that’s when he opens up about his life story that we get to hear.

I don’t have that much to say about the life story.  It’s interesting in that it makes the fact they grew up as actors seem completely unglamorous.  That part is downplayed quite a bit, but the relationship between and with their parents isn’t.  There’s a lot that goes unspoken, and throughout the flashback, you can see Jake feeling more and more uncomfortable with his role as the “adult” of the twins where Roy gets all the attention for being the more flashy brother.  I love that the interpretation of most scenes is left up to the reader.  It’s not rocket science or anything, but I adore it when there’s not an inner monologue or narration ruining flashbacks like this.  I can think what I want, and his reactions help reinforce or change my opinions accordingly.

There’s also a really elaborate Thanksgiving scene in this volume.  Again, I’ve only read a handful of manga set in America, but none peg it as accurately as this.  This is the only instance of Thanksgiving I think I’ve ever seen, and it really is portrayed simply as a family meal and a simple holiday with a parade to celebrate.  I only wish we still had Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man floats in our Thanksgiving Day parades.  Also making a random appearance: The Pet Shop Boys.  They appear in a side bar, but one of the chapters is also called “East End Boys and a West End Girl.”

It’s still wonderfully sentimental and subtle, and more a drama of the twins than it is a romance or anything like that.  A bizarre shoujo coming-of-age story featuring twin boys rather than a central heroine.  In fact, Anise wasn’t in this volume at all.  Maybe she’ll be back more next time, but it sounds like the story moves away from her.  I’m interested to see where it goes, if it’s not a romance between Roy and Anise.