Rasetsu 8

Chika Shiomi – Viz – 2011 – 9 volumes

Since I’ve been reading Yurara and wishing so hard it was as good as Rasetsu, it feels like the newest volume materialized in my hands by force of sheer will. Of course, if I truly had this power, I would also have volume 16 of From Eroica With Love, but I am happy enough with Rasetsu for the time being.

It surprises even me how much I love this series. I really did yank this out of the package and read it without even taking my coat off when it arrived at my house, which I never do for any book anymore. And it’s not like it’s overwhelmingly fantastic at plot, characters, art, or anything I can point to specifically. It just had really interesting one-shots that developed likable characters and a vaguely serious story, and now that we are reaching the conclusion, I am completely caught up.

As I’ve said before, I am a big fan of Kuryu, so all the dark hints that have been dropping about his past lately did have me hungry for more. That such a silly, charismatic, and skilled character that worked really well as a potential (if mostly unlikely) love interest could also be so sinister was very intriguing, and while I was pretty sure where all the dark foreboding was going, I still wanted to see it through to the end. We see what it is that gives Kuryu his power and what he sacrificed all those years ago to save Hiichiro. Again, it was fairly obvious where this was going… for some reason, I ruled this out earlier on in the story, but the hints kept coming. That doesn’t make what happens any less… interesting.

Actually, there’s a couple of great Kuryu flashbacks to when he first met both Yako and Rasetsu that are utterly terrifying. Easily my favorite moments in the series so far. And so understated, too.

Much to my disappointment, Yako and Rasetsu grow very close in this volume. There is still a curse, and there is still a final showdown with the demon suitor in the next volume, so perhaps Yako still isn’t Rasetsu’s true love. But Yako points out something interesting about the curse, and even with everything we learn in this volume… he’s right, it doesn’t make sense.

I always focus on Yako and Kuryu, and I never comment much on Rasetsu herself. I like her a lot. She’s a much stronger heroine than Yurara. Yurara is simply a high school student that solves supernatural problems in her spare time (sorta… Yako and Aoi sorta push her into it, and her spirit guardian kinda does the solving). Rasetsu has a demon curse hanging over her from age 16, but grows out from under its shadow to become the powerful exorcist that she is. And she solves crimes not only to do good, but also to hone her skill so that she can defeat the demon that is threatening her. She still gets scared, but always overcomes it, mostly by herself. She’s also got a really great personality, just a little sarcastic and the right amount of jaded for someone in her position.

Is it easy to see where all the pieces fall? Yeah. It’s also got pretty standard shoujo romantic moments. And the characters aren’t super-unique, just strong, and you grow to really like them as the series progresses. But all the same, it’s just the right mix of everything, and I can’t get enough. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough in this volume, and when I finished, the characters were all on the cusp of charging into the fight with Rasetsu’s demon, to be concluded in the final volume of the series.

Seriously, it can’t come fast enough.

This was a review copy provided by Viz.