Yurara 3
Posted: March 4, 2011 Filed under: Yurara Leave a comment »Chika Shiomi – Viz – 2007 – 5 volumes
Okay, Yurara. You heard my complaints, and then you saw me cast you aside in favor of Rasetsu. And here I come back, and you’ve changed. Your characters got better. Unfortunately, Yako got most of the character development, and he gets even more in Rasetsu, so I have a hard time being unbiased. But Mei and Yurara get some too, and there are some major character-related plot points in this volume rather than basic ghostbusting. In fact, ghostbusting takes a backseat to hanging out with ghosts, like Yurara’s grandpa, who shows up to offer exposition and periodically turn into a young man whose looks rival Mei and Yako’s. Also, I think it was last volume, but I think the characters were wearing Aerosmith shirts around. That’s an automatic win for me.
Yurara’s grandpa shows up to explain a little more about Yurara’s guardian spirit, and also offer support until the day that Yurara can use her own power and no longer needs her guardian spirit. That’s fine, because this grandfather character is pretty nosy, apathetic, and hilarious. Not needing her guardian spirit transitions nicely into what Yurara realizes: that spirit-Yurara likes Yako, and flesh-Yurara likes Mei, and that both boys have a crush on her. Then we come to a conundrum you don’t often see in shoujo manga: do they like her for herself, or because they admire her appearance and powers as guardian spirit? She gets openly very upset about this, but not as much as Yako does. Yako calls hoards of ghosts with his depression.
It took a couple volumes, but I’m beginning to see how this was the basis for Rasetsu.
