Sensual Phrase 16
Posted: July 6, 2011 Filed under: Sensual Phrase Leave a comment »Mayu Shinjo – Viz – 2006 – 18 volumes
Santa’s got a pretty boss tattoo on the cover of this book. Just sayin’.
So a lot of the damage from last volume was mitigated. One of the issues was completely ignored (much to my disappointment), but the most important one was dealt with. Slowly. I did appreciate the way things were handled here. Again, I don’t want to spoil what happens, so I can’t go into too much detail. But the focus of this book was mostly Sakuya and Aine having a good time and living like any regular couple would. There’s also an issue with Sakuya and Lucifer. That’s dealt with by the end of the book, too.
The way it’s dealt with… is pretty serious. But I couldn’t stop laughing. Why, you may ask? Well, a car accident is involved. A car accident as the high point in melodrama has made me laugh ever since I read Zetsuai/Bronze. That series is the most melodramatic manga ever written, and there are no less than three devastating car accidents, if I remember correctly. I just… can’t take it seriously ever again after that.
Also, my question about what was up between Lucifer’s manager and Aine was answered. I thought it was pretty classy, actually, and Sensual Phrase isn’t really known for its class.
But the car accident? Mayu Shinjo was a true artist with that. The way it was laid out on the page made it look much, much different than what actually happened. That made me laugh a little bit too, honestly, though the action itself was no laughing matter.
There’s a very short story in the back about Towa, one of the only members of Lucifer that hasn’t been spotlighted yet. Honestly, I think most of us forgot that Santa and Towa existed, but his story is still pretty cute.
The essay in the back from Kelly Sue DeConnick is about how the end is nigh. Luckily, I didn’t have to wait this one out. Honestly, I read about 11 volumes of this series in one sitting. Had I read it as it was released? I’d have desperately wanted to talk it up with just about everybody. I still do, as you might be able to tell by the fact I’ve written all 11 volumes up as I write them. The internet is indeed a beautiful thing.
