Tag Archives: Yen Press

Book Review: Zombie-Loan, Vol 5 by Peach-Pit

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Zombie-Loan, Vol 4     

Author: Peach-Pit

Publisher: Yen Press

American release date:  February 17, 2009

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Fantasy Manga/176 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Michiru, Chika, and Sotetsu find themselves with an unexpected – and not very much wanted – ally in the form of Touhou. But his assistance is short-lived. He points them in the right direction to save Shito and makes his departure. Shito’s captor, Dr. Yoshizumi, is determined not to release him until he gets what he wants from Shito’s family – the law of shikai! The doctor plans to conquer death and he believes Shito’s family holds the secret to doing just that!

The group run into Ossan and Yuuta, to Sotetsu’s dismay, but Ossan says he was sent by Bekkou on a zombie case. Chika, seeing dollar signs, is all for that. Meanwhile, the doctor has an unexpected visitor in the form of an agent from the Akashic Record Reform Committee. She proposes to bend some rules in order to help him out.

Chika bursts into the room where Shito is being held, and of course he can’t resist needling his roommate. When Shito demands to be released from the chains that bind him, Chika refuses…until Shito uses his first name!  Stalemate!

Ossan confronts Sawaturi about the choices he’s made, but the man claims he was being used by Yoshizumi and how the doctor’s obsession with life and death resulted in the creation of a monstrous golem they call Phalanx. But Phalanx is stuck in a tank of nutrient and has no brain to act as control center. Which is why the Doctor wants the law of Shikai. Well, maybe he can work around that.

Shito’s been rescued, time to celebrate!  Drinking and karaoke all around! And while that is happening, a meeting of the ferrymen occurs.

I’m glad that Shito was rescued, although that was bittersweet also. But there are still so many questions unanswered. Hopefully we’ll learn more later. Watching Chika trying to force Shito to use his first name was hilarious. Chika should learn not to force things, that’s not how to get things done.  He needs to learn patience. The ferrymen meeting is very interesting, as is the Doctor’s studies of golems. And when there’s drinking involved, is it surprising that secrets are revealed?

Another great volume, looking forward to the next one!

Book Review: Zombie-Loan, Vol 4 by Peach-Pit

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Zombie-Loan, Vol 4       

Author: Peach-Pit

Publisher: Yen Press

American release date:  June 17, 2008

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Fantasy Manga/192 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Shito is even touchier than usual, especially after finding that someone has been in his room without his permission. How does he know? Things have been moved a fraction of a millimeter! He rejects Chika’s attempts to bond with him and takes off, warning the others not to follow. A strange man appears shortly after and hugs Chika within an inch of his life, to Chika’s annoyance. Michiru is surprised to learn the newcomer is Chika’s dad, Yuuri! With him is Chika’s sister, Momoka, who is not quite as energetic as her father. Michiru is appalled when they mistake her for Chika’s wife, but Chika lets them know that’s not true.

Meanwhile, Shito finds the man he knows to be responsible for the state of his room, a Chinese man who calls him Shito-shao. He refers to Shito as a monster, and mentions his master is concerned about him and his dealings with the zombie-loan people. When he returns home, Shito and Chika get into another fight. Ferryman decides to take everyone to dinner (with Ot-Su’s money)

Chika and Shito are in desperate need of money, especially since the trip to the hot springs wasn’t even zombie related. So when they spot a potentially high yielding zombie hunt, they jump at the chance to earn some big bucks. Meanwhile, a strange doctor is performing even stranger experiments on people, something have to do with zombies. And suddenly, Shito disappears.  At first no one questions it. But, as days pass, Chika begins to feel the effect of Shito’s absence, as does Shito. Something has to be done.

And another player enters the scene!

This volume mostly revolves around Shito’s kidnapping and recovery. We finally get a glimpse into Shito’s backstory, and it is a very interesting story indeed. We meet some new characters, including a free-wheeling zombie hunter and a somewhat adorable Shinigami that Michiru wants to take home. But of course, retrieving Shito can’t be too easy, right? So we end on a cliffhanger, as usual. Looking forward to the next volume!

Book Review: Zombie-Loan, Vol 3 by Peach-Pit

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Zombie-Loan, Vol 3     

Author: Peach-Pit

Publisher: Yen Press

American release date:  June 17, 2008

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Fantasy Manga/192 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Chika and Shito arrive too late to prevent Michiru and Koyomi from being kidnapped! They find themselves in the midst of the Butterfly’s fans, who are certainly a strange lot. Sitting around the dinner table with them gives Michiru an eerie feeling, especially when one person announces there is a heretic among them! Panicking, Michiru attempts to rouse the slumbering Koyomi, only to discover  that it is Yomi who responds to her frantic pleas. And then the cavalry arrives, aka Shito and Chika!

One of the fans escapes, and Michiru says she noticed a black ring around his neck, so the boys are up to going after him. Koyomi is in no condition to come with, but they call Yuuta to come and get her and off they go! They follow him into a decrepit abandoned building. Turns out this isn’t just any old fan of the Butterfly – it’s the man himself! And, even better, he has become a god!  Shades of Caligula!

Or is he?

Michiru is concerned about Chika. He seems understandably down after recent shocking events. She wants to help, but his request to sleep in her room throws her for a loop! Shito finds himself stuck with him when Michiru refuses.

The Chancellor decides everyone needs a chance to relax, so she sponsors a trip for everyone to the hot springs, including the Ferryman! Yay! But things take an unexpected turn when they arrive at a hotel that was shut down 27 years ago because of rumors of ghosts on the premises. Michiru’s room is next to Shito and Chika’s, and she can hear that, as usual, they are arguing. So she retreats to the hot springs to find Koyomi has arrived before her. Except it isn’t Koyomi, it’s Yomi, and she’s… well-developed. Which is a little intimidating for Michiru. And Yomi is so…touchy feely!

An impartial lottery decides Michiru and Shito have to go to the store to buy ingredients for dinner. But of course, nothing is simple with them, and trouble is never far behind.

I am really enjoying this series, and I like all the characters. This volume has an unexpected and horrific betrayal! Never saw that coming. The relaxation trip is pretty cute  and the cliffhanger leaves us wondering what is going to happen to Shito? Can’t wait for the next book!

Book Review: Zombie-Loan, Vol 2 by Peach-Pit

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Zombie-Loan, Vol 2     

Author: Peach-Pit

Publisher: Yen Press

American release date:  February 13, 2008

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Fantasy Manga/192 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

The Sister is missing, but life goes on, and even changes a little when Michiru says she won’t be getting the girls’ lunches anymore. Chika and Shito applaud her for standing up for herself, even if Chika still calls her gofer. But when he catches her eating bread crusts for lunch, because she can get them for free, he is appalled, because he believes that women need to eat food with fat so they can bear healthy babies. Unfortunately, being short of money for food, Michiru also has no place to live. Shito and Chika have an idea and return to Z-Loan where they tell her to go with a mysterious little girl, who will help her get a place to stay. She turns out to be Shimotsuki Kuze, chancellor of Holy Kurou Campus. Michiru ends up in the school’s old monastery, which has been turned into students dorms. But students must meet two criteria in order to stay there. First, the student must have a living arrangement problem as the result of a family issue.

Before Michiru can learn the second condition, a cheerful girl named Koyomi arrives, and the Chancellor tells her to show Michiru around and then leaves herself without offering an explanation. The condition of the dorms is less than ideal, but Michiru is thrilled to have her own room, with a window, even though it opens onto the cemetery. Shito and Chika and Koyomi throw her a small welcome party, which is when Michiru learns of her debt to the two boys. The only way to pay this debt is to work with them. After the party, Michiru also learns of Koyomi’s secret. The boys are delighted to learn that they can use Michiru to bring out that secret, naturally to benefit them.

Chika takes Michiru to his second job at a convenience store and makes her help him with his work. There he runs into an old acquaintance, Shiba, and the two boys instantly bond. Michiru thinks she’s never seen Chika so happy. However the situation turns dire when the three find themselves faced with a large number of rats!  Shiba’s solution to the problem surprises both Chika and Michiru. Afterward, when Shinba follows them to Z-Loan, things get tricky. Everyone is working together to solve a recent murder, and Shiba proves surprisingly helpful. So Ferryman offers him a job, to Shito’s chagrin. Believing Shito to be jealous of Chika’s relationship with Shiba, Michiru is set straight by Shito, who explains how things really work with him and Chika and why they appear to be so close.

Lots of secrets going on – some revealed, some not. We meet some new characters, including the personable Shiba, whom I suspect will be around for a while. Is he as nice as he appears to be, or does he contain a secret self? Only time will tell. The revelation regarding Chika and Shito is not totally surprising, as we saw evidence in the first volume, it’s simply been corroborated now. I like the artwork as well as the story and look forward to reading more.

Book Review: Zombie-Loan, Vol 1 by Peach-Pit

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Zombie-Loan, Vol 1        

Author: Peach-pit

Publisher: Yen Press

American release date: October 17, 2007

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Horror/Fantasy Manga/208 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Michiru Kita is the kind of girl who never speaks up for herself, and does what others tell her to do without question. As evidenced by the way the group of girls she eats lunch with every day make her buy all their food, and she has to go and get it herself! She’s on the way back one day when she accidentally runs into two male students, knocking off her glasses. To her alarm, she sees black rings around their necks. Apologizing, she hurries to the cafeteria to deliver the lunch order.  There she discovers that the two boys she ran into are known as Boy A and Boy B, because they were the sole survivors of a horrible accident. Kita finds the rings disturbing because in her experience, people who have them tend to die. Worse than that, though, did she really see what she thought she saw? She awakens in the school infirmary, having fainted. She really wishes the Sister had wakened her instead of allowing her to sleep.

It’s dark and it’s late as she hurries across the empty school grounds, headed home lest her aunt worry about her. But she is stopped by Boy B, real name Chika, who demands she pay him 500 yen for what happened earlier. Seriously? They are joined by Boy A, Shito, who proposes they kill her, presumably for what she witnessed. What to do, what to do? She tells them she just wanted to warn them about danger, about the rings on their necks, and then she manages to sprint to safety.

The next day Shito and Chika face Kita’s bullies and tell them that Kita is their go-fer now, not theirs. Things are going from bad to worse, so she stays home after that but they find her anyway, and even charm her aunt into giving them tea. They claim they are debt collectors.  Kita tries to pay them the 500 yen they demanded but they tell her the debt is now 50 million yen. Wth? They then spirit Kita away to a shady looking business that gives loans. They were very surprised at her ability to see their rings, and they have a definite use for such an ability. See, they work for a special branch of the loan company – the zombie-loan arm – and they owe a huge debt themselves. With her help, they can more easily make the money they need to pay off their debt. Why aren’t they dead, though, when their rings are so dark? In Kita’s experience, the darker the ring, the more imminent death. Oh well, that’s easily explained. They are dead… kinda sorta. They introduce her to the Ferryman, who is an odd sort. And thus a strange business relationship begins.

There is something about Shito and Chika that reminds me of the Boondock Saints, maybe it’s the crosses they wear, not sure. Or maybe it’s just the way they work in tandem. This was a very interesting volume and a great introduction to the series. I anticipate great hijinks ahead and interesting adventures. The Ferryman isn’t what you might expect, being rather quirky and nerdy, kind of like Undertaker in Black Butler but not quite as flamboyant. I suspect there will be character development in this series as it’s already begun. I look forward to seeing Kita grow as a person, and Shito and Chika too. There is already evidence that they are not as heartless as they would have people believe.

Good first volume, looking forward to more.

Book Review: Soul Eater, Vol 9 by Atshushi Ohkubo

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Soul Eater, Vol 9   

Author: Atsushi Ohkubo

Publisher: Yen Press

American release date: April 8, 2014

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/manga/paranormal/204 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★

Reviewer:  Julie Lynn Hayes

 

Death the Kid has gone to the DWMA library, determined to learn all he can about the mysterious Eibon, who is supposedly the same as the Shinigami. Wth? He tells the librarian he needs to go through the books in the level 4 stacks, but she tells him he isn’t allowed access, as he’s just a one-star meister. But when he shows her his badge, and she realizes he’s the Shinigami’s son, suddenly she’s all kinds of cooperative and offers to fetch the books he wants herself. Unfortunately, the one book on Eibon the library owns was checked out two months previously and never returned. The only signature is a single M. Kid has a bad feeling he knows who that is.

Crona is in a touch position. He is beginning to make friends for the first time and has been accepted by Maka and her friends, only to be approached by his crazy mother, Medusa, who has an errand for him. How can he please her without betraying his friends? Does he even have the strength to stand up to her, even after the way she has treated him? Ragnarok is no help, constantly reminding Crona that if he doesn’t do as Medusa says, she will get very angry with him. Crona just can’t handle anger…

While searching DWMA for the secret vault, Crona runs into Marie, and is fearful she will be suspicious of his being where he should not be. Luckily, she is clueless and thinks he is lost, just like her, and offers to help him find his way. The blind leading the blind! Will her assistance be worse than her thinking he’s up to something?

Crona receives his next assignment, when he fails to find the vault. He has to bug Dr. Stein’s lab!

The worst meister ever at DWMA is Hero, a guy the other students pick on and use for menial tasks. But Hero has a goal—to claim the Holy Sword as his weapon. Then no one will treat him like that. So what if it comes with some strange requirements he has to meet. The fight is on! How long will DWMA remain under Hero’s control?

Shinigami informs Stein that Arachnophobia knows the whereabouts of another Demon Tool known as Brew. Stein must begin more intensive duel instructions with his students immediately! Teams who are unable to synchronize their wavelengths will be cut from Stein’s class by the end of the day! Maka, Black Star, and Kid are failing spectacularly, and things aren’t looking good for them. Maka wants Black Star off the team, but Stein refuses. Can they get their act together in time or will they end up being cut?

Brew is located on an island just north of Alaska, Lost Island. But there’s a catch. Once the witches had a demon tool development facility on the island, but it was accidentally destroyed. Because of that a magnetic field has arisen, keeping people from approaching the island. Anyone who lingers inside the magnetic field risk permanent damage to their body. Twenty minutes is the limit. The timer has begun, the race is on!

This volume of Soul Eater introduces us to a couple of students we haven’t met before, including Hero, Pot Meister Kilik Rung, Lamp Meister Kim Diehl, and Spear Meister Ox Ford. Before this, we seldom saw other students, so it’s good to have that chance now.

Death the Kid is one of my favorite characters. Despite his quirks, he’s a really good Shinigami, and has a strong sense of justice. I know he will research Eibon until he finds an answer, no matter where the information leads him.  Stein has come a long way since we first met him. I can see what a good instructor he is. He won’t let the students get hurt if he can help it. Interesting that he and Marie are living together now. I hadn’t seen him as the domestic type. You have to feel sorry for Crona, caught between a rock and a hard place—the mother he loves, for some unknown reason, and the new friends he’s made at DWMA. I suspect that when the time comes, he will do the right thing.

Justin is on top of his game in this volume, and shows he is more than just that annoying weapon. Watching Maka, Black Star and Kid attempt to resonate together, and failing at it, is just a reminder that despite what kind of students they are, they are still teenagers who have a lot to learn. But they will, I’m sure.

Another appearance by Mifune, whom I truly believe will end up on the right side in the end, and DWMA will learn a lesson in tolerance as well.

A special mysterious guest appearance at the end of the book sets us up for the next one! Not sure when I’ll be able to read that, since the libraries are closed right now because of COVID-19, but will get to it as soon as I can. Looking forward to it!

 

Book Review: Soul Eater, Vol 8 by Atsushi Ohkubo

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Soul Eater, Vol 8       

Author: Atsushi Ohkubo

Publisher: Yen Press

American release date: April 8, 2014

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/manga/paranormal/188 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

 

It’s Black Star against the bodyguard Mifune! Mifune doesn’t have much choice in the matter, as the little witch Angela is being held hostage. Black Star has come to help Sid, who is to destroy the demon tool Mifune admires Black Star’s Uncanny sword, but is Tsubaki any match for Mifune’s Infinite One-sword style? When Tsibaki tries to persuade Mifune to become a teacher at DWMA, where he can work with children, he tells her the story of how he and Angela met.

Back at DWMA, Maka is still recovering in the infirmary, and gets annoyed when Soul and Black Star begin whispering together in front of her and won’t explain what’s going on.

Something evil is on the loose in Death City, as evidenced by the snake which has wriggled its way into a little girl, out for a walk with her mommy. When Sid returns with the blueprints for the demon tool, he’s surprised that Shinigami-sama tells him to seal it inside the Secret Vault for now, rather than destroy it. What can Shinigami-sama want with such a thing? Isn’t it dangerous to keep it intact? What if someone managed to get their hands on it?

Back at DWMA, Maka has returned to class. Tsubaki is concerned about Black Star. He keeps challenging other people and getting into fights. But why? Dr. Stein is trying to teach the students about cooperation and teamwork, but that isn’t working out so well. Meanwhile, at Arachnophobia headquarters, an unexpected player shows up in the form of Arachne’s younger sister, Medusa!

Death the Kid is throwing a party, and Tsubaki has made all the food, although Liz keeps taking credit for having done it, in order to impress a guy. But Patty and Soul put the kibosh on that plan pretty effectively! Kid unexpectedly tells Patty and Liz to come with him to the Sahara, by orders of the Shinigami. Their mission is to stop the Runaway Express. Shinigami suspects that it’s being powered by a Demon Tool, so they must overtake it and capture the tool! However, that means going toe to toe with with the Fisher King!

Crona is thrilled to be making friends at DWMA, even if Ragnarok can be rather surly to them at the best of times. But things are looking up for him… until a certain someone from his past shows up, someone he has always had trouble saying no to. Will Medusa use the child she was so quick to toss out? And for what purpose?

Two of my favorite things about this action-packed volume of Soul Eater are seeing Mifune again and seeing Death the Kid in action again. I like Mifune, and I hope that ultimately they’ll be able to persuade him to become a teacher at DWMA. With his love of children, I think he would be a natural. But for that to happen, there has to be a place there for Angela too. Which means some attitude readjustment regarding witches. As for Death, he’s one of my favorite characters, quirks and all. Sometimes it’s easy to forget just how very powerful he is, and watching him in action only serves to reinforce that.

My only lament is there is not much of Maka and Soul, but now that Maka is feeling better, I hope to see more of them in future volumes. Also, not much of Spirit, Maka’s father. I can’t help but feel he is actually growing and maturing. He does love his daughter very much (plus I think he’s cute lol).

The big mystery here concerns Shinigami and his growing collection of demon tools. Does he have ulterior motives for not destroying them? I don’t believe he’s doing it for bad reasons, maybe misguided ones? Hard to say at this point, too little information.

Another great volume, looking forward to more of the same!

Book Review: Soul Eater, Vol 7 by Atshushi Ohkubo

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Soul Eater, Vol 7   

Author: Atsushi Ohkubo

Publisher: Yen Press

American release date: November 11, 2014

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/manga/paranormal/208 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

 

Now that the crazy Kishin is on the loose, Shinigami-sama is summoning the strongest weapons he can from around the world to locate and contain him. Justin Law, from Western Europe, is a very pious fellow who prays a lot. Azusa is in charge of East Asia and Marie Mjolnir is in charge of Oceania. Marie has visions of being married but never seems to find the right guy. Interestingly, her first love was Dr. Stein! Meanwhile Stein approaches a very dispirited Death Scythe, who is busy polishing candlesticks, and learns he is fearful that he is about to be replaced and sent away and will never be able to see Maka again.  They go to a meeting with Shinigami-sama, along with Azusa and Marie, only to find an oblivious Justin already there. Stein informs the others about the madness wavelength that the Kishin emits, which “prods and incites the madness lying deep within the human soul.” And is quite contagious. Besides this, there are other dangers possible with this wavelength, such as the awakening of dormant witches or the rise of the lost continent of Atlantis, and much more. Shinigami-same reassigns Marie to work with Stein and puts Azusa in charge of Oceania, while holding Justin in reserve for now.

A few of the DWMA students decide to play a little basketball—Kid, Patty and Black Star vs Soul, a reluctant Maka, and Tsubaki—while Stein shows Marie around and she whines about finding a husband. Shinigami-sama wants to talk to Spirit about Stein and asks him to look out for Stein, concerned that the madness wavelength might be affecting him. Afterward, he is pleasantly surprised by Maka’s request to spend time with him, unaware that is the price she has to pay for losing the basketball game.

Shinigami-same decides to admit Crona on a trial enrollment at DWMA. A concerned Sid asks Maka if maybe she can get through to Crona, since Sid hasn’t been able to. Maka reaches out to Crona and introduces him to Marie. Crona still has Ragnarok and he’s still obnoxious but he’s much less powerful and smaller than he was before. Now he’s more annoying than dangerous. A report is received from the Czech Republic about a golem wreaking havoc, so Sid sends Maka and Crona to check it out. Shinigami-sama is concerned as golems are meant to protect, not attack, so he wants Stein’s opinion on what is going on. Stein is alarmed at what he discovers but Shinigami-sama assures him that he has sent a strong ally to aid Maka and Crona.

Things are definitely picking up with Soul Eater, with the arrival of the Death Weapons and dealing with the effects of the Kishin’s escape. Of the three new arrivals, Azusa is the least annoying. Marie whines far too much about wanting to get married, and Justin is in his own little world, with his earbuds and his holier-than-thou attitude. I haven’t made up my mind about Crona, but maybe my feelings toward him are really directed toward Ragnarok, who is an utter creep. We meet another villain in this volume, who seems as though she will be a formidable foe, and we also see the return of an interesting character we’ve met before. Maka’s day with dad was great, and also not entirely unexpected in what she has to deal with. I like Spirit, despite his shortcomings. I know he means well and he loves his daughter, but he can be such a horn dog at times and so immature! The story of Maka and Crona’s trip to the Czech Republic is very interesting, as is the golem itself. All in all, a good volume, looking forward to the next one!

 

 

Book Review: Soul Eater, Vol 6 by Atsushi Ohkubo

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Soul Eater, Vol 6      Soul Eater, Vol 6 cover

Author: Atsushi Ohkubo

Publisher: Yen Press

American release date: January 16, 2018

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/manga/paranormal/192 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

 

The race is on! Can the students of DWMA prevent the First Kishin from being resurrected? If not, what will the consequences be?

As Death the Kid hurries to join forces with Black Star and Tsubaki, he finds himself unable to proceed due to the asymmetry of the hallway he must pass through. Can Patty and Liz put him back on the right track and get him to move forward? Meanwhile, fearful of being caught up with, Free commandeers Tadpole Jackson from Eruka. Maka is facing down Crona. In order to defeat her, Maka allows herself to slip into madness. Will this work? And will she be able to come back from it?

Dr. Stein is battling Medusa, while still monitoring what is happening ahead of them. As Eruka and Free draw close to the First Kishin, they begin to fall under the spell of his madness, which manifests itself in various illusions.

This is one of the most action-packed, exciting volumes of Soul Eater so far, and I loved it. Everyone is racing toward the First Kishin. Some want to resurrect him, while the others wish to prevent that. Lives will be changed, sacrifices made, but who will come out on top? I consider Maka, if anyone, to be the star of this volume, but everybody plays their parts well, even Death Scythe.

As usual, there is a certain amount of humor to be found, even in the face of what might turn into tragedy. Look for Blair the Witch, who has a small part to play herself. Looking forward to the next volume!

 

 

Book Review: Soul Eater, Volume 3 by Atsushi Ohkubo

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Soul Eater, Vol 3     

Author: Atsushi Ohkubo

Publisher: Yen Press

American release date: March 3, 2015

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/manga/paranormal/192 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

 

Soul is hospitalized, following the fight with Ragnarok, unaware that some of the creature’s black blood has mixed in with his. What they are all unaware of is that the witch Medusa has become a doctor at the hospital! That can’t be good! A depressed Maka blames herself for Soul being hurt, but as she leaves his hospital room, she finds her father waiting for her. She goes up to the roof with him to watch the sunset.

Black Star balks at the remedial lesson he’s been assigned by Sid—he’s charged with cleaning and straightening up the library. Not sure where to begin, he runs across the library’s collection of manga, to his delight. When he expresses his joy a little too loudly, he draws the ire of Death the Kid, who is also there. Not accidentally, as Black Star assumes, but very much on purpose. Death tells him he’s looking for a book about a legendary blade, call the “holy sword” known as Excalibur. Dr. Stein weighs in and tells them even he could not draw Excalibur. So naturally Black Star and Death the Kid want to twith hiry their hand at it! Although, perhaps this isn’t quite the adventure they were looking for.

Tsubaki accepts an assignment to deal with the Uncanny Sword Masamune, even though Shinigami-sama warns her it will be a hard fight. But she feels compelled to do it, mostly because Masamune is her older brother! She and Black Star head to the village she came from. Black Star is his usual loud self. But when a villager notices his tattoo and recognizes it for what it is, Black Star’s story begins to come out. When they find Masamune, Black Star battles him, using Tsubaki. But the fight is ultimately Tsubaki’s, and she’ll do what she must, even if that includes getting into her brother’s head.  Black Star sets up a vigil beside Tsubaki’s body and vows to wait for her as long as it takes.

In the hospital, Soul confides to Medusa about his strange dream, which has a disturbingly Twin peaks vibe and ends in the same disturbing way—with him coming out of Maka’s stomach! Medusa tells him not to worry about it. On his release, Maka throws a party for him at their apartment, and Blair gives Make and Death the Kid quite a shock. Suddenly, Maka is startled at the realization that there is a presence in Death City that should not be there.

I especially enjoyed seeing more of Tsubaki in this volume of Soul Eater. She doesn’t usually get as much attention as Black Star, probably because he’s a hog for the spotlight and she is much quieter. Her interaction with her brother is touching. I also liked watching Black Star and Death the Kid in their quest to draw Excalibur from the stone. The cover, featuring Death the Kid and the Thompson sisters, is great. As usual, I love the artwork. I liked seeing a more tender, Dad side of Maka’s father. Too bad I don’t think it’ll last. He always manages to do something wrong sooner or later.

Another great volume, looking forward to more of the same!