When it comes to Tetragrammaton Labyrinth, Volume 4, you may find the air redolent with the smell of lilies. But when you investgate further , this series remains mostly nioi-kei. Which is not to say that it’s not fun and games in this intensely violent and blood-spattered volume.
Angela and Meg are bound by a deep, irreversible magical and emotional bond. As long as Meg needs Angela to exist, she will. It is this and this alone that keeps Angela alive when she finally confronts the beast who robbed her of her humanity. And it is this that most readers will assign the value of “Yuri.”
The cute little girl torture continues and the the source for so much of it is revealed to be the much maligned Gilles de Rais, either a child torturer and rapist or a scapegoat for the politically motivated destruction of the Templars, depending on which side you are on. This de Rais is a child rapist and torturer sating some demonic need in the readers who like to read about stuff like that, then project their self-loathing onto the bad guy. (Just a guess, but…)
The torture continues with the story of Trude and her pathetic, half-demon, guro-fodder sister and their tragic and unfulfilling story in the middle of which is a scene that undoubtedly Angela x Meg ‘shippers point to as a “see?” moment. ^_^
The end of the volume brings no resolution, of course, but Team Us is finally together, with mostly all our body parts and we’ve got the Big Ass Powerful Weapon (TM) with which we will “uncover the secrets of this place!” I look forward to the “secrets” since this series has freely borrowed from any number of semi-legendary/semi-historical things and I’m simply aching to know what gets plundered next. ^_^
And to see more demonic blood shed, of course. That goes without saying.
…and to smell more of the scent of lilies in the middle of all that blood.
Ratings:
Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 4
Service – 8
Overall – 7
Today’s review was brought to you by Okazu Superhero Bruce McF. Thanks very much sir, for allowing us to wallow knee-deep in gore, pathos and Yuri.
Maybe I am wierd..but I enjoy this manga…and find a certain kindness between Meg and Angela that is rare. Maybe it is more like the love between older and younger sisters than any Yuri..
After all, Angela was once Meg’s older sister in the beginning of their relationship. Now, it seems reversed.
Hmmm, I wonder if this series can be compared to Chrono Crusade especially with Rosette’s and Chrono’s relationship being synonymous to Angela’s and Meg’s relationship.
I’m still iffy on wanting to start on this series though.
@darkchibi07 – Yes. :-)
@rphjas – I agree. It is much more like that to me as well. But the “need me with youtr mind, your heart, your body” bit in the middle will make many shippers point and say “see?” :)
“… gore, pathos and Yuri …”
Youpie!! Finally, after several swings and misses, a solid base hit.
Weird…the only scent of Yuri I’d ever picked up off this series was the scene early in this volume on the train when Meg is licking the blood off Angela’s face while saying that Angela’s fight is her fight…(which, to be honest, had my jaw dropping so much that it basically fell off and started rolling around the room because for the first three volumes there was just nothing Yuri-ish at all apart from the fact that the main characters were female.
I didn’t even notice that there was anything suggesting Yuri in the German HQ, though…
Darkchibi, the mangaka stated the similarities between his manga and Chrono Crusade, and I recall that he actually asked for permission from him. I think the series has some great gothic horror weirdness, and the gore is the hardest thing to get past for some, but if you can it’s solid.