In Volume 1 of Katakura Ako’s Last Waltz, we met Shinobu, a “fixer” of a sort, for her high school’s Student Council President. She’s good at hand-to-hand fighting and, apparently, excellent in bed, leaving a trail of broken hearts and jealous lovers.
Volume 2 of Last Waltz (ラストワルツ ) brings two of her lovers, Yukari, a teacher, and Maria, a pop idol, into direct competition for her attention. Unfortunately for them, Shinobu declines to pick sides. In time honored fashion, they bond over Shinobu’s foibles.
More concerning, is someone is recruiting the girls from the school to a underworld life through a cafe waitress job. Shinobu racks up another conquest as she takes down the corrupt cafe owner.
And, finally, she learns the identity of the photographer who has been plaguing her. She’s captured by him, but manages (tied up as she is) to take him down and grab his camera. Will this stop the harassment? We’ll have to tune in to find out!
As I was reading this volume I had a sudden thought. If Shinobu was a male character, I probably wouldn’t give this series the time of day – but, even as ridiculous as it is, I don’t hate it. Shinobu herself has little personality, so you get to create the Shinobu you want as the story plods along. In my mind, Shinobu is a cold, calculating mercenary, with a mild lust for the President. ^_^
Ratings:
Art – 6
Story – 5
Characters – 5
Yuri – 8
Service – 8
Overall – 5
It makes amusing before-bed reading, so I’ll probably go ahead and get Volume 3 when it comes out. ^_^ Shinobu sleeps with a lot of girls, that’s the best recommendation I can make for this book.
Wait a minute. This is still ongoing? I can swear I’ve read on Katakura Ako’s twitter that Last Waltz ended in this volume.
I haven’t yet read the January Volume of Yuri Hime, so it could have ended.
“Shinobu sleeps with a lot of girls” is a great recommendation in my book! I’ll have to check that one out. Also, I don’t know if you’ve kept up with the serialized chapters (they’re more than a bit lackluster) of Akuma no Riddle, but there are a pair of characters that are out (to coworkers and family!) in the epilogue, so I thought that was worth a mention. Also, not yuri and I’m a bit late to the party, but Complex Age got a U.S. release– it’s a nice, unexpectedly accurate look at nerd girls on the cosplay and lolita scene as they approach those dreaded mid-late twenties and thirties.
I’ve read through Volume 3, and will eventually read V. 4. It’s been pretty word for word with the anime, so I haven’t felt a need to keep up with the manga. That said – it is definitely worth a mention, thanks!
And thanks for the news. ^_^
Got this on Bookwalker to remind myself how easy it is to support stuff like this now, thank you for the reminder that the second volume was out!
Shinobu’s actions towards her partners reminds me a bit of Niccolai Hal from the novel ‘Shibumi’. Hal is a parody of James Bond and similar characters but what makes Shinobu different to them (apart from the obvious) is that the women she sleeps with are allowed to have a significant impact on the plot outside of being someone for Shinobu to sleep with. They are all characters in their own right and indeed they get a lot more character moments than Shinobu does so they don’t feel like sexy lamps.
Also while she has even less character then Shinobu I am hoping the lady Shinobu goes to for information gets a love scene too. ^^;
Hah, she really has no character, doesn’t she? ^_^
So I bumped into this manga in a scanlation group’s website. I can’t read Japanese so when you’ve mentioned 2nd volume, is that Jap or Eng? Ha… I don’t mind buying it if there’s a translated version. I find the concept refreshing lol
If it doesn’t have “English” in the title of the review, it is in Japanese. At Okazu we do not support scanlation sites, they are distributing IP they have no right to distribute, without the permission of the creators, and they do not “support” the creator in any way.
Thanks for the reply! Right, as much as I can I buy these Yuri mangas if they’re available in English. T~T Scans introduce me to them though. Unfortunately I only find a handful in Seven Seas and other publishing companies. I’m not very familiar with the Okazu ways as well so thanks for the heads up.
If you know of decent sites where there’s a bunch of these Yuri mangas I can buy from (English), which is the one you recommend the most? Thanks much.
PS: I see ALC ads on the right hand side of this site and that’s noted.