Welcome to the wrongest way to read a series, part 3. ^_^ This series began in 2023, when I was wooed by the repeated appearance of girls with swords on book covers at Japanese bookstores and eventually picked up Volume 2 of one series and Volume 1 of the spin-off. I naturally began with the Volume 1, which was the Volume 1 of a 2-part spin-off of a 3-volume series. Oni to Yoake Yuzuikyo (鬼と夜明け 夕月夜) had me up all night reading about the Bakumatsu, the civil war at the end of the Edo period in which the Shinsengumi “patriots”, supporting the Shogunate, fought the pro-Imperial Shishi “rebels”. The more I read, the more I was convinced that both sides were awful. But, as we are reading about the souls of these shitty people reborn into the bodies of high school girls and playing out the factionism and fighting on the scale of high school kendo matches and hallway bickerings, it’s no less confusing to me, but much more interesting. ^_^ Interesting enough that I picked up Bakumatsu Joshikousei – Oni to Yoake, Volume 1 (幕末女子高生 鬼と夜明け 一) to figure out what was going on.
And, here, at last, Bakumatsu Joshikousei – Oni to Yoake, Volume 2 (幕末女子高生 鬼と夜明け 二) I kind of understand. ^_^ Quite irritatingly, the beginning of the book this time was better at explaining where we are in all this, so all that work I put in previous volumes was summed up in cliff note fashion. Sakomoto (who holds the soul of Sakamato and Hijikata (with the soul of Hijikata Toshizou) are still in love, but the rules of the school are firm – to avoid faction fighting, no relationships are allowed. However, with each regional clan in charge of different committees in school, factions still jockey for power and then…
Yoshida-sensei (who carries the soul of Yoshida Touyou) is brutally attacked by someone at night in the library. A letter is left that states this is “divine punishment” for the school, but no one claims the act. Yoshida-sensei is technically a Choshuu domain member, but is beloved by the students and the attack sets everyone on edge, especially Takasugi (the bearer of the soul Takasugi Shinsaku), who is, frankly devastated by the act.
Hijikata has the nagging sensation that they all are being pushed towards the Ikedaya Incident (CW: Some serious shit went down, torture and violence, so maybe only read it if you really want to know). These souls have been through this again and again and they are tired of it. Hijikata approaches Takasugi and asks, simply, if she wants to change this school. I have never been invested in a story of the Bakamatsu as much as I am now that they are going break this stupid cycle. (See my complaints that Kairo did not destroy the Aikata System with prejudice in Galette magazine.)
This series was massively popular on Twitter and Pixiv with Japanese fans and was nominated for Pixiv web manga awards, but missed the international acclaim of other series, presumably because westerners know nothing about the Bakumatsu unless they played one of the several games with related content. But I do like Ikuta Hana’s art and her commitment to the bit. ^_^
Ratings:
Art – 8
Story – Now that the real Bakumatsu rears it’s very ugly head, 7
Characters – 8
Service – Not really
Yuri – 5
Overall – 8
For American readers, imagine a story where Ulysses S. Grant and his generals and Robert. E. Lee and his, are all high school girls and the battle is still real, but they are in love with one another. ^_^;
You can read the comic for free in Japanese on the Michikusa Comics page or on Pixiv. Keep Wikipedia open while you do. ^_^
