Last month, I took a look at the first volume of the new Puella Magica spin-off, which has now been released in English from Yen Press. I found it interesting for squeezing an almost unbelievable real story, the history of Jeanne d’Arc, into the Madoka framework of magical girls.

In Volume 2 of of Puella Magi Tart Magica, (魔法少女たると☆マギカ The Legend of “Jeanne d’ Arc”), the historical record is both more – and less – important to the story. Volume 2 is hip deep into the actual events of the war and Jeanne’s rise to fame., culminating in the climactic scene where she is brought before the Dauphin of France, only to proclaim him a fake, then to identify the true Dauphin from the surrounding courtiers.

A little inexplicably, Gilles de Rais is shoved into the plot  – we’re assured that he’s not into girls, only young boys, so the magical girls will be safe. Uh-huh, okay, thanks Bluebeard.

In the meanwhile, a third girl is added to their complement, Melissa, the inexplicable maid-costume-wearing daughter of a soldier. But Melissa seems like she’s a perfect magical girl candidate and Kyuubey agrees. Jeanne tries to keep her from making a contract, but she’s not to be stopped when it comes to saving her father, Lise and Jeanne.

Aside from these small additions, the story follows Jeanne’s triumphs and ends with her encountering  three girls who Jeanne believes are England’s magical girls. They are not.

The art is still strong and while there is no Yuri, there are strong emotional connections between the magical girls…and some real effort into turning Melissa into more of a person than either Lise or Jeanne. I’m looking forward to reading this in English.

This volume is most interesting when they leave the story free to run it’s own course without Bluebeards and evil witches.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 6
Yuri – 1
Service – 4 Vilence is still violence-y

Overall – 8

The book is still an interesting example of squeezing an actual existing legend into this series’ framework.

Last year, we were treated to an anime, Akuma no Riddle/Riddle Story of a Devil, which was sold blatantly as a Yuri anime, but failed, really to be anything specific. I mean, yes, there was some kind of emotion between Haru and  Tokaku, but it was neither explained nor allowed any time to develop. In my review of the anime, I note “Tokaku has feels for Haru, but they are tucked well away and Haru “daisuki”s Tokaku, but that could mean – especially in the context of the story – just about anything.”

The manga for the series is written by Kouga Yun, who is much admired among manga creators, both for her skill and for her longevity. Okazu readers probably know her best as the creator of Loveless, but Earthian was her first huge breakout hit. (Does anyone else remember the Earthian anime? It was a 3-episode OVA made from a 21-volume manga series that made no sense, but was one of the first BL stories to be translated into English. Gay angels were so 1990s.)

Having watched the anime for Akuma no Riddle, I didn’t have any particular hope that the manga would be more coherent. Predictably, it is not. Volume 1 of Akuma no Riddle (悪魔のリドル) is almost word for word the anime, with ever so slightly more emphasis on individual concepts, and less on prolonged action scenes. So many things that were unexplained in the anime remain unexplained. Why Myoujou High has a “black class” of assassins who are to kill a classmate  – unexplained. The creepy principal, his koan-like riddles – unexplained, why he gives a rat’s ass about Toukaku – unexplained. How Haru really manages to not die – unexplained. The one thing that is well and truly explained, as best as there is an explanation for it, is Tokaku’s decision to side with Haru. The explanation is worth the time it takes to get there – she feels like it. You go, Tokaku. ^_^

The other assassin’s backstories will be varying degrees of interesting, but right away we learn that Isuke was rescued from neglectful/abusive parents and raised by two fathers, a fact that, like so many others in this series, are presented without context or explanation. No one says “Really? Two dads? Are they, like together?” as one might expect.

Riddle Story of a Devil manga has been licensed by Seven Seas with an October 2015 release date, and is already listed on the new Yuricon Store, along with all the other available Yuri manga in English! I have no doubt that they will do a competent job with what is a competent adaptation of a ever-so-slightly-perplexing anime. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 9 Clean and sharp
Story – So many holes, but fun 7
Characters – Pathos ahoy! 7
Service – 4 Because apparently this is a thing that boys need or something, I dunno.
Yuri – 1 Ever so slight in this story as a whole until the end, when it pops like a jiffy pop pan, hardly anything in this volume.

Overall – 7

It’s good, but I had kind of wished for better than just “good.”

In Volume 1 of Sugano Manami’s Himawari-san, high schooler Matsuri meets the owner of the Himawari Book Shop, eponymously referred to as “Himawari-san.” In Volumes, 2, 3 and 4, Matsuri and Himawari-san grow closer without ever quite really understanding one another.

By Volume 5, Matsuri’s infatuation with Himawari-san has developed away from a rolling boil of curiosity into a slow simmer of growing respect and friendship. And Himawari-san comes shockingly close to actually telling the younger girl something about herself.

It’s not that Himawari-san was so used to being alone that she doesn’t know how to be friends, we learn, from her old friend, Ayame. In fact, she and Himawari-san have been friends since school. So what holds Himawari-san back? Our lily-colored lenses see it as reticence not because she doesn’t want to be closer, but because she does.

There is little tension in these volumes. So, the smallest traces of conflict seem almost absurdly out of proportion. When Himawari-san’s older brother asks Matsuri out on a “date,” it’s a little off-putting, as we can see he’s more serious about it than she. But when he goes so far as to say that Himawari-san writes a lot about Matsuri in her diary and offers to tell Matsuri Himawari-san’s real name, it precipitates a crisis. First Matsuri gets mad for his presumption and then Himawari-san, who had been following them, gets madder for his presumption and because of her embarrassment. When Himawari-san and Matsuri sat comfortably side by side at the end of this arc, it dawned on me that Himawari-san is probably holding out until Matsuri graduates. When she is an adult, Himawari-san will feel comfortable sharing herself with Matsuri.

The beginning of the book is a touching piece on Matsuri and her sister Fuuko’s relationship, in which Fuuko also begins to see her sister more clearly.

And the end follows Ayame through a small crisis of her own.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 4
Service – 1

Overall  – 8

A surprisingly emotional volume of this series about a bookstore owner, and the lives she changes.