Monday, March 12, 2012

To Love-Ru Darkness Vol. 4


VOL. 4
13 – Adhesion

For some reason, this chapter seemed to have a more lightheart atmosphere and in the spirit of the original To Love-Ru.  The ecchi was a step down from previous chapters, which I found was surprising (as I thought the author would ramp it up more and more with each chapter… not that I’m complaining, the ecchi was getting a bit too much).  It's a bit boring to see that the same plot device is being used again, what I mean by this is that something that happened to Rito in another chapter happens again here, and it just doesn't have the same effect.  In this case, the magnetic invention of Lala that appeared in ‘Hand and Tail’ in the original series is back, the only difference being that Rito is stuck with Yami.


I laughed a lot in this chapter, I thought the jokes were nice and not as forced as they used to be (the one liner dialogues were just great), the ending of the bathroom scene was a bit over the top but it’s bearable.  With Yami as Rito’s partner in this chapter, it just doesn't have the same bitter sweet feel as Lala.  Nana stars in this chapter too, and some of the drawings are really nice.  It’s only at the end of the chapter that we get to something that's remotely interesting (as pretty much the whole chapter is pointless), Yami’s past.  Of course, the author can't resist but to link it to Black Cat, with Yami remembering something about “Dr Tearju Lunatique” (Eve’s creator in Black Cat).


The chapter ends just as Yami said that they’ll talk about the past (one on one with Rito… in the middle of the night… in bed… gee, he has it lucky), so the next chapter will be the revealing one, at least, one would hope that.  In the end, I enjoyed reading this chapter, there was nothing here that jumped out at me as shocking or over the line, and is one of the funnier chapters in the whole series so far, I just wished that the author wouldn't reuse the same ‘tricks’ as they lose their charm after the first use.

14- Past

Yami spoke of her past in this one, and it feels so very… human?  For a moment there, I completely forgot that she was supposed to be alien, as everything, from her toys, to the people around her, to even the clothes, they’re all very ordinary, you would not have expected it was in outer space.  I guess it doesn't help that it seems quite similar to Black Cat and get mistaken (for like a second) that this was that universe instead.  It sometimes feels a bit cheaty to include characters, with the exact appearance, name and role, from Black Cat into this universe.  It was cool the first couple of times (like Yami and Black), but now even Tearju Lunatique, and somehow, it kinda doesn't fit into the cool demeanour of Yami’s personality.  Plenty of humour, and the interaction of Mikan and Momo was great, it was like Mikan was purposely waiting for Momo to turn up.


Story wise, Yami’s past wasn't as intriguing as it would have led you to believe (as I mentioned earlier, it was very oridinary), I think the more interesting parts would be the period when she was separated from Tearju to when she left for Earth (the journey to how she became an assassin).  There’s the obligatory ecchi moments here and there, nothing major, and also the continual ‘warming’ of Yami’s attitude towards Rito.  The ending appearance of Tearju tries to hook you up to the next chapter, but by this point, I feel I have lost interest.  It’s still mysterious, but I would rather a new character than a character from another series appearing here.  Most of my critical comments are on that, and that’s the biggest disappointment for this chapter, but it’s still a good chapter.

15 – Refrain

At the last chapter I thought that Tearju was brought to Earth by Mea and her master as a sort of ploy, turns out it wasn't, and that it was Mikado who brought her here.  I must say I was surprised at that.  She keeps all her traits from Black Cat, and even calls Yami ‘Eve’.  To be honest, I don’t really like how the two manga worlds are kinda warped together now, especially the explanation from Tearju make it seem like that the organisation is something like Chronos.  Anyway, since the school is the setting for the whole chapter, we get to see quite a lot of the different cast.  From Yui (who was hilarious with her ‘shameless’ plug), to Saruyama, to the principal.  Once Lala pulled out pyon pyon warp kun, we could pretty much guess what could happen.  It just doesn’t feel the same, like it’s forced, and Tearju is a bit… exaggerated (seemed so much like a doujin at that point).  The meet up between Yami and Tearju was what you would expect, not very interesting.  I was surprised that the ecchi is dying down; there weren’t many ecchi scenes in this chapter.  Overall, the chapter was a bit of a letdown, but still a decent enough chapter.

16 – The Right Thing

The first thing I noticed about this chapter was that ecchi goes back to the level of around the first few chapters of the series.  To be fair, at least the situations weren’t as awkward as they could be.  In terms of what happens, there was a fair few things being revealed, especially about Mea’s mysterious master.  As usual, the art is really nice.  Mea’s intentions and attitude do seem a bit artificial however, it’s really hard to explain, but I find her motive isn’t really that realistic, that’s the best way I can put it.  The chapter isn’t really up there when compared to others, but it’s not boring either, just not enough to captivate you.

Extra – Body Touch?

I smiled at quite a few places in this chapter, which makes it worthwhile of my time.  There was a lot of amusing places.  So, Haruna gets turned into a cat here and then runs off to Rito’s house (to find Nana, as she can talk to animals), and I love how the whole thing ends up paralleling when Rito got turned into a dog.  Granted, it feels like another rip off from the plot of a previous chapter early on, but that feeling shakes off quite soon.  One thing I would have liked would be if Haruna didn't turn back while still in the bath, it would have been better if she managed to get away first, but ah well.  Of course, it’s always good to have another chapter that stars Haruna as she has been missing in action a lot lately.  The ecchi wasn't as bold here (but still some very suggestive moments) and as usual, the art is very nice.

Extra – Room

A really short chapter (or extra, whatever) and has a bit of a random feel to it.  I felt this one was just summing up some of the past events of To Love-Ru in which Momo first met Rito.  It was amusing to see Momo playing the game she brought back in Chapter 12.  It was all good until the obligatory ecchi scene, which somehow didn't really fit in.  Although that’s not the point, I think I liked seeing all the other characters in the background like Lala, Mikan, Nana and Celine rather than Momo herself.

Overall

A bit of a hit and miss, once again.  I find that the author is reusing a lot of past concepts and ideas, which somewhat dulls and ‘cheapens’ some of the enjoyment.  I guess it doesn't help that Yami’s past is being dragged closer and closer to Black Cat’s Eve (I know Yami is based on Eve but still…).  I liked the first two or so chapters more than the last two.  Still, more enjoyable than past volumes.
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