VOL. 6
21 –
Rain
A follow up
to the ending of the last chapter, where Nana finally learns of Mea’s true form
(a bit early if you ask me, if Nana found out later, then it would have been
more interesting). The whole chapter
centres on her feelings and it’s actually quite typical what happens. You can guess what happens, Rito notices
there’s something wrong with Nana, he goes and cheers her up, and there’s a lot
of fan service in the process (speaking of fan service, there’s a lot of
suggesting positions in this chapter).
I
was thinking while Rito was talking to Nana, he’s going to give her a hug and
she’s going to like it, and that’s exactly what happened. Rito’s cheering words were interesting, and
Nana’s reactions weren’t cheesy either.
A few good jokes scattered around the place, and as per usual, the art
is very nice. I wouldn't say I had a
blast reading it, but I wasn't bored by it either.
22 –
After a Storm Comes a Calm
Still
continuing on with Nana’s problem with Mea, it’s finally resolved now (thank
goodness, it was starting to get boring).
A lot of dialogue and actions in the chapter were kinda cheesy. I hate to say it, but the quality is going on
the decline, jokes are overdone, and fan service becomes forced, the series
really needs a breath of fresh air. The
art and drawing stays as sharp as ever, and for once, Rito didn't have a
blunder or accident that caused the whole incident.
The thing that feels weird is that the series
seems to try for a serious tone, yet what actually happens breaks that illusion
and you end up with this thing that’s stuck between a serious manga and a
lighthearted one. Surprisingly, the
Master makes an appearance, after being reduced to only being mentioned in the
last few chapters, do wish the author would hurry up and reveal who she is. All in all, it’s getting thoroughly boring.
23 –
Summer Festival
OMG, Zastin
makes his first ever appearance here in Darkness, wow, I was actually very
surprised at that. Although there was no
reason for him being there, it was just more a cameo than anything (just like
everyone else except for Rito and Momo…).
So this is another obligatory chapter with an excuse for the female
characters to wear yukatas. I thought it
would just be another pointless chapter, but no, it was actually quite
good.
I liked the atmosphere at the
beginning, until the middle where the innuendoes started to appear (using the
same trick as the ice block from a few chapters before), some bits were
actually funny. A lot of the cast
appears here (whether in only one frame or more), from Tearju to the Principal,
a whole get together I guess. However,
it was the ending where it was most shocking, actually, that’s not the word,
surprising is more like it. Why? Mea’s master, whom had only been seen in half
shadow or from behind until now (all we can glean from that is that she has
long hair), finally appears.
After that
plot behind halted for a while, the author has brought it back. Of course, that just happens to be on the
last frame, setting a cliffhanger for the next.
The characters were all drawn extremely cute, but in doing so, their
faces appear more similar to each other than ever before. I believe this chapter is well worth reading,
there were some cleverer humour and the ending is actually important.
24 – The
Door of Fate
Well, the
appearance of Master makes for an anticlimax.
It didn't start of that well either, what with the obligatory
trademarked Rito clumsiness. He falls
down right on top of her beginning another series of fan service; it wouldn't
be so bad if it wasn't so overdone. I’m
surprised at what Master wants, being friends…?
If this is going along the path of Yami and Mea, then she will probably
be converted too and part of the ever increasing companions for Rito.
If that happens, it’ll be one of the most
unoriginal ideas ever (but I’m getting waaaay ahead of myself, it’s hardly
likely that it’s going to happen this way).
The term “darkness” gets thrown out about once again, with Tearju
hinting at some hidden transformation ability in Yami? I felt a big portion of the chapter was a
time waster.
Extra – Anxious (1)
This chapter wasn't too bad actually. So Mikan’s been tuning out and acting really weird lately, to the point where Rito’s even notices. The fall onto Rito was kinda to be expected, although I laughed out loud when Momo turned up with her invention the next day. I knew there was something fishy going on but I didn't expect that, although it’s a bit too incest for my liking. Surprise that it’s split into at least two parts, shall be interesting to see what happens.
Extra – Anxious (2)
Continuing on from the previous extra, you’d know that there’s only one way for this to end… Although I did have my doubts by halfway since all was working fairly well (relatively speaking). It is a bit weak as to how Rito would agree to do something like this in the first place (considering how indecent and immoral it is, not to mention all the other possibilities). Anyway, the chapter plods along until Rito gets found out and once Mikan gets angry in the last few pages, it was quite funny. It made the whole chapter and arc worth it (and turns out the cause of all her worrying was just Momo and co. in the first place… lol).
Overall
More of the
same, and at this point, it’s starting to get stale. Lala and Haruna are supposed to be Rito’s
main love interests but they’re hardly ever seen here, regulated to even worse
than minor characters. Rito somehow
manages to score girls through sheer kindness and that anything he does wrong…
is never his fault. Summer Festival
feels like filler and the appearance of Master wasn't really what you were
expecting. The two extras were
surprising in that their plots were linked together and were quite funny at the
end.
