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.