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Reviewed by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane Heaven's Will: A Poem of Atonement is a single-volume "teen goth romance" (according to the back cover copy) about Mikuzu, a girl who sees ghosts (and ghouls and fairies, among other things) and is, unfortunately, scared witless by them. Enter Seto, a cross-dressing exorcist who makes a deal with her: he'll protect Mikuzu from the things that go bump in the night (and the day) if she'll make cake for him every day. Mikuzu takes him up on the offer and begins spending time with him and his pet vampire, Kagari. At first she's nearly as frightened of them as she is of the supernatural things she sees, but she begins to be intrigued by Seto's secrets. After the first quarter of the book, which introduces the main characters to each other and the readers, the remainder of the volume is devoted to a single story in which Seto is hired to exorcise a haunted piano. The case reminds Seto of his past, which only increases Mikuzu's curiosity about him. That particular plot wraps up tidily, but things are left open enough that Takamiya could conceivably revisit the characters if she felt so inclined. VIZ seems to be in the habit of releasing standalone volumes of shoujo recently (I think this is the third I've reviewed within the last few months), although I'm not sure whether that holds true with their other imprints. I'm starting to wonder if such short stories just don't work well for me in manga format; I can't think of any one-shot titles that have particularly impressed me. Heaven's Will does wind up having an interesting plot point, late enough in the book that I won't discuss it here, but I didn't get attached enough to the characters to feel invested in it. It might have worked better for me if it had more time to percolate. That might not be true for everyone, so give it a shot if it sounds like your kind of story. Review copy provided by VIZ Media. Interested in writing for MangaLife? We're always looking for talented reviewers and columnists, so drop us a line! Charles Webb Editor-in-Chief, MangaLife.com |
1 September 2010
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