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Reviewed by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane I read volumes 11 and 12 of S*A fairly close together, but not quite back to back, and I'm not sure whether that small lag has anything to do with how different the two volumes seem to me. Vol. 11 has a lot to do with Kei's family and his ongoing struggle with his grandfather and their different ideas about how he should be living his life, but it also spends some time on Akira and Tadashi's relationship and her insecurities about it. (Unfortunately, the way things like that usually get handled in this series doesn't do much for me. Let's just say that some complex scheming results.) Vol. 12, meanwhile, returns to the Special A group's regularly scheduled antics. Possibly for the first time since I began reading this series (around vol. 5 or so), the characters are called on to actually do something school related! Apparently their collective raison d'etre has to do with inspiring the rest of the students at their school: Tadashi's mom, the school chairman, forces them to compete against another exclusive school, Kokusen High, in the "National Search for the Top High School Student". Bizarre contests ensue, but Hikari is in her element and all fired up with the spirit of competition. (Helped along by the chairman's blackmail tactic, which is hitting her where it hurts.) One thing bothered me in volume 12, and I'd like to mention it. About halfway through the book, Hikari remembers a time when her brother's friend randomly hit her. Her brother hit the friend back and then, upset about having used violence, wouldn't look at Hikari for a while. Hikari's recollection ends with "I'm sure he was mad that I made him fight his friend". The present-day events that the memory relates to aren't so bad, but the reflexive self-blame in that line is jarring and disturbing, esp. given Hikari's generally sunny disposition. (With some characters, in other series, it might make me wonder at hidden undercurrents...but Hikari is about as deep as a saucer.) I'm going to hope its undertones are different in Japanese. As a general note, I'm liking Hikari and Kei better now that their feelings for each other are more out in the open. The series still isn't really clicking with me, but having the focus shifted away from the unpleasant undertones of their earlier competition is definitely a step in the right direction. Volume 11 of S.A. includes a side story and a one-page bonus manga; volume 12 includes a two-page bonus manga. Review copies provided by VIZ Media. Think you could have written a better review of S.A. v11-12? Write us and we'll probably let you give it a shot! --EiC PC |
12 March 2010 10 March 2010
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