|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||
|
|
Reviewed by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane For the record, I haven't read volume 8 of S.A., so my assessment of vol. 9 isn't taking the most recent developments into account. I'm fairly sure vol. 8 ended with Hikari receiving a letter from Kei's grandfather summoning her to London, however, since vol. 9 begins with a memory of it as Hikari is collected at the airport. I'd like to think there was at least a moment of hesitation on Hikari's part when she got the letter, but if there was, vol. 9 doesn't show any sign of it. And there aren't any straight answers to her questions once she's in London, either, although it quickly becomes obvious that Kei's grandfather hasn't called her there to talk: instead, she's dressed up and introduced to a rapid succession of very eligible men, in hopes that she'll fall for one of them and forget Kei. Hikari, a girl of action, runs off and is immediately whisked into hiding by Finn, one of the men she was supposed to meet. Finn, a half-Japanese prince, is smitten with her on the spot--to the extent that when Hikari leaves London, he follows her home to Japan and claims to be engaged to her. But before she goes, Hikari finally has a phone conversation with Kei's grandfather, who comes clean and tells her that the reason he's so worried about her relationship with Kei is that she makes Kei push himself too hard. Hikari, being Hikari, immediately concludes that she's a burden to Kei and he'd be better off without her. Here's one of the things that bothers me about this series: the whole point of the "Special A" conceit is that these seven students are supposed to be the very smartest in their school. Now, I know this is supposed to refer mainly or exclusively to book smarts, but Hikari is apparently the second smartest student at this very elite school, and she is DIM. She's hardly the first romantic comedy shoujo heroine to mix cluelessness with a good heart, but I just can't get past the disconnect here. Unfortunately, she and Kei are supposed to be carrying the series, and while their feelings for each other are obvious, that's only true because they're hitting all the signposts manga readers have been trained to recognize: Kei is superior, Hikari is so determinedly competing with him that it must be love, Kei is overprotective and convinced he knows best, Hikari runs away from him "for his own good"... And on and on it goes. Anyway. The main subplot in this volume has to do with Finn, who's trying to fulfill a prophecy by his country's oracles (!) which requires him to get married by the time he turns eighteen. Hikari has no intention of being his bride, but she does feel obliged to help him out, so she and the SA group begin trying to find Finn's dream girl. In the process, Ryu, who's always been close with Megumi and Jun, starts to feel a deep attachment to Finn (and some anxiety over his relationship with the twins). While the second half of the volume shifts its focus away from Hikari and Kei and more onto the supporting cast, there does also seem to be some actual development in Hikari and Kei's relationship--but I thought that during vol. 7, too. S.A. still has plenty of volumes left to go, so time will tell whether Minami decides to move things forward or maintain their status quo for a while longer. Volume 9 of S.A. includes a side story and other bonus pages. Review copy provided by VIZ Media. Comment on this review of S.A. v9 on the Manga Life Forums. |
6 October 2009
|
||||
 |
| home | reviews | news | features | about us | advertise | privacy policy | contact us |
