Yukarism 4

Chika Shiomi – Viz – 2015 – 4 volumes

I had a big, unhealthy shoujo splurge today, as I read this, Idol Dreams, and Black Rose Alice.  They were all released earlier this week (note: the first week of November, I’m posting this late), and just arrived in the mail.  Reading them all on the same day was ill-advised, because they were all awesome, and now I don’t have more to look forward to.

I’m lying, I love lots of manga.  But seriously, that was a high concentration of shoujo goodness, and such things are hard to come by.

It’s hard to talk about the ending of this one without spoiling it.  Yukari has to figure out how the past and present are intertwining, and needs to somehow stop possessed-Mahoro from killing Katsuhiko.  We do find out how Yumurasaki died, although the big reveal at the end, why the killer did it, wasn’t nearly the surprise twist that the story made it out to be.  I thought we were supposed to have figured this out way back?

The ending sequence, where Mahoro has to twist a bunch of curses, figure out how the past lives are intertwining and connected, and… basically be by him/herself at the end… it’s heartbreaking.  I LOVED the very ending, where Yukari really comes through for Mahoro.  It’s got nothing to do with their past lives.  It’s pure shoujo manga, and it’s beautiful.

I love Chika Shiomi, and this is exactly the type of dark magic/contemporary series she pulls off so well.  This was exactly the right length, too, and I loved the past lives and the little bit of mystery.  I even liked learning about Oiran! It’s a quick read, and comes recommended if you’re looking for somewhat unusual shoujo.

I’d read another one of Shiomi’s series, too.  Just sayin’.