Kazue Kato

If volume one was all about family - Rin and his twin Yuki, both of them and their dad, Pater Fujimoto, and I guess their biological father Satan as well, Shiemi and her mother & grandmother - then this time the story is all about friendship: making friends, being a good friend (or a bad one, or hardly a friend at all), the whole deal.

There's Rin and Bon's rivalry (except they have no idea how to *do* shonen manga rivalry and instead Bon gives Rin a hairclip to keep his fringe out of his show more face while studying before his introductory chapter is even over), or Shiemi's quest for a friend (and how that gets her bullied by Izumo at first), or Izumo and Paku's friendship (and the way Izumo develops as a result of meeting Shiemi and the others and Paku's guidance), or even the less pronounced background friendships, like between Bon, Konekomaru and Shima, or Yuki and Shiemi, or the way Izumo and Bon clash and teamwork is well and truly out of order for a while. And of course it's right then when they all have to face a challenge that one of them alone just cannot deal with...

I suppose there isn't much here that's really *surprising*, but I don't even care; I love how well-executed the story and its overarching themes are. (Art-wise, I am also quite impressed with some of the more subtle shifts in expression on the characters' faces, contrasting the completely exaggerated features with which they are sometimes drawn.)

Also lovely: the bits of extra info on the characters at the back of the book, revealing to us things like that Bon has migraines, or that Paku likes to read novels at her favourite café. Oh, and the 4-koma about Rin trying to start selling his cooking at the academy's cafeteria... show less

I should take away a star for the F-cups covered by the triangle bra (because girl, no, talk to your chesty friends about why that is no good for athletic exorcist work), but I still find this charming to read on that same "it's Harry Potter but with more of a sense of doom!" level.

A bog-standard, Bleach-like, Shonen manga with a forgettable hero. I was hesitant to continue reading past chapter 1, but things get slightly better from there. The unique relationship between the twin brothers is the heart of the story. The East meets West demon and weapon designs are a plus. We'll see if future volumes pique my interest further.

It had been a while since I read the previous volume so I was a little confused when I first started reading it, but I got situated rather quickly. Everyone is observing Rin in the volume and waiting to see what happens. I found the story line with Fujimoto's cat very sweet. Rin's father's former apprentice is still very torn about Rin and it will be interesting to see how that relationship eventually plays itself out.