MJ Review: Lunar Legend Tsukihime Volume Four

[Jason]

Title: Lunar Legend Tsukihime
Volume: 4
Mangaka: Sasakishonen
Serialized in: Dengeki Daioh (MediaWorks)
Genre: Seinen
Publisher: DrMaster

Consisting of everything from a bloody fight between Ciel and Akiha, self-doubt from our stalwart hero Shiki, and startling revelations from supposed classmates, Tsukihime volume four is just as intriguing as the last and poses almost as many questions as it answers. Shiki and Arcueid are still hot on the heels of Roa, their target, but time is of the essence as murder springs up throughout the city again and again, and the two leads seem to find nothing but dead ends on their nightly hunts.

I personally found this volume much more interesting than the last, and I'm definitely glad I got the chance to continue the story after the cliffhanger ending of the previous book! From the fight at the volume's intro all the way to the confrontation at the very end, Tsukihime managed to keep me hooked this time around, even without that gorgeous music and atmosphere the anime wonderfully provided.

The book does end on another cliffhanger, the author seemingly being a master of creating moments that make you have to buy the next volume to see what happens. This comes despite the multiple revelations in the story, be they between Shiki and his sister, his sister and Ciel, Ciel and Shiki, or Shiki and Arcueid, making the book one big net of threads connecting the entire cast together quite nicely.

Once again, the art is gorgeous, and the fight scenes are very clean and well done; it isn't difficult to tell what's going on at all like in so many other series. On the whole, I didn't have any problems with the presentation in the least, aside from the binding style. Once again DrMaster sticks with the stiff, tight binding used in previous volumes, making some of the inner panels near-impossible to read.

Still, it's not a common problem and certainly not a large enough one to detract from the book. By now, four volumes in, I'm sure most readers know whether or not they like the story, so this review should merely serve as reaffirmation that the plot is chugging along just fine. Those new to the series would do well to start back at the beginning, as this is way too convoluted a tale to jump in the middle with.

Reviewer: Kiara
Proofer: The Mighty Highlord
Editor: Jiji