Dragon Eye, Volume 7

Sôsei became a permanent member of Squad Zero and found out the truth behind the death of his twin sister. The rest of the VIUS members are now focusing on the upcoming Exhibition Tournament, perhaps more so than the year before since Issa is now the captain elect. Story overview: Leila tells her Master, Shimon, that she feels like she's always being rescued by others. He asks her if she would like to switch squads, but she tells him that she loves her squad. Catching up with Sôsei, both he and Leila watch the official opening to the preliminaries of the 29th Exhibition Tournament. Akira (from Squad One) easily defeats his opponent as does Sôsei in the next match. The following matches are with Hibiki (who wins against his opponent), and then Leila (who does not win against her opponent). Meanwhile, Issa (along with Sakuraba (Shun'ichi)) is stuck welcoming all the dignitaries from other cities. As everyone is distracted, two Dracules infiltrate Mikuni city. Once all the dignitaries are seated and ready for the Tournament to begin, Issa takes the first match against one of his old squad members, Lan-Lan. She tries to defeat Issa because she is worried that he is being setup for a worse fate, but after some teasing and friendly banter, Issa gets serious and takes her down. Leila goes to apologies to her master for losing in the preliminaries. On her way back she gets lost and stumbles across the path of a Dracule (Daraku), which/who just so happens to be the one she hid from in a closet in a former volume. Needless to say she is captured. Sôsei gets concerned that it is taking Leila too long to return, so he goes and looks for her only to end up being captured himself. Meanwhile the anticipated battle between Hibiki and Akira commences--with the current outcome not looking so good for Hibiki. My thoughts: As the author says, "A new story arc has begun! During these chapters, someone will mature, and a certain mystery will be cleared up . . ." Just as one mystery unfolds another takes its place. This is the kind of story that keeps one wanting more. Top notch. Things to consider: Ratings stay the same: thirteen plus. As mentioned in a former volume, Issa has a weakness for breasts. And Lan-Lan takes advantage of this weakness to try and defeat him. It is done in good humor, but I can see some parents thinking of it as inappropriate. The relationship between Lan-Lan and Issa is, as the author describes, "they were apparently close as superior and subordinate . . . or rather, like tormented older brother and cheery younger sister." So don't take it too seriously. James D. Maxon Author of, The Cat That Made Nothing Something Again Manga and speculative fiction reviewer: [...]