If you’ve forgotten what Anzai and Tsukasa have been up to, don’t worry, you’ll get a reminder just a couple of pages in when you see a bound Anzai and a half-naked Tsukasa encouraging him to touch her. By the end of their escapades, the two have become closer and hope to become even more intimate with each other in the truest sense of the word.
Now, if only the rest of the volume could follow this example…
Devils’ Line volume 11 is a transitional volume. Anzai prepares for a new job, Lee is recruited for for a devils’ rights campaign, and various police and former members of the CCC struggle with their feelings for someone who previously said they loved them. Plus there’s Midori hiding her son’s half-transformation, a politician who may be planning something, and an escaped prisoner.
Devils’ Line has a lot going on, and with so many characters, it can be a struggle to keep everything and everyone straight. Plus, this volume is mostly talk and little action. There are a few tidbits that are especially important (particularly involving Tamaki’s father), but no doubt the series is saving its big moments for later.
While the characters may be trying to come up with a plan to deal with Kikuhara and the anti-devil sentiment growing across the nation, their love lives are what’s really weighing on their mind. Not one, not two, but three characters are dealing with the fact their close friends are romantically interested in them. Even with a large cast, that’s a significant number of people swept up in the same situation.
It’s also nice the LGBT community gets some representation, but since one is lying about the current state of her relationship and the other refuses to acknowledge their feelings for a now-prisoner, these romances don’t really add some much-needed variety.
I mentioned in the last volume’s review that the sections dealing with the sexual situations were the real draw of the volume. It probably still is the highlight, but not in a fanservice way. Yes, you still probably don’t want to read this opening chapter in public, but it is nice to see a couple try to work through the awkwardness of their first time together. Plus, the girl taking the lead? That’s rare. Hanada’s art is still far from the stuff of legends, but it also doesn’t get too visually graphic. The dialogue is actually more risqué.
Which isn’t a surprise, considering there’s so much of it. Maybe if even one couple gets together next volume, we can see how Japan is dealing with a new prime minister who’s a devil or why Anzai’s new employer is hiring all the devils. Something besides whether so-and-so is getting out of the friendzone.