Usually when I read a new volume of a series, I’m praying, “Please be good. Please be good!” Hinowa ga CRUSH! is special — I’m going, “Please no sex with a fish. PLEASE no sex with a fish!!“
*reads*
Whew, safe…for now.
Anyway, the debut volume of Hinowa ga CRUSH! ended with Hinowa facing off against her mother’s killer, Yomihime. Of course, a destined clash like this can’t be resolved at the start of a series. Although Hinowa’s friends try to give her an opening, the heroine finds herself unable to avenge her mother. She escapes mostly unscathed thanks to Akame.
So while Hinowa and the gang have impressed their fellow soldiers, they realize the need for more powerful weaponry. The village elder tells them about Meihou, this land’s version of Teigu, and suggests they hunt a sea monster for material.
You are probably already picturing how this plays out: find a monster, defeat it, hunt for a smithy, convince him/her, and then finally grasp their new weapons. For action series, a new weapon is an exciting, dramatic, and often treacherous arc.
Psych! In fact, it’s only 15 pages from the time they learn about the umibouzu to acquiring their weapons. Three pages are about how Kumehachi has already spent his money on girls, and then a couple more are him being the bait in exchange for having no money. Zero pages are dedicated to a trip to the capital, one talking to a blacksmith, and zero for testing.
So, yeah, a wasted opportunity for the manga. They might as well have inherited Meihou or been granted one after the previous battle.
The rest of the volume has everyone preparing for another clash between countries. Soukai military leaders all have their own agendas, and Tenrou has a secret plan to take down the fortress. With the clash on the horizon, volume 3 will determine whether this series can stand on its own or be reduced to being a weaker version of Akame ga KILL!. Weaker especially in the art department, as there are a lot of odd, unbalanced headshots.
The author is fond of extremely violent antagonists, and Tenrou General Kyoukotsu is no exception. Despite his depravity, he’s probably the best drawn character in the story. His skills do make me curious about what kind of person is this Master that he and Yomihime serve. Suzumaru manages to face off with Kyoukotsu in a cool display of Suzumaru’s abilities, but it’s hard to believe that Akame is considered a foot soldier right now. She’s happy to serve as Hinowa’s underling and teacher, but it’s jarring to see her in this dual role. She’s strong enough even under her curse to fight in a war and injure perhaps the enemy’s strongest warrior…but Akame is a grunt??
Hisame’s reason for working so hard is eyeroll-worthy, but I do like how the six friends are happy to work together but are already fighting in separate units. Unfortunately, they’re just divided into guy and gal teams, but other men are happy to serve under the newly-minted Captain Hinowa. Thanks to the narration, we know she will survive for quite a while (perhaps the whole war?), but time will tell if her friends will last the entire time. I’m not expecting them to, and if the series doesn’t improve, readers might not either.