The first thing I did after finishing Kaiju Girl Caramelise volume 5 was to look up and see if volume 6 had been scheduled yet. But considering volume 6 came out almost the exact same day as Yen Press’ volume 5 in Japan, it’s going to be several months before we see more of Kuroe and company.
And that agony of waiting must surely be just like how Kuroe feels in this volume!
Yes, Kuroe continues to struggle with her feelings of inadequacy about being Minami’s girlfriend. But first, she has a more immediate problem: a young man has seen her transform. If you guess that this guy causes some misunderstandings between Kuroe and Minami, congrats, you got it right! But you probably only get half-credit for your answer. Because poor Daichi is in the wrong manga; he needs to be in a little series called First Love Monster. If you don’t recognize that series, just Google it and you’ll piece it together right away. That means Kuroe’s secret is safe for now, but it does come across as too convenient, especially since Kuroe doesn’t need to put forth much effort to explain her situation.
While she’s made a new friend, we can’t forget about her other friends. I liked seeing Manatsu and Rairi encouraging Kuroe with their own quirks (Manatsu still favoring Harugon over everyone, Rairi’s makeup disappearing whenever she’s shocked). I was less thrilled though with Kuroe having more love problems here. No so much having first love anxieties since Minami is getting even more popular, but Kuroe having those wild emotions right now, when there is a whole big development that arrives on the scene.
I mean that literally: big development that arrives on the scene — a new kaiju arrives! The volume opens with an explanation as to Kuroe’s origins, and it’s probably the most detailed we’ll have until Kuroe’s mom, Rinko, makes any more discoveries/analyses). As Rinko and Koutarou vehemently disagree about Rinko’s actions, it’s then we see a new giant monster take flight. I was so excited to see what is going to happen between Kuroe and the new kaiju, but in the back of my mind, I was crying each time I flipped a page since I knew that we wouldn’t get Kuroe/kaiju in time for this volume.
The story has several different directions it can go. Sure, Kaiju Girl Caramelise was always going to be a romcom, but romcoms have different levels of family involvement. Now the series has the potential to up the family angle, and I’m so down for that.