There have been many challenges for Red Gelato Fudo and Reaper Princess Desumi as they attempt to keep their relationship a secret. Often times they’ve handled with clumsiness, sometimes dorkiness, and the one time they mess up, they instead gain an ally in their love (with Pink Gelato Haru). But of course something neither of the two could’ve counted on occurs: blackmail. With a picture of Fudo and Desumi together, someone has caught the two of them red-handed. And instead of immediately going public, they demand to meet with Fudo, and in turn, force Fudo to their bidding.
Not surprisingly, would you expect that the tables turn due to Fudo’s one-track mind and the blackmailer actually knowing who Desumi is?!?
This was a funny volume to read. When I say funny, I mean in the amusing way — I’ve seen 4 chapters of this in anime form over the past few weeks. That means I’m experiencing volume 3 in an entirely different mindset compared to the first two I’ve reviewed. It does make me realize how 1-to-1 the anime is even more than I thought, but also how in some cases, the scenario doesn’t change my original thoughts from the first time. The example obviously is the introduction of Anna, who happens to be the one blackmailing Fudo, and also the one who has heart eyes for Desumi, her classmate. But despite her seemingly flirty attitude, she has secrets she’s keeping from both Fudo and Desumi. Let’s just say that desire plays into an arc at the end of this volume, which I’ll get to later.
But in essence, my first thought in viewing this go-round — alongside Fudo and Haru sneaking into Gekko dorms while wearing Gekko suits to study with Desumi for example — was still hilarious, but just dialed down a touch. I mean it still is funny to see Desumi’s little sister Urami go feral over Fu– Mudo (the Gekko alias) thinking he knows Desumi so well in manga form, but less so since the only difference this time is the media experience. So for those currently anime-only, it might be a tough sell to then jump in with the manga unless it’s brand new material.
That said, this is another solid volume of Love After World Domination due to Desumi and Fudo still being adorbs, but also due to the continued expansion of characters in the series. We get to meet Anna and Urami and see how their pasts with Desumi drove her affection; more insight into Desumi’s father, his former status as someone who loses a lot during his time in Gekko; and we get introduced to an entirely new Princess Series character that is a master of disguise. That master of disguise character is so good, however, that she even manages to make Fudo appear at what was supposed to be all the Princess Series girls getting together in Desumi’s room. Let’s actually hope she makes more than just a one-off appearance in this series!
Anyways, for most manga series you definitely need some type of cliffhanger to get the readers to come back, with varying levels of drama. In Love After World Domination, it leaves off with Fudo and Desumi attempting to believe in school festival lore…it’s just the problem is sabotage is always lurking within your own circle. For Fudo, letting Blue Gelato (Hayato) come along is a one-way ticket to all the girls surrounding you. For Desumi, let’s just say Anna also knows the school festival legend, and wants to make sure she takes Desumi to the famous spot at night. As it turned out, despite all the challenges thrown their way, it might just be the pair’s toughest test after all…wonder how adorkable their meet up will be!