 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | VIZ MEDIA | | | ▪ | AUTHOR / ART: | | MATSURI HINO | | | ▪ | FORMAT: | | JAPANESE / B&W | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 190 | | | ▪ | RATING: | | T | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 05/05/2009 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 05/04/2009 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | HOLLY ELLINGWOOD |
Thus far in the manga, the focus has primarily been on Megumi and his feelings towards Suzuka. But in this volume, Suzuka is given the spotlight as her insecurities and longings cause her no end of trouble and a great deal of confusion. First, she finds herself intensely jealous over Megumi’s closeness with the maid Rui. They shared a lot of time together growing up, time Suzuka doesn’t have with him – a lengthy past. It’s interesting to see how emotionally dependant Suzuka has become on Megumi. Up until now, the series has mostly shown Megumi’s need for her. It’s nice to see the shoe on the other foot. This is stressed when Suzuka breaks down crying, suffering from a terrible bout of homesickness. In trying to comfort her, they both get carried away in the moment and Megumi almost makes love to her! It was surprising to see the relationship between them get that intimate so quickly. However, despite the fact that they both want to, whenever his touching turns more amorous, Megumi cannot continue. The curse stops him in his tracks. This makes both of them more determined than ever to break the curse so that they can be together romantically. The conflict between the curse he has and his own feelings towards Suzuka are taking their toll – on both of them. Megumi’s father returns with news of a potential way to break the Kogami curse. There is a dragon scroll to be used. When Suzuka goes to dire lengths to try to free Megumi from the chains of the ancient spell, she manages to awaken the guardian dragon spirit. He informs her that to grant her wish, she will have to find an object for him. The story is about to take a new turn as the couple goes off to China in order to break the spell! This volume also has three bonus stories. The first reveals how Megumi’s parents first met and fell in love in a tale of comedy and odd ball romance. Yoshimi looks quite dashing as Keito’s dark protector. In the second story it shows Megumi and Suzuka as little children and how they first bonded together prior to their lengthy separation. The final bonus tale is a brief one that tells about Sagara’s feelings as she observes the changes in Megumi from before Suzuka came back into his life to the present. The manga also has more tales of the author’s trip to China and translation and cultural notes.
IN SUMMARY:
Captive Hearts launches a new arc as the couple prepares to go to China to break the curse of the Dragon god! |
