Behind the Scenes!! Vol. 3by Sheena McNeilReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 6 The Art Squad spends their summer vacation working. Goda has problems working with a child actor, who has issues of his own. Tenba helps protect the Modernist Cinema Club from delinquents, while Izumi sweet talks the public and the police into letting them use the park. Ruka stands up to her step-mother in order to keep working on something, after learning a lesson from some kids about working through imperfections. Goda and Maasa go overboard with the haunted house. Ranmaru inspires and comes up with good ideas, often unintentionally.There's a lot going on in this volume. Rather than being overwhelming, it does a good job of showing how busy the group stays and highlights individual strengths and weaknesses. We, along with Ranmaru, get a better feeling for the members ... all while Ranmaru impresses all with his mad crafting skills. The best part is Ranmaru voicing everything that scares him as his imagination runs wild during the set walk through for the haunted house. He's actually scared, but he just gave them a ton of ideas. This is rounded out by Ranmaru realizing that what they created was too scary and not "fun". I also like how everyone, no matter their role in creating it, wants to make it even better for next year. Goda's issues with kids remains a mystery, but I like how he's the one who is actually able to connect with the child actor. Ranmaru identifies with the kid, but it's Goda that gets him to open up -- which in turn makes the kid better at his job. It's interesting to once again see how Tenba fits in without being directly artistic. His love of sentai teams (like the Power Rangers) fits his energetic, positive, and eagerness-towards-violence personality. What I like best is how this shows us why he stopped being a delinquent. Izumi's rather the opposite, able to charm others with ease. Both are needed to completely protect the Modernists, which gives Ranmaru a broader perspective of things. I was surprised to see Ruka struggle with anything and voice that she's not kind. I appreciate her being flawed, and that her perspective is also flawed because of her rich family upbringing and lifestyle. I also appreciate her learning the lesson she does (which is wonderfully illustrated), but it almost seems off with her, as she's usually so collected and in charge. While we still don't have much of a gauge for Ranmaru himself, I was able to experience everything in this volume from his viewpoint, which helped me identify with him more than in the previous volume. It's eye-opening and sometimes humorous. I enjoyed this volume. At this point, I'm fairly sure the "point" of the story is just a slice-of-life section from Ranmaru's life wherein he makes friends, and finds himself and his purpose. That's not bad, but everything focuses so much on everyone and everything else, I find myself unsure how to feel about this series. Part of me is waiting for something to happen for it to stop being about those around Ranmaru and truly become Ranmaru's story. Written: December 24, 2016
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