Phantom Thief Jeanne Vol. 3by Sheena McNeilReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 9 A new teacher arrives at Maron's school, and he's the guy that saw her transform from Phantom Thief Jeanne to Maron. Turns out his a friend of her dad's, and he knows about both her and Chiaki's secrets. He also has a secret of his own that ties him closely to the original Jeanne (whose soul has reincarnated a few times and now resides in Maron). His human name's Hijiri, and his demon name is Noin. He has a "solution" to get Maron to stop being a Phantom Thief, but it involves turning Maron and Chiaki against each other and taking Maron's "chastitiy."This volume contains an attempted rape. It's very scary with a large wash of realism over the whole thing. It does, however, make sense within the plot -- to a point, which relies heavily on the religious overtones that come with the territory of this series. I am glad it was interrupted, and I appreciate Chiaki's reaction to it, including his choice to not hold / comfort Jeanne immediately after. After the scene is over, life goes back to "normal" very easily, so that even when Chiaki attempts to get intimate with Maron, including bringing up the guy who attempted to rape her and kissing her on the hickeys he gave her, she reacts as she normally would to such attention from Chiaki. I can attribute it partially to the series just needing to keep moving, partially to the fact that Maron is very good at wearing a mask to hide her true feelings, and partially to the fact that Maron likes Chiaki. However, the harshness of the attempted rape (that left her flinching at Chiaki's touch immediately after) seems washed away very quickly. I do wonder how she'll react the next time she has to interact with her attempted rapist. The other aspect that makes this whole thing difficult is that I can't outright hate Hijiri because it seems he truly loved Jeanne and thus loves Maron, but it's become twisted by living so long as a demon. I have issue with him saying he and the original Jeanne were lovers (because that would have gone against her "chastity" during that time period, making his solution now flawed). The other part of this volume focuses on a sick boy named Zen, who is living in the hospital. A demon is keeping him ill, and Maron struggles with a moral conflict -- free him from the demon, which will leave him too weak to live with his condition, or let the demon stay till his parents can save up the money to treat him (it's been years of saving so far with no end in sight). Sinbad decides to stop Maron from being Jeanne by taking all her targets first, so that she can't. That includes the demon bound to Zen. This goes with Noin's plans to drive them apart, and the whole thing plays out very well (and very cruelly). There are some touching moments between Maron and Zen, and it's easy to see why and how he so easily falls for her (and why she's so likable in general). There's tons of sexual tension between Maron and Chiaki. He's also dealing with some fierce jealousy, which makes him a bit possessive and prods him to ask her to be his girlfriend, and also makes him want to stop her even if it means she hates him. But it's the tension which makes the scene where he decides to chase after her and hold her even more rewarding. I like that scene much better than the happy "I love you" scenes that follow their date because it's so raw. The date that wraps things up is a bit of fun relief from all the seriousness, but even that is tinged with complications like the hickeys from the attempted rape and the secret Chiaki reveals about Finn. Chiaki also has a brief encounter with Hijiri that touches on the differences in how they see and love Maron / Jeanne, which I appreciate. It helps draw this issue to a close while not ending Hijiri's role. Another nice touch is having Miyako see the date, which will hopefully take her out of a rivalry for Chiaki without compromising her relationship with Maron -- I can at least hope for that given her reaction to seeing them. This issue is amazingly powerful and intense. Some will find it difficult to read, but I like that it's personal and that it reads very realistic even with all the fantasy elements. The realism makes the fantasy more realistic because it helps me truly get into the world and characters on a deeper level. Written: December 6, 2014
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