The Demon Prince of Momochi House Vol. 3by Sheena McNeilReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 6 Himari meets Kasha, and we get to learn more about Himari and Ise's powers because of it. Nue takes Himari, disguised as a shikigami, to a special ayakashi celebration / ceremony that leads to Nue sealing one away.With the introduction of Kasha and the sealing ceremony I am finally gaining some real interest in this story. We don't get a good feel for Kasha, but we understand he's an antagonist seemingly-obsessed with Nue. The best part of his section is the insight we gain into Ise's powers (as they're both fire ayakashi) and Himari's powers (she sees things Aoi, Ise, and Yukari don't and she's able to break through a spell!). I am much more curious about Himari's slowly-blossoming powers, and I find myself really wanting to know how her role will unfold as the true guardian of Momochi House. She also has a breakthrough using the powers of friendship rather than fighting force to save someone, which is stereotypical (especially as she's the only female of the four lead characters), but makes her more realistic and relatable. The back cover pitches this issue as focusing on the school-friends cliffhanger from the last volume. While the outcome here technically involved those new friends, they have no active role in this volume and only appear for the first few pages. It's misleading. The school aspect is non-existent in this volume, so I can't help but wonder why it was set up at all. I appreciate that Aoi / Nue took Himari with him to the ayakashi celebration, but I wish she had been told what was going on, or at least a hint (so as not to spoil it for us). I was annoyed that Nue shrugs it off as a whim to keep her from "causing trouble" on her own. Himari also gets taken as a hostage of sorts, which I didn't like. However, it was handled very differently than I was expecting -- she was not damseled! In fact, she was there to "rescue" Nue! Unfortunately, Nue seems irked at this and plays it off like he didn't really need help, and maybe he didn't, but I didn't care for his reaction. The whole thing is probably meant for us to see Himari's blossoming feelings for him, and his subtle acknowledgement that his ayakashi side is coming to like / appreciate her along with his human side. The flower ayakashi, while somewhat random, was a nice addition and nudges the romance aspect of this story. This is still not an attention-grabbing series. There's a solid framework and lovely art, but there's so much that could use improving -- mostly, that too much is just surface characterization and plot development. I am somewhat curious about Himari now, but I'm not expecting much moving forward given that this is volume three and there's still nothing firm to latch onto. The art is very nice if you like bishounen, but it's not the manga-ka's best work. Written: March 13, 2016
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