Arisa, Vol. 03

Arisa [アリサ] #3

by Natsumi Andō

IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON

Tsubasa hunt for The King thickens when Arisa's class goes to a planetarium to watch an eclipse and The King makes a decree that turns the chosen against each other. Later, suspicion mounts on Midori, who asks Tsubasa on a date! Can Tsubasa save the day from The King, and protect the stars in her sister's sky from ill fates?

Includes special extras after the story!

Genres: Manga, Mystery, Shojo, Graphic Novels, Comics, Drama, Romance

167 pages, Paperback

First published December 25, 2009

About the author

安藤なつみ, Andō Natsumi is a Japanese manga artist. She is best known for Zodiac P.I. as well as Kitchen Princess, for which she won the Kodansha Manga Award for children's manga in 2006.

Favorites: Donald Duck
Favourite manga: Ossu! Ichijin and Kimagure Orange Road
Favourites: meats and fruits
Hobbies: shopping, reading and watching TV

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

WTF AM I READING?!??!! So creepy and screwy! But I just gotta know what's gunna happen next. Ando draws really good creepy faces. Got goosebumps while Mariko recounted her history.

[Ana Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

OH MY GOODNESS I LOVE THIS SERIES SO MUCH!!!
At first, I didn't understand anything, but now that I have asked my friend about it [Amy!!! :)] and reread it, it makes so much sense now! Still, this is soooo good and I can't wait to read BOOK 4!

Volume 4?
Amy, how do you say that........

[Leila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved

I loved rereading this series it gives me nostalgia since I read it back in 2012 and it is a easy read I definitely do recommend
.

[Daniel Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm love that one book happen problem like with phone in sand see that it nice that hurt like her Book fun enjoy? Have going happened still school student his own happened just like more want something!

[DonutKnow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arrrrhrhrhrh. Reading volume by volume is excruciating! I wish I had all of the volumes at once, but I guess it reflects positively on the writer because the storyline is so exciting!

On to the next one! :D

[Judyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review!: http://geekyreading.blogspot.com/2011...

[(• ֊ •)੭ amyfish ~ love2love · Rating 5 out of 5]

YAY

[Novella Dwisri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Iming2 permintaan yang diwujudkan ini manipulasi Osama buat ngadu domba anak2 di kelasnya Arisa (Tsubasa mode nyamar) agar melakukan segala cara bahkan tega melukai teman sendiri secara mental. Kasihan sama Mariko dia cuma ingin diingat dan jadi teman nomor satu seseorang tapi berakhir dimanipulasi. Midori mencurigakan benar kata Akira, Tsu! Kamu lengah ih! Ada Rei Kudo, murid baru itu kok bisa punya nomor terpilih? Dia Osama? Ini pengalihan dari Midori aja deh meski muka dua si Rei bengis gitu tetap kebetulan Midori muncul setelah insiden Mariko dicelakai diselamatkan Tsubasa itu mencurigakan! Akira kita mencurigai orang yang sama ya, setim kita. Asal jangan plot twist malah kamu si Osama biang rusuh itu ya, Akira, tolong ini mah. Loncat baca vol. 3 ini karena 2 volume sebelumnya ilang huhu..

[Doc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Restricted

With recent events the King has changed the game so only five classmates get to make wishes and they are possibly one of them. With three of the five exposed in this volume there are only two more potentially that the king can be if what they said was true to Mariko. Speaking of Mariko we do get to see a bit of her past and feelings showing us a glimpse of her motivations as her fate is decided in this volume. Of course with many of the students wanting their wishes granted still the danger of having a phone to connect to the King is a very real threat as desperation continues to build. Also who is this new transfer student and is it possible he knows things about the King? We won't know until we dive deeper into the mysteries. :)

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Another fun volume. We are no closer to discovering who the King is as Midori wont enter a wish and the King has decided they wont listen to the wishes until all 5 chosen people do so. What we did get was Mariko's breakdown, fallout from the King and transfer. Thought it was well done and I like her talk with "Arisa" before she left. Manabe is acting all kinds of suspicious again and I really would like more about him. He's so insistent that Midori could be the King and he seems to enjoy calling Tsubasa deluded when she doesn't think that could be possible.
Still a worthwhile series that is a fun, quick read with pretty art. On to the next.

[miné]

Setelah gue mengira kalo si Mariko ini fake banget, ternyata dia cuma cewek yang butuh diakui eksistensi dirinya aja. Sayang banget deh dariapda dia fokus berbuat baik dan jadi temennya Arisa dia lebih obsessed sama permainan gak jelas macem Osama ini.

Kali ini ada karakter baru, murid pindahan bernama Kudo yang super duper mencurigakan. Dia salah satu orang terpilih yang bisa kirim permintaan ke Osama. Dan sebelum Mariko pindah Osama sempat bilang kalo dia adalah salah satu dari 5 orang terpilih Osama.

Gilaaa makin seru aja ni komik. Gak nyesel minta dihadiahin ini.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m really enjoying this series and I can read them so quickly which means I might have a little trouble remembering if something happened in this volume or a different one but this is an entertaining series and I read it for entertainment

[Tris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pero esto qué eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeess... el suspense me va a matar

[Supermomochan (PeachyFishyBooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

やっぱり

[Ellen Nordek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is dark!

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poetic, intriguing, and expressive, I look forward to reading the rest.

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

So interesting!! I have no idea who is behind all these horrible and weird things. It's kind of scary!

[ChelseaFace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still interesting to read, I hope it goes even darker though. I love the art and the story is interesting enough. I am ready for the next volume!

[Whatever · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing. The story just keeps getting better...

[scarlettraces · Rating 3 out of 5]

Am kind of wondering how this could possibly be spun out over so many volumes.

[Danielle Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am loving this series!!! I can't wait to find out who the king is!

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, the creepy faces are freakin me out!!!!!

[LG (A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tsubasa thinks that Mariko is the King, but it turns out that Mariko was just being used by them. She was jealous of Arisa's relationship with her boyfriend, Midori, because she was always so easily forgotten by friends and classmates in the past. Mariko gets made "invisible" by the current King and ends up transferring - "Arisa" (aka Tsubasa) tells her they can still be friends. Midori looks like another likely King candidate, but Tsubasa thinks he's genuinely nice. Then Rei Kudo transfers into the class. He seems potentially suicidal, and certainly physically fragile. The end of the volume indicates that he's likely the King.

This quote from Mariko to Tsubasa made me headdesk: "I forgot that you can get the things you want without asking the King." So this is apparently the excuse that Arisa's classmates are using for overlooking the damage the King is doing. "If I don't get the King to grant my wishes, then my wishes will never come true."

Although the indications that Mariko was the King turned out to be a fakeout on the author's part, her behavior was so over-the-top that I'd still say she probably needs therapy. Anyway, I was happy that Tsubasa and Akira added Midori to their list of King suspects so quickly, but I was not happy with the way Ando added Rei Kudo to the top readers' list of suspects practically the instant he appeared. This series had better not be 100% fakeouts, but if Rei Kudo isn't a fakeout then Ando has pretty much mined all of the series' suspense already. There's no buildup, no tension, just boom, new developments.

I'm also wondering what happened to Takeru, Tusbasa's friend. And it bugs me that Tsubasa is already falling for Midori, her twin sister's suspiciously perfect boyfriend (who has somehow still not figured out that he isn't talking to the real Arisa).

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the plot escalates, Tsubasa finds an ally, Manabe. Manabe decides that they could work together to figure out who the real KING is. Tsubasa does not object because Manabe already knows Tsubasa's secret and Manabe believes in Tsubasa. They teamed up in order to bring down a common enemy that they have. Therefore, Manabe cannot be the KING... it has to be someone else. I still believe that it is Mariko because she continues to say strange things and she appears with scary looks on her face.

As the story progesses, class 2B goes to a trip to the planetarium. In the planetarium, the king appears and he choses the remaining four people who will be considered the "heroes". One of the people who are chosen is Mariko. Mariko runs off and Tsubasa chases her into the rooms full of mirrors. Tsubasa confronts Mariko for being the person that pushed her into the pool. Mariko then confesses to everything that she has done. She did everything that the KING has asked her to do and she threatens to ask the king to erase Tsubasa's existence because she was jealous that Arisa was no longer spending time with her. However, the KING steps out the shadows and states that Mariko is sure a talkative person and that he cannot have someone like her on his side. Regardless of this fact, the KING remains as a blurred figure. The KING then states that Mariko is not needed and she disappears from her classmate's minds. This forces Mariko to transfer out to another school. Tsubasa decides to run after Mariko and Mariko explains to her how she wants to be forgotten. Tsubasa does not let Mariko continue and shows Mariko that they can continue to be friends despite what had happened. Mariko then reveals to Tsubasa that the KING is one of the chosen heroes and she knows this because the KING told her. In the mean time, Manabe runs into Midori (Arisa's Boyfriend) and finds out that Midori is one of the chosen four.

I never thought that the KING would be Arisa's boyfriend... he seemed like such a nice person because he has been nothing but nice to Tsubasa since she has arrived. Maybe it is all an act. But there has not been any evidence that would make Midori a suspect for the KING.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars for Arisa vol. 3

My Thoughts and a Mix of the Plot

Okay, first off I thought for sure it was her!!!! Darn plot twists!!!! Who is this person??? Why is he/she so freakin' twisted when it comes to answering wishes??? This is totally how Sherlock Holmes sucked me in! I am a 'why' person. At least we now know 'why' she did it...on to the next set of suspects!

Tsubasa has decided to work with Manabe and he with her, allies now I guess. Together they pool their codes in an attempt to identify the King, because now, only five people from the class will be selected to make a wish. From those five wishes, only one will be granted. And the King is one of those five people. The whole 5 wish thing makes the classmates in 2D (or is it 2B?) far more hostile and puts people in greater danger when they are selected. After all, if you can steal their phone (by any means necessary), you can take their wish. I guess these people don't have the option of security passwords on their phones. Or phone locator apps...that would probably come in handy with this crowd.

Anyway, By the end of the book they have identified one person who is not the King and have lined up another suspect. I, however, am pretty confident that it's not him. It's too obvious and way to convenient. And then another suspect is kind of thrown in there towards the end and you're back to "MUST GET THE NEXT VOLUME!!!!" lol

In Conclusion

This series is starting to suck me in. It reminds me of the BBC Sherlock series...

Anyhow, Natsumi Ando has totally got me. I went from not really feeling it with volume 1 to taking volume 4 with me to work so I can read it on my break. I am seriously considering getting this series for my own library...

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arisa is a multiple layered story with mystery elements. I highly recommend starting at the beginning and reading in order.

** This review contains no spoilers for Arisa 3 but will of course have them for previous volumes. **

Tsubasa has gained some leads and potential allies in her hunt for the King, but things have gotten much more dangerous as the King knows she's after him and keeps changing the rules. Only a few will be able to submit wishes, something that won't sit well with those not chosen. The King has also given Tsubasa a direct warning to stop poking around. Tsubasa needs to figure out if she can help Arisa and protect her at the same time, while in the shadows Arisa's best friend Mariko is disturbed by the "new" Arisa...

Arisa continues to be a tense, involving mystery that builds in intensity with each passing chapter. Tsubasa walks a dangerous line in pursuing the King, who has warned her off. She finds more truths and even more questions while players new and old conspire around her. The pacing is excellent, drawing the reader in alongside Tsubasa without rushing the plot. The art is still outstanding as well, with some particularly great touches and panels in this volume.

More impressive stuff in wonderful dark mystery series.

[Luna's Little Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

Series Rating: 3.5Stars (first few volumes are 4 Stars)

I read this series in one sitting, which is quite telling in itself. However I will say now that the story does lag a bit after a few volumes and loses something of the great set up it had at the beginning. That said, the author Natsumi Ando is good at ending chapters/volumes with cliff-hangers. So you get to the end of one book and immediately want to pick up the next one. (Case in point – me.)

The art is excellent and was part of the reason I decided to pick this series up. As much as story is important if you don’t like that images it’s a struggle to continue but for this genre (shojo) Natsumi Ando style fits beautifully.

Tsubasa is likable and determined to find out what happened to her sister. As reader it was easy to be on her side. This series requires suspension of disbelief to some extent but you’ll enjoy Arisa more for it.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arisa is a graphic novel series about a King who grants wishes to a special class of students. Arisa has gone missing and her sister has taken her spot in class in hopes of finding out to where her sister has disappeared. Book three sends the students to the planetarium where 5 are picked to have their wishes granted. When one of the five refuses to make a wish, it requires all five to re-submit their wishes, and for another girl to disappear. I really like this series and am glad that the titles are coming out with a regular frequency. I already have #4 sitting at home and waiting to be delved into. Read this series, but make sure to do so from the beginning.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the mystery of this series, but it's starting to get a bit confusing. There are times within the story that it seems to jump from the present to the past and it isn't clear. Overall, I enjoy the story and the mystery of who the "King" is, but I'm also wanting it to develop a little quicker. That's my one complaint about a lot of manga series, they develop too slowly plot-wise. That being said, this series has a great plot going on, though the characters could use some work. Overall, it's a nice manga mystery.

[Mikaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe Mariko did that! O_O woaah! But gosh! I feel bad for what she has gone through before. I kinda understand the feeling of people not noticing you and remembering you. :/ It was nice of Tsubasa to do that. I'm sure Arisa would've said those words to her too. :)

I'm now suspicious of Arisa's boyfriend, Midori. But he seems so nice and i think he really likes Arisa. Waaahh! This manga is making me point fingers at people that isnt the King. XD hahaha!

Then now there's the transfer student, Kudou Rei-kun. Hmm.. could it be him?