This volume was an improvement. The story picks up the pace, and this time I feel the faster pace works in the favor of the manga. Slight deviations from the anime are made, mostly to good effect--not inherently better or worse than the anime, just different. The art continues to impress, and in this volume, the fanservice is used pretty effectively to enhance concepts or scenes in ways that feel more natural than they did in the anime (who would've thought, huh?). In those cases, it feels like the anime had to hold back in order to keep the rating aimed at teens, while the manga didn't have to make such sacrifices. The fanservice is still self-indulgent, of course, but felt pretty natural all things considered. I don't think I would say this manga adaptation is better than its anime counterpart, as I do still think the original is better, but it definitely justified its existence.