Euh... C'est encore moi, Kyûtarô. Enlevée par les nettoyeurs de la lignée Seiryû, Fumi a dû ouvrir une deuxième porte dans son inconscient. De retour au lycée, avec les examens qui approchent, me voilà contraint de l'aider à réviser. Malheureusement, ma route croise celle d'Ataru qui ne se gêne pas pour me provoquer. Il me propose alors de le rencontrer seul à seul pour me révéler des choses sur le passé de Fumi...
Kyousuke Motomi (最富キョウスケ Motomi Kyōsuke) is a Japanese mangaka whose stories have frequently been published in the monthly Betsucomi magazine. She is most currently working on Dengeki Daisy.
She uses a male pseudonym and draws herself as a man, but she's actually female."If my stories can touch you, make you laugh, forget unhappy things, or even give you that 'good job' feeling, then I'll be super, super happy!" - Kyousuke Motomi
From the mangka who brought us Dengeki Daisy is a new series in the same vein. Fumi lives with Kyutaro, a boy her own age, and his family of Sweepers, people who specialize in cleaning the minds of those overcome by negative energy and harmful spirits. An orphan with a forgotten past, Fumi is on the hunt for a "prince" but as she becomes more and more the Queen, Kyutaro is the only one who can help her control awakening powers... Will she start falling for him?
This volume's art was superb! I love Kyousuke Motomi's style and how it embraces a modern design that can soften with rough strokes and harden with inky black spaces. The way the internal mind scapes are portrayed are the best element! The designs really bring out the supernatural elements to the front and set this series apart from her previous one. The crazed guys are portrayed so well and the new characters are easily identifiable. A pleasure to read...
The thing I admire most about this series is how Motomi develops the Queen and her protector's relationship. Kyutaro has to use subtly different techniques every volume as he works to try to restrain Fumi's queenly sides. It's so realistic while also clearly being something that Kyutaro has to build on (so clearly there is a development going on behind the scenes!) And the connection you feel between Kyutaro and Fumi is so, so strong...
That when this bug creep comes in and tries to threaten that bond, like Kyutaro you want to take his butt out! i do appreciate that Kyutaro didn't go all lone wolf on us... there is a reason this is a clan of sweepers and I really appreciate the group ideal that Motomi pushes. It's only a real life fact that we will mostly work in groups, whatever our job, for the rest of our natural lives... so best to learn to do that! I was honestly totally clueless as what to expect about their next cleaning job that despite being given clues I was shocked, hahahha. Yes, it was that good!
I love how there is this lovely balance between slice of life moments with studying and massages and getting down to business with the villains approaching, meeting with secretive agents taking part due to unknown agendas plus doing another cleaning! Entering the mind scapes are my favorite part and I think Motomi knows these are a strength in her story because she isn't shy about giving us these action packed moments to allow the queen and her protector to shine!
Queen's Quality vol. 4 is packed with unexpected twists, mysterious secrets and action packed moments that excite us to read more in this compelling new series! I hope this story goes on for many more volumes until it explores everything it can in the world of the sweepers!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Authenticity ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Tension ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Plot ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Art
Thanks to Edelweiss and VIZ Media for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. It has not influenced my opinions.
______________________ You can find this review and many others on my book blog @ Perspective of a Writer. See my manga and graphic novel reviews in a special feature called Saturday Morning Cartoons...
A lot happened in this volume! First, Fumi freaking out about finals, like same girl, lol, and second, because it really has nothing to do with the rest of the plot, but the guy with the chainsaw cracked me up—what else was he planning on doing with that?! 🤣 (thankfully nothing horrifically bloody or gory, lol)
So we’re back dealing with Ataru who’s always been scary (even in a sometimes comical way) but now he’s so unhinged he’s even more so in a you’re never sure what he’s going to do next type of way, and I admire the characters for actually wanting to save him despite him having done nothing but harm them the whole time—that’s true strength right there. And the Silver Sea Snake is a TERRIFYING creep, what the HECK?!
I love how the withholding information scenario didn’t get between Fumi and Kyutaro like I know SOOO many other stories would have taken it, not to mention how important their blooming love story is without it taking over the whole plot and the deep mental things the mangaka is exploring. Though did we REALLY need the massage scene and Kyutaro’s awkward sexual hinted at thoughts? Just, could we please not, thanks. But Kyutaro’s belief in Fumi…!!! 😍 My heart, they are precious, one of the best manga couples and they aren’t even together yet!
I’m not a huge fan of the horror elements this series plays around with at times but the girl coming out of Fumi definitely took the cake, that was so gross and disturbing. If I didn’t like the themes and characters so much this type of stuff would have me drop the series, heh. It boarders a bit too dark/gory for me at times.
Curious to see how this battle pans out!
‼️Content‼️
TRIGGER WARNING: a guy puts a gun to his own head and threatens to shoot (he’s stopped); a little girl comes out of and is ripped out of another’s body twice (PG-13/R horror vibes)
Language: crap; hell
Violence: fighting giant bugs, monsters, and humans with weapons, hand to hand, and supernatural powers (PG-PG-13/R); injuries and blood (PG—PG-13); a panther lights on fire (PG-13); a guy puts a gun to his own head and threatens to shoot (he’s stopped); a girl is captured, strung up, and bit by snakes (PG-13); a little girl comes out of and is ripped out of another’s body twice (PG-13/R horror vibes); a girl nearly strangles a guy
Sexual: a guy and a girl sleep together (not sexually); perv; a mention of nipples; a girl thinks a guy wouldn’t sneak out to buy p*rn (he doesn’t); a guy says some men were planning to gang-r*pe girls (nothing happens); a girl’s naked on a massage table (only bare shoulders are shown) and a guy thinks about this fact only to be embarrassed; a man says it’s okay for a teen guy to have erotic thoughts; shirtless guy
Alcohol/Drugs: a guy smokes
Other: giant bugs mentally “infest” people; magic; supernatural powers; characters go into people’s minds and clean out bad/negative thoughts/emotions; a girl is called a curse; characters’ spirits step out of their bodies; a girl has several “queens” inside her who often “replace” her for brief periods of time and have different personalities and powers; a woman uses tarot cards; a guy’s locked in a cage
"This is a critical time. It's okay to say it hurts or it's scary or it's hard. Just don't give up. Stand strong against any malice."
This series continues to get darker and darker, making it hard to remember to breathe because there is SO much at stake!
I do GREATLY appreciate the humor woven in with these volumes in the beginning though because I feel it relaxes me a little bit. LOL! (Granted, I didn't love the more sexual humor this time.) However, it probably makes the ending all the more intense BECAUSE I am relaxed! LOL!
Anyway, I'm still wishing I could have read this series sooner because I feel it's so powerful. Seeing Fumi learn and grow as a Sweeper is deeply satisfying, especially seeing how cleaning is helping her in other parts of her life. When Kyutaro explains about concentrating when studying and how it keeps our minds under control, it really spoke to me in regard to some personal struggles I've had. My mind is quick to wander and couldn't help but think of Kyutaro with the "regret" bugs last volume because I felt like I made a really poor decision that if I would have had more self-control and concentration, I would have not made the decision I made as well as felt mentally better. I think moments like that in how this series has spoken to me has been an incredibly powerful experience when reading this series. I'm not fond of reading super dark series, but I deeply love these characters and feel I'm always reminded to be on guard, take care of my mental health space, and not be afraid to depend on those around me. It really shakes me to my core to see these things wrap around me from a fictional story, but not in a bad way. It's like these characters are helping me become a better person and will forever be thankful for that. <3
This volume is great! There's a good balance between drama and character development. While it has its funny moments, it's not afraid of getting dark. The action scenes have high stakes and are impossible to look away from. It helps that Fumi isn't overpowered; she's genuinely struggling and being pushed to her limits. As always, Fumi and Kyutaro are great together. Kyutaro's devotion to her kills me every time. They're quickly becoming one of my favorite fictional couples ever.
The drama around what type of Queen will be woken up inside of Nishioka was already stressfull, btu THIS VOLUME TOOK ANGST AND DRAMA TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL! My heart wasn't ready for those moments inside Ataru's soul.
Kyuotaro and Nishioka are the perfect duo that fights side by side and complement each other's abilities, I LOVE her strenght and how ven in pain she can overcome anything. Their dynamic it's somthing that makes me keep reading this amazing series, hopefully things will sort it out in the end and nothing tragic happens but well, I know we are going to suffer a lot more with these two.
i was very close to dropping this series after the last volume as i was losing interest but this volume was the best of the series so far. things are getting dark and i love it
Not much new to say with this one. Yumi and Kyuutaro go to confront Ataru's bugs, and not to spoil it too much, he's a huge mess. He's also . This leads to a metaphorical--and slightly smoky--scene or two between our leads. It's all in the interest of helping her, it's fine!
I'm curious about the foot-based massage? pressure point? technique used on Kyuutaro in this volume, though it was largely played for laughs. I wonder if there's anybody around here that does that.
Another good volume with high stakes and a killer cliff hanger ending. I love how this series is not aftaid to go dark, bit there are still some humorous parts sprinkled throughout, even though quite a few are kinda juvenile.
I adore this story so much - it's so dark and romantic, and then there are the chapter intros from the mangaka that are unbelievably hysterical. Just howling with laughter hysterical, literally. I never want this series to end.
This was the last one available as I read through these from the library. The idea is kinda neat - sweeping the bad thoughts from people's minds - and the characters are fun. If you liked Dengeki Daisy, I think you'd also like this. The characters are similar without being too much the same.
gosh dammit I love this mangaka so damn much. nightmares, insecuritites, people's insecurities and fear and infestations in the form of bugs? Cleaning and sweeping as a form of spiritual cleansing? check.
I just can't seem to get into this series. All this latest installment served to do was make me go back and reread some Dengeki Daisy, which is a better series by this author. It's still a cute little story, just not all that deep or engaging.
I feel like a lot of things happened this volume and it's gonna take some time to actually reel it in. Nonetheless, I think the story is moving in a rapid pace and Im still looking forward to how the next volume will go.
This series has a rough start, but it gets better and better each volume. Honestly, if I hadn't read the prequel I probably would've been too confused to continue to this point.
Absolutely dark. And good. The battle with the bug-handlers opens up an entirely new set of villains. I'm really ready to see the Black Queen meet with Ataru, finally.