There is one thing that I absolutely loved about this volume. I does an incredible job with illustrating sensory overload. Anyone reading the series by now should know that Naoto has stupidly sensitive hearing, and those headphones of his aren't a fashion statement, they're noise cancelling headphones that he needs to drown out the sound of EVERYTHING. In this volume Naoto temporarily loses his headphones. He seems alright for the most part, until he suddenly collapses with an excruciating headache. It is then that Marie realizes the significance of Naoto missing his headphones, and how she forgot how sensitive his hearing was, because he appeared to be fine up until the moment he collapsed. I feel like this perfectly illustrates sensory overload in those with Asperger's Syndrome/Autism, because those of us on the spectrum and can usually manage various over stimulating sensory input to a point, but once we cross that threshold, that's it, we can't people anymore until we have time to decompress. I know Naoto isn't meant to be portrayed as someone with ASD, but if you're looking for an example of what sensory overload is, this is a pretty solid one.
Yu is busy gathering information for Marie, and thanks to him we see just how useless the politicians are as the volume opens. The electromagnetic weapon has magnetised everything, putting Halter and Ryuzu out of commission, although Anchor appears to be unscathed.
While stile being a wee bit cringey at points, Naoto shows real determination this volume as he doesn't give up and pushes forward with a plan when Marie loses it slightly. He has his moments, when he's intelligent and kind of heroic and full of determination and fighting spirit, but then he's a cringey pain right after and it's like...why dude!?
Marie has a small inner crisis but is back to her badass self using her genius to attempt to fix Ryuzu. I loved seeing her be so relatable and authentic and overcome it and push on. Vermouth gets an interesting makeover and I was excited to see more of him, he's an interesting and hilarious addition to the group and he's going to be quite the asset when it comes to fighting!
The series takes a more serious turn as we see the political struggle/the struggle for power amongst the various different government figures. Someone's pulling the strings and the different factions are fighting amongst themselves as the weapon just chills out, ready to be used. The stakes are getting higher, especially as Marie and co fully embrace their role as terrorists in order to try and fix things and stop the coup.
The mysterious girl from the last volume is revealed to be Houko, the Princess who has a connection to Marie somehow. I'm intrigued by her as she seems quite intelligent and astute when it comes to the situation and she won't take any crap from anyone. I'm actually looking forward to seeing more of her and how she knows Marie!
Halter is still down for the count, but our group mount their most daring attack yet as they go all out to do what's right. I have so many questions still, but the story is moving at a nice pace with more plot threads and intrigues being woven throughout. It gets more serious and high stakes as it goes on and things are really hotting up now!
Naoto sure does have a way of always thinking ahead. I still don't understand how Marie and the Princess are connected.....school? Why does the Princess not like Marie?....
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.