Manga Review: Zettai Shoujo Seiiki Amnesian volume 1

Kaishaku has two stories running starring Chikane and Himeko, the protagonists of their earlier yuri fan favorite creation, Kannazuki no Miko. One is a web novel called Himegami no Miko. (English-language summaries of Himegami can be found here.) The other is a manga series that's running in Kadokawa Shoten's monthly Young Ace magazine. (Kannazuki no Miko ran in Kadokawa Shoten's monthly Shounen Ace.) Most of Kaishaku's manga titles have gotten anime adaptations- so there's a fair chance that Zettai Shoujo Seiiki Amnesian will receive one also. The Kannazuki no Miko anime was significantly better than its manga incarnation, which will hopefully be the case for ZSSA if it is animated.

So far, Zettai Shoujo Seiiki Amnesian is...well...what one would expect from Kaishaku.

Kurusu Himeko is a cheerful, orphaned high school student who works as a nun, along with "Oogami-sempai", the priest in charge of the parish she works for. One day she sees a woman (Chikane) impaled by a sword hanging above the cathedral altar. Because this is a Kaishaku story, Chikane is wearing a shredded school uniform. I chuck any expectations of political correctness out the window, and continue reading. Somehow, Himeko gets Chikane down from way up there and gets a doctor to pay a house call. (Instead of, say, calling 119.) There are three unusual things about Chikane (aside from how she was found): she looks exactly like Himeko's dead "older sister" Chika (I REALLY, REALLY hope that Himeko means "older sister" figuratively rather than literally; that's what I'm assuming for now), she's amnesiac, and the one thing she can remember is that Himeko is her most important person. She almost immediately starts putting the moves on Himeko, but is rebuffed by Himeko after (ahem) a few minutes.

When a flustered Himeko leaves Chikane so she can talk to Oogami, she gets attacked by a psychotic woman who claims to be from the eeeeevil Nine Days organization and wants the "Dragon's Cry" that is inside of Himeko's "sanctuary." (If that sounds like a double entendre, it's intentional- remember, Kaishaku.) Chikane ruthlessly (and kind of awesome-ly ^^ yes, I know that isn't a word) dispatches the woman with a sword- even though she used to belong to Nine Days herself-, and she and Himeko use a charred note the woman left behind as a lead for investigating the Nine Days in Ikebukuro. When they split up, Himeko is bound and nearly raped by a cross-dressing boy from Nine Days who hates women. (I look out of the proverbial window, and see that my expectations have been run over repeatedly by the Kaishaku truck.) Chikane shows up in the nick of time and pulls her sword on him- although he causes an explosion, making Ikebukuro go up in flames.

On another, more peaceful day, a burly man named Date who works for the government shows up and holds Himeko hostage so he can can grope Chikane- but whoops! His mistake- they're technically on the same side, although Chikane won't forgive him.

Himeko returns to her "normal" life at school, until Chikane shows up with a bentou for her in the middle of class, while wearing another student's gym uniform. Chikane wants to be all lovey-dovey, but Himeko tells her to leave. By lunch time, she feels bad, and looks for Chikane so they can share lunch. Chikane is on the rooftop defending herself from another woman from Nine Days (Shizuku), who claims that she's Chikane's ex. o_o (Although that may be a lie.) More fighting, clothes-shredding, and non-con groping ensue. (Most yuri fans who read this chapter were, shockingly, not as upset about Chikane being harassed by a woman as they were about her being harassed by a man.) After being snuggled held by Himeko, Chikane gets her fighting spirit back and defeats Shizuku, who escapes. Chikane falls down in exhaustion and swears to protect Himeko without fail.

If you are a fan of Chikane and Himeko's previous incarnations in Kannazuki no Miko, you will probably be grudgingly hooked on this crappy series. If you are not, you will probably see no value at all in it. That's it.

I actually really enjoyed the first chapter. It was stupid and servicey, but I really liked seeing Chikane and Himeko back in action. My enthrallment wore off in chapter 2, what with that nasty little near-rape scene- but I reasoned that, perhaps, Kaishaku had gotten it out of their system after that. (Never apply "reason" to a Kaishaku manga.) Nearly every subsequent chapter featured some form of sexual assault, followed by Chikane beating up the perpetrator. Even though the perpetrators were always punished, the fact that it happened in every single arc and felt like it was being presented as "service" when it was happening gave this series an icky edge. But then, now and again, through the muck of Kaishaku's pile o' fetishes, there would be a gleaming, worthwhile "moment" between Chikane and Himeko again. (Although at this point, Chikane thinks that Himeko is the greatest thing since sliced bread while Himeko doesn't quite know what to make of Chikane.)

Zettai Shoujo Seiiki Amnesian has a plot that could be stronger if it weren't preoccupied with bloomers, bunny girl costumes, and making sophomoric double entendres. ("Little bear"?) At the very least, Chikane and Himeko are cute as a pair (although Chikane's amnesia and subsequent lack of worldliness has put a dent into her "cool" factor), there is no full-blown rape (although Kaishaku seems to be itching to draw one), and the art is easier to follow than it was in KnM. Maybe it is the lack of mecha this time around (the mecha scenes in the KnM manga were a mess), but I never had trouble following what was going on and who was saying what in this volume. The action scenes are slick and energetic and the character designs are appealing- particularly when their clothes aren't being shredded.

Story: D
Art: B
Overall: C <--- Retrospective edit: Wtf was I thinking? F

It isn't good, but it isn't pretending to be. But...that doesn't really help.