Title: Hinowa ga CRUSH! Vol. 3
Author: Takahiro (Story), strelka (Art)
Publisher: Yen Press
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 192
Genre: Action
Publication Date: February 4, 2020
The Story
Hinowa ga CRUSH turns up the heat with its third battle as the fight between the Tenrou and Soukai nations begins. Kyoukotsu employs brand-new siege technology like a long-range catapult that can be broken down and moved with ease as well as ladders used from skeletal freaks that are flexible and resistant to fire. Despite his technological genius, his inventions are destroyed and he has to go back to the drawing board. Together with Yomihime, they devise a brand-new plan using freaks as a surprise attack in hopes that they would let their guard down and open the gates.
After Shion uses one of the spider freaks to… uh… satisfy himself… he comes up with a plan to make Kyoukotsu think that his plan worked. They set false fires and open the gates which lure him into a trap. There, his men are dealt with leaving Kyoukotsu to battle one-on-one with Hisame in a rematch from the last volume. Speaking of rematches, we get one between Akame and Yomihime as Akame blocks her path to joining with Kyoukotsu.
After the battle is over, Hinowa, Hisami, Tobari, and others who played an instrumental part in the battle are brought before Maruge and Shion for their debriefing and any possible promotions. As the Soukai nation deals with the fallout of the battle, the Tenrou nation decides to summon the Ten Stars, the strongest amongst their army.
A very-action packed volume this time around but despite all of the action, they knew when to pump the brakes and let the battles breathe. They went into the strategies behind each attack rather than just doing them and it made for an excellent pace! I was really worried about fights in this series as Akame ga Kill’s fights were over and done with in just a page or two but this sequel series seemed to have taken that criticism and produced a drawn-out battle that felt like it had just the right amount of “screen time” to allow it to shine. Although, I was a bit disappointed with the outcome in the fact that it looks like Takahiro hasn’t learned his lesson about keeping characters around for long. On the other hand, he kind of did as another character got to live and we’ll be seeing more of them in the future.
Characters
None of the characters really developed, per se. We did see some of the seeds being planted for a romance between Princess Rinzu and Hisame but, then again, those seeds have been planted for a while now. I guess a new step was taken but nothing is really definite just yet. Knowing the way Takahiro is, Hisame is going to die! I can see him as the Lubbock of this series which automatically raises a death flag for him but hey… maybe lessons can be learned and I’ll be proven wrong!
Yomihime did get a little development as we learn she’s not human. She discloses to Akame during their battle that she was born between a freak and a human. She controls fire… not ice but this just screams Esdeath all over again. She is a member of the Ten Stars but if Akame can go toe-to-toe with her and even instill the fear of death in her that means that she is FAR weaker than Esdeath was. Plus, it was seen that she can’t even control her flames all that well. This seems to be a new approach for Takahiro so let’s see if he gradually builds her up rather than just making her overpowered from the start.
We ALMOST got through one volume without Shion having intercourse with some sort of creature. Maybe next time…
Final Thoughts
This was a great action-packed volume of Hinowa ga CRUSH! Some of the characters got their time to shine, the battle had the right amount of action, it paused when it needed to in order to let you absorb what happened, and we got an advancement of the story with a bit of a mild cliffhanger but one that makes you wonder just what’s going to happen next!
The Ten Stars seem to be a formidable force but I don’t really think that they’re going to attack just yet. They seem like they are being built up to be the main enemy force so I would expect our characters to get built up over time, perhaps be given some Meihou to help combat them and all of that fun stuff. If they go right into a battle against the Ten Stars then I guess this would be a very short series!
Still, there’s enough here to entertain you and get you thinking about what is to come! Can’t wait to see what happens in Volume 4!
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