Title: Reign of the Seven Spellblades Vol. 6
Author: Sakae Esuno, Bokuto Uno (Story), Ruria Miyuki (Characters)
Publisher: Yen Press
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 196
Genre: Fantasy
Publication Date: August 22, 2023
The Story
Reign of the Seven Spellblades volume 6 continues the first-year battle royal. Oliver takes on Mr. Albright while Michela and Nanao take on Fay and Stacy. We get a nice battle between the two of them with two outcomes that kind of merge into one another. Michela and Nanao win as does Oliver; however, when Oliver does, Mr. Albright cannot accept his loss. He summons a bunch of giant stinger bees and stoops low to erase his loss.
He goes into a bit of backstory to explain his reasons why and another battle between them ensues. Mr. Albright’s goal was Nanao after all, so she’s the one who ends up fighting him. After the battle has settled, large beasts begin appearing. It is determined that beasts such as these do not exist in the world which means that they are chimera. They draw the conclusion that Ophelia has been consumed by her spell! Things get a bit dire when one of Oliver’s friends gets taken away by one of Ophelia’s chimera!
As we head into the next volume, the race to save them begins and Oliver ends up getting some unexpected help!
Characters
While this volume was mostly action, we did get some nice backstories between Michela and Stacy as well as the relation between the Cornwallis and McFarlane families. We also learned how Stacy and Fay came to know each other as well. Plus, we also discovered Fay’s true nature and why he had those marks on his cheeks. Lots of interesting information here which got even more interesting once everything was explained and we learned what both Stacy and Michela are!
In the case of Mr. Albright. We learned about his backstory and just how strict the Albright family is. He didn’t take his loss to Oliver because his family will not allow it. Some of the measures they went through to erase a loss when Albright was a child scarred him for life but it also made him aware that he, too, had to sink to any level to ensure that the Albright family never suffers a loss again. It’s kind of tragic to be pushed into a corner like that but it’s just all the more reason that people are shaped by their upbringings. Nobody is born the way they become… something happens along the way and that’s simply how it was for Albright.
The surprises didn’t end with Michela, though. When it was time to confront a crazed Mr. Albright, yet, another secret about her had been revealed! (Geez, just what the heck is up with her family!?). This one makes her stand out a bit better and it was a secret that she was trying to hide but the situation said that it could not be hidden no longer. This adds a new dimension to her as a character so it was a bit refreshing to see.
Final Thoughts
Typically, action volumes are simply that: all action. Here, we had some nice moments where we got to develop some of the characters. Their backstories laid things out and; hopefully, resolved some differences. As for the action, it was nice while it lasted; however, I wasn’t a fan of the book glossing over Albright and Nanao’s fight. The fight began at the end of one chapter and it was over at the start of the next, completely skipping all of the action. I would have hoped for more balance or more of a display of the fight since it was the fight Albright was looking for this whole time. So, a bit of a disappointment there.
Everything else was top-notch. I loved the fight with Oliver and Albright along with Nanao/Chela against Fay/Stacy. Both were well done and really helped to build their characters. Now, we have a search and rescue mission where Oliver feels completely helpless in… which is why he will be looking to find a way to join the search with our without the school’s permission. Of course, I would expect that our missing friend is safe and sound… especially since the book when on to point out that the tentacles were not made for killing.
I don’t know if I would have said that, though… that kind of takes away from the drama. The only way to bring the drama back would be to have that friend actually die and have Oliver question whether or not he was right in his judgment. That’s just me but this is the world of shonen manga. I’m sure they’re just fine!
We will see in Volume 7!
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**This item was provided for review by Yen Press
