CY-Believers Vol.#02
© Go! Comi

Mania Grade: A
Art Rating: A
Packaging Rating: B+
Text/Translatin Rating: A
Age Rating: 16 & Up
Released By: Go! Comi
MSRP: 10.99
Pages: 200
ISBN: 978-1-933617-77-0
Size: B6
Orientation: Right to Left
Series: CY-Believers

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CY-Believers Vol.#02

Creative Talent
Writer/Artist: Shioko Mizuki
Translated by: Christine Schilling
Adapted by: Kai Connick

What They Say
Rui is giving her new club all she's got, though her evil fiance is determined to thwart her. It's easy to believe Natori is just an arrogant jerk, but a timely rescue hints otherwise! Before she can react to that surprise, a bigger one is revealed: her father's coming for a visit!

The Review
Rui's been trapped in their clubroom by Natori's devious scheming, but his plans for her are interrupted by a freak accident that leaves them trapped in a burning building. Azumi and Rio finally realize that something's up, but arrive on the scene too late. Azuma's not the only predator Rui has to look out for, though - with the greek chorus girls dropping out of the club, she's alone with Rio and Azumi, leaving her in fear of what they might do. There's only one solution - more club members. Female ones!

 Luckily, Natori's rampages have left Rui with a large field of potential club members to choose from, from all the clubs that have been disbanded. But Natori has a scheme of his own, to have a spy infiltrate the Cy-Believers and drive Rui, Azumi, and Rio apart. Enter Joe, the mysterious transfer student, who seems to have more than a few secrets of his own. Through means both fair and foul (but mostly foul), Natori learns more about Rui, her family, and what motivates her. And while she's seemed normal enough to this point, it's pretty clear that she's anything but!

Her differences are highlighted even further when her father makes a visit to the campus. Rui is determined to hide the truth about Natori from her father at all cost, but it's clear that he has an information network - and memory - that's truly unbelievable, and he's not the sort of person who secrets can be kept from. While Rui seems blissfully unaware of the truth, her father may just make Natori's twisted schemes look like simple child's play.

This wasn't a series that caught my interest at all initially, so it's hard to define when I came to love this series, but it's blend of outlandish comedy and twisted evil is impossible to resist. It's so outrageous, so over the top, so absurd - that it just works. The characters are what really make it work - there's nothing really new about Azumi and Rio in this volume, but both Rui and Natori have some nice depth and complexity added to them, to the point where Natori is almost likable as a character, rather than being simply a cardboard villain twirling a waxed mustache. Despite the odd, even dull, premise, I'd recommend this one easily to just about everyone, and I hope more people will give it a chance. It's so much more than the synopses hint at.