Creative Talent
Writer/Artist: Takeru Kirishima
Translated by: Christine Schilling
Adapted by: Brynne Chandler
What They Say
As Kagura delves deeper into the mystery behind Kanna, he gets a little more than he bargained for. Shinto training, shape-shifting monsters, wacky haircuts and demon-possession are just a few of the obstacles they face along the way...
The Review
As Kanna reaches its second volume, the titular character and her father, Kagura, are still on the run, trying to avoid demons who have crossed over to their world. They find themselves coming across several individuals with ties to their struggle; one is a shrine maiden who becomes their hidden protector, another is a girl named Mao with connections to Kanna’s past, and one is, of course, the strange linguist/photographer. An old enemy is removed and a new one introduced, but both developments play into some of the most over-used clichés in manga. In any other series, many of the chapters would fall into the character development category, but Kanna turns them into useless chapters where nothing happens.
Those who liked the first volume will probably find more to enjoy in this one. Kanna’s cosplay adventures continue, courtesy of Kagura’s fantasies and another photo shoot exchanged for information from the creepy boutique owner. Many random scenes are inserted for the sake of fanservice, and both new characters introduced are women who play into certain fetishes--a shrine maiden and another loli. Kanna’s cute attributes also continue to be played up, although the psychic conversations she can have with her father allow her to express herself a little bit more. Unfortunately, she spends much of that time whining.
For the people who didn’t like the previous installment, there has been absolutely nothing added that will suddenly make this series more appealing or more accessible. The dialogue is still as dull and generic as before, and the father-daughter relationship between Kanna and Kagura still veers into creepy territory several times. The plot isn’t quite a mess, but the characters are so uncompelling and the developments so clichéd that it’s hard to care about any of it. Mao, despite being the first female character I’ve actually found to be cute in the series, has such a rushed back story that her shifting role left me bored and struggling to make it through the later chapters. It’s a series that has few redeeming qualities other than a cast that some may find cute; others will certainly find Kanna’s intense jealousy and neediness to be something else entirely. As much as the premise had potential, the second volume cements the fact that I really couldn’t imagine any circumstances under which I would recommend this series to anyone.
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