MY HEAVENLY HOCKEY CLUB: Volume 5 by Ai Morinaga(2008).
© Del Rey
Mania Grade: B
Manga Series: My Heavenly Hockey Club
Issue: Volume 5
Rating: Teen (13+)
Story and Art By: Ai Morinaga
Publisher: Del Rey
Price: $10.95
Manga Series: My Heavenly Hockey Club
Issue: Volume 5
Rating: Teen (13+)
Story and Art By: Ai Morinaga
Publisher: Del Rey
Price: $10.95
MY HEAVENLY HOCKEY CLUB Volume 5
By: Nadia OxfordReview Date: Friday, July 04, 2008
A hockey-themed manga about a student club that rarely engages in the sport is unusual on its own. Volume five of Ai Morinaga's My Heavenly Hockey Club takes the weirdness a step further by finally engaging the cast in a game of field hockey with high stakes: if the team doesn't win, the sea-faring father of one of the members will collect his son and force him to live a pirate's life on the high seas.
The latest volume of My Heavenly Hockey Club has reached a plateau in terms of jokes and hijinks; it's all still pretty hilarious, but if you're looking for character depth and a profound story, it should be obvious by now that you're not going to find much of it in Morinaga's manga.
It's not to say the characters aren't endearing, though. If you've followed the series to this point, they'll still make you smile and laugh. One volume of My Heavenly Hockey Club is typically composed of four or five short stories, and volume five is no different. Some of those stories are a bit of a miss (such as the obnoxious cousin of the main character Hana imposing herself on the club) whereas others are amusing parodies of cliches (the hockey club helps a single woman save her farm from a pushy land owner).
Volume five's best story is doubtlessly “Clash! Father-Son Hockey Falcons” (the title itself is epic) for a number of reasons. Its main focus is Natsuki Serizawa, the hockey team's most supportive and cheerful member—who quickly reveals another nature when he's left in charge of training the team for the most important match of their lives. Natsuki's father heads a prominent corporation but is in actuality a wannabe pirate with a falling-down crew of geriatrics. He needs young blood to help him on his voyages around the world and attempts to recruit his unwilling son. Natsuki resists and the final decision comes down to a thrilling—and shamelessly rigged—match of field hockey.
Morinaga includes character profiles at the end of some volumes. Volume five features the hockey team's twins, Ginta and Kinta Ayuhara. Morinaga leaves a little note for the reader indicating that the two profile pictures are not copies, and there are actually differences between them. Good luck finding the differences, because I looked for ages and was ultimately stumped.
If you've come this far as a fan of Hockey Club's humour, volume five will continue to please you. Happy Heavenly Hockey dreams to you.
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