Yozakura Quartet Vol.#02

By: John Zakrzewski
Review Date: Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Release Date: Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Creative Talent
Writer/Artist: Suzuhito Yasuda
Translated by: Satsuki Yamashita
Adapted by: Nunzio DeFilipis and Christina Weir

What They Say
FAR FROM AVERAGE!

Three girls with special powers and a regular guy named Akina defend the town of Sakurashin from malevolent forces. But why is there so much demonic activity in this place? The truth will soon come to light-about both the town and Akina's key role in the unfolding adventure!

The Review
After muddling through its disjointed first volume, Yozakura Quartet returns with a significantly more straightforward and conventional second installment that finally sets upon the crucial task of defining the hitherto nebulous story. Using the previous offering as little more than a hasty character introduction encased within delicious visuals, here the narrative foundation is actually being built to support future plot development.

Sakurashin Town—home to the super-powered-schoolgirl Mayor, Hime Yarizakura—isn’t merely by chance beset with more than its share of preternatural phenomena. Beckoned by the cyclopean pillars known as the “Seven Spiritual Sakura,” this small community is in reality a haven for earthbound demons looking to lead a relatively normal existence amongst the world’s human populace. It’s the job of Hime and her friends at the Hiizumi Life Counseling Office to both ease these freshly arrived haunts into their new lives and to protect the town from problems which occasionally arise due to its eclectic denizens.

Volume Two allots the bulk of its pages to establishing the concept of Sakurashin’s role as a demonic refuge. This is primarily achieved by way of the supporting cast, allowing several of the town’s supernatural residents the chance to take center stage. While an effective method for introducing the material, it greatly comes at the main characters’ expense, some of whom—the likes of Kotoha and Ao—are left fading into the ether; by volume’s end the exploration received by certain lesser personas has them feeling more integral to the story than a few primary quartet players.

Though more focused than the inceptive compilation, manga-ka Suzuhito Yasuda’s inability to maintain a balance between story and principle characters suggests a persistent struggle to gain dominance over his creation. Where the first book was action heavy and fixated on its core protagonists to a fault, this time around is combat-free while largely shoving Hime and her compatriots aside, in effect creating a series that to this point is devoid of a clear direction. Not to say Volume Two is in any way impenetrable, but Yozakura Quartet has yet to manifest a distinct flavor for itself.

One unquestionably solid area, however, is Yasuda’s artwork. Coming from an illustrative background, he possesses a wonderful eye for crafting enticing designs and sleek compositions. Even within such a scant period of time, his efforts on this installment are improved, with cleaner details, better use of heavy contrast, and in particular more ambitious page layouts. So although the story may stumble, the manga stays a pleasure to behold.

The flow of dialogue can be a bit rough, at times. How much can be attributed towards Del Rey’s localization is questionable, which is not to forgive a number of instances where rereading text was necessary to clearly identify the speaker and their meaning. Part of this is likely due to Yasuda’s tendency for word balloons without clear character markers, but there’s also a lack of differentiation in most of the voices, which again may have nothing to do with Del Rey. Regardless of where the blame lies, the script can be somewhat clunky in spots and could use a little more attention.

In much the same vein as Volume One, Yozakura Quartet continues on as manga displaying a good deal of promise despite a number of glaring foibles. While some of the main characters are lost in favor of a larger ensemble cast, the progress shown in both the overall story and artwork keep this book engaging enough that its faults are never a major detriment. And thankfully, there’s no shortage of girls in cute outfits and thigh-highs to keep the fetishist inside happy.