Well, there go all of my papers.
Magic Knights Rayearth Vol. 3
Mixx Entertainment (September, 1999)
originally published by Kodansha Ltd. (1994)
produced by CLAMP WRITER: Nanase Ohkawa ARTIST: Mokona Apapa ASSISTANT DESIGNER/PRODUCTION COORDINATOR: Satsuki Igarashi EDITOR/MINI-CHARACTERS: Mick Nekoi
Like before we’re going to be reviewing each story in the book although there is no official division between the stories. By the way, this one contains the first big twist of the series and I will remind people NOT TO SPOIL IT FOR ANYONE! Which is going to be hard to do with the next arc, by the way, but darn it I’m going to find a way!
The first adventure continues where the last volume ended. As Umi converses with Celes, the water Spirit, Ascot attacks the other two Magic Knights with his monster army. Even injured they try to help Umi win the fight against Ascot. In the end Umi learns that Ascot considers the monsters (and these are usually friendly) his friends, and uses her own friendship with Hikaru and Fuu to win Ascot over to their side. I like victories that are won by gaining a new friend.
Next is the sky temple and the wind Spirit Windom, who brings Fuu to him the same way Celes did Umi. Meanwhile, Umi and Hikaru are bewitched by Gardina, a Charmer who uses her dance to control others. But since she’s only paid by Zagato having her butt kicked by Fuu, who uses the strength of her heart (which Celes wanted to see out of Umi) to not only break Gardina’s spell but gains some extra magic of her own, convinces her not to continue fighting. She earned her pay and our heroes move on. Ascot and Gardina are my favorite of Zagato’s forces because they really aren’t evil and in the anime even befriend the Magic Knights. It helps that the anime actually had Gardina treating Ascot like a little brother while here she doesn’t seem to care about him. Points to the anime for really fleshing out these characters with extra adventures.
Our next adventure is the volcano temple where the title spirit, Rayearth, awaits Hikaru. However, Zagato has taken over the heart of the Dal Lafarga, Emeraude’s strongest guard, who can slice with merely the thrust of his giant sword. He had Umi and Fuu captures but Hikaru will not leave them, and instead breaks through Zagato’s spell when Lafarga tries to grab her sword. (It was established just before this that whenever someone other than the proper owner of their swords, they react to the action. Fuu’s sword became too heavy Umi while Umi’s sword turned to water in Fuu’s hands. When Lafarga grabs Hikaru’s it bursts into flames, all in keeping with their magic element, breaking the spell.) Lafarga is freed and her act of selflessness allows her to don the final spirit. With this the other Spirits come forth and the armor and swords reach their final evolution. Donning the Spirits (riding inside them), the girls finally become the Magic Knights. Unlike the anime, the girls do not make a friend of Lafarga but rush off while he kneels there all confused about what’s going on. That’s a bit disappointing.
Finally, we get into why we came here, the final battle to save Cephiro. It’s the Magic Knights and their Spirits versus Zagato, who has used all his power to create a Spirit of his own. The girls may win this, but what they thought was their mission turns out not to be in a twist so amazingly done (although the anime does a better job with very subtle hints than the manga) that I don’t want to spoil it for you. It will change how you view the series up to this final point and it’s really well-done, although it leaves the girls with a shared emotional scar and questions to be solved in the next arc, which will expand on Cephiro.
It’s this final part that really makes the series for me, although despite this being my favorite manga, I like how the TV series built things up better. Still, manga or anime, this is a series you should really check out. But we aren’t done yet, as the girls return to Cephiro (after being sent home when their real mission was completed) and find a few changes since they left.
BW Media Spotlight 