3 out of 5

More ridiculous “I bet you’re thinking ZIG so I’ll ZAG!” nonsense; same amount of ridiculous fun.

While I suspect Kaiu Shirai’s twisty-turny sci-fi tale will amount to less than it’s building up to, I appreciate that his potential counter for that is to just toss major reveals or plot turns out there sooner rather than later.  Within the first volume, we’re told very much up front that the orphanage in which leads Ray, Emma, and Norman – along with dozens of other kids of various ages – is actually a harvesting farm for, uh, demons, plucking “ripe” children for their meals and delivered by the home’s resident mom; in volume two, the kids play cat and mouse with mom and another caretaker, and Kaiu makes it clear enough that each person is aware that the other is playing them… hence the ongoing back-and-forth ridiculousness, but again, hence the fun as well.

The third volume ups book two’s sense of conflict by laying even more cards out on the table.  Facts are learned about the outside world; traitors are revealed; confrontations had; escape plans very really put into effect.  The momentum is key, of course; slow down and most of these momentary ducks and dodges don’t make much sense, but Posuka Demizu’s incredibly expressive artwork is there to also nudge you along from page to page, and I’d add that his work has gotten better from volume to volume, relying less on extreme angles and more on in-panel motion and expressions to get the job done.