Kanan-sama ha Akumade Choroi vol 9,10 - Wait that's Mika?! Hanako x Lily?!
Volumes 9 and 10 of Kanan-sama wa Akumade Choroi continue from where we left off, with Kanan being coaxed into participating in the school's Miss Contest. She is lured in by the promise of gaining Youji's attention, which is a typical plot point, but this time the event is on a much larger scale. It reaches the point where even Kanan's parents are called to attend.
The style is typical for an anime-themed manga, featuring elaborate costumes for all the girls and strange battles on stage to determine who proceeds to the next round. One battle was a speed-eating contest, while another involved participants in school swimsuits trying to throw their opponents out of the ring. It is the kind of fun content that fans generally enjoy and can easily get a young audience excited.
Aside from Kanan, we see plenty of familiar characters participating, such as Jeanne, Milch, and even the student council president, Shinryuuji. We also encounter a few new characters who clearly serve as stand-ins, as they do not have significant roles afterward, such as Chiya Houji and Jou Perika.
One interesting addition is the quiet and reserved Mika Futarizuka. She is a striking, stoic beauty with long hair and a petite frame, and she appears to show very little emotion. I honestly did not pay much attention to her at the beginning, but it turns out she is Michael the Archangel, Jeanne's superior.
This is only revealed later in the volume when she faces Kanan's father, Beelzebub. Apparently, they have known each other for a while. She has been infiltrating the school and acting as a student for her own purposes. She even helped Jeanne in her quest to fight against Kanan, so I suspect she has a larger objective.
On a positive note, it seems a yuri pair was revealed in the school in this volume, and I am quite interested in them: the wealthy Lily and the sickly Hanako. Apparently, Hanako lacks the funds for a life-saving surgery, and Lily is using the Miss Contest to manufacture an excuse to help Hanako earn the necessary money. Hanako collapses during the event and the situation seems dire.
You might say, "Oh, that is dramatic", and it would be, were it not for Kanan making Hanako her servant and healing all of her illnesses. This transforms the sickly girl into someone hyper-energetic. Honestly, I like when things happen this way, as I do not need tragedy in my comedy manga.
In the end, Kanan wins the final battle in a costume showdown between herself, Jeanne, and Shinryuuji. Among the three, Kanan's costume was arguably the best in terms of design, but Jeanne's clumsiness still wins me over. I just cannot stop cheering for that girl!
While the fanservice and cute scenes were great and the characters delivered, the one who left the strongest impression on me from these two volumes is definitely Mika. Her design is excellent (I prefer her petite figure over Kanan's more boisterous look) and the aura of mystery around her role makes it very interesting to watch her move around the school.
The next volume continues with the cultural festival, and it seems Kanan might finally declare her honest feelings to Youji. I have only seen a few blurbs, but surely there must be something else going on to keep the series moving, as the romantic relationship was the main plot of the series, after all.
With the anime arriving next season, I am busy catching up on the manga and am excited to see what they will do with the adaptation. Hopefully, it will be well-animated, as the series is excellent and it would be a shame to see the manga's amazing art downgraded.