Blackbird Vol 11 by Kanoko Sakurakoji Review...MANGA review!

Hi ForeverBookers,

Firstly, I’ve said it before but I ADORE the artwork in this manga series! It’s just so my aesthetic. I wish we had some colour pages inside the manga but if I was to create a manga series I’d certainly try to somewhat replicate the style of the artwork in Blackbird. The covers give you a feel for what the art style is like. 

I didn’t read this volume for any readathons! 

Spoilers Below (as this is the first manga review on this blog there really are spoilers)...

I enjoyed this volume of Blackbird. In it we see Misao become her own person, I feel. “I want to be able to walk with Kyo on my own two feet,” shows this. She doesn’t want to be insignificant to Kyo. She wants to be strong, as he has been! At the same time we have Sho plotting to break Misao and Kyo up. ”All I have to say is...”Shall I break the seal I put on your memories, Misao?” If all goes well cracks will form in their relationship.” Sho is very much the main antagonist in the story. He wants Misao for himself, I feel. He certainly doesn’t want his brother, Kyo to have her, as she’s the Senka Maiden and thought very highly of. He’s the eldest brother and it should be him inheriting all that Kyo has, after all. I kind of feel sorry for Sho in a way but then he IS the villain, who’s brought everything on himself, so there’s only so much of me that can feel pity for him. 

“She’s probably afraid of how her feelings might change if she gets her memories back,” Misao doesn’t want her memories back because she thinks they’ll be of Sho, not Kyo. She was meant to fall in love with Sho, as she’s the Senka Maiden and the prophecy told that the Senka Maiden will love the eldest son of the Tengu clan. This obviously hasn’t happened. 

“I want...to know...how Sho feels about me.” This is Misao telling Ayame, a friend of Kyo’s not to tell him about her wanting to talk to Sho. She doesn’t want Kyo to get angry at her or be disappointed in her for wanting to find out how Sho feels. At this point, I was pondering what would happen if Sho really did steal Misao! 

Lord Sho survived the warehouse collapse because he’s been feeding from a stain of Misao’s blood on his Kimono. The Senka Maiden’s blood has power to bring people back from the dead. Misao doesn’t know this until this point. “It’s your duty...to make this village thrive isn’t it?” Sho believes Misao should willingly give her blood to the villagers so the village doesn’t die out. Of course he just wants to pain her and his brother in whatever way he can. Does he succeed? You’ll have to read to find out!

“I wanted a friend...I thought I found one,” is what Kaede says to Misao when they’re discussing Kyo. At first Misao doesn’t think this is a dig at her, but by the end of the conversation I believe she sees it that way. Kaede comes across as an extremely selfish antagonist. Sho is the main villain but Kaede is very much his accomplice. Sho wants Misao as his, I believe, but Kaede just wants her gone! Will either of these things come true? You’ll have to read to find out. 

Overall, I enjoyed this volume. It wasn’t as focused on the romance as other volumes have been so that’s why it only got 4 stars from me. With it not being so focused on romance, however, it allowed more of the side and background characters to shine, rather than just Misao and Kyo, which I feel previous volumes haven't really done. It’s been their story up until now. The fact that Sho appears on the cover of volume 11 may also show this.

Do you like this longer, more in depth review of the manga I read or do you prefer having only in depth novel reviews. Let me know... I know this is the middle of a series. Sorry about that but there’s a spoiler warning above. 

Stand by for my next review, coming soon...