Manga Mondays Meme (94): Dengeki Daisy vol. 8 by Kyousuke Motomi

New Manga Mondays Meme!

I've been doing Manga Mondays every week since I started my blog 18 months ago. It's always been a personal feature, but now I'm going to try turning it into a meme. There are quite a few people who do Manga Mondays. I don't claim by any means that I owned or created the idea of Manga Mondays - it's an obvious choice given the alliteration. I think a meme would be a good way for everyone to publicize their own Manga Mondays and get a little more publicity.

The linky will be below my review.

Dengeki Daisy vol. 8 by Kyousuke Motomi

Summary

After orphan Teru Kurebayashi loses her beloved older brother, she finds solace in the messages she exchanges with DAISY, an enigmatic figure who can only be reached through the cell phone her brother left her. Meanwhile, mysterious Tasuku Kurosaki always seems to be around whenever Teru needs help.(courtesy of Goodreads)

Review

*Warning: Potential spoilers. My manga reviews tend to be more of a summary than a review. I find it hard to review manga in the same way I do regular books.

So we finally learn why Kurosaki thinks he killed Teru's brother. The eighth volume of Dengeki Daisy is largely set in the past. Starting in Kurosaki's childhood going through Tasuku's (Teru's brother) death just as the series was beginning, the tale of Kurosaki's past is long and twisty.

Rest assured, Kurosaki is innocent. Not entirely - he did create a very powerful virus that did a lot of damage - but his fundamental nature was always good. His criminal tendencies predicated in a desire to avenge those who harmed his father. Kurosaki's father had been wrongly blamed for selling state secrets and it essentially killed him. Kurosaki and a few others were convinced his father was framed. In his youth, Kurosaki was driven by anger. It took Tasuku and his merry band of employees to turn Kurosaki's fury into something productive, when he came to work for their company.

We see both sides of Kurosaki in his past. The abrasive delinquent type who verges on rudeness in his interactions with Teru and others. The quiet, smart, polite type who became friends with Tasuku, his co-workers, and fell in love with Teru. Actually, we see much more of the quiet side. It is sometimes hard to believe the same funny Kurosaki that we see today is the young man who worked at Tasuku's company.

The volume is sadly lacking in romantic moments since Teru and Kurosaki are separated. There are a few cute moments between a junior high aged Teru and Kurosaki, especially because neither realizes their future connection. But Kurosaki's past is so important to the plot of this series, that the lack of romance is forgiveable.

Volume 8 is a plot heavy volume. I enjoyed it, because it answered so many questions about Kurosaki, but also because now that Kurosaki's past is out in the open, we can move on with the story.

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