Manga Review: Requiem of the Rose King, Volume 5, by Aya Kanno

Rating (Out of 5): ~4-4.5

Publisher: VIZ Media

Release Date: November 8, 2016

Volumes: 6+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository.

Volume: 1. 4. 6.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Based on an early draft of Shakespeare’s Richard III, Aya Kanno’s dark fantasy finds the man who could be king standing between worlds, between classes, between good and evil.

Richard, the ambitious third son of the House of York, believes he is cursed, damned from birth to eternal darkness. But is it truly fate that sets him on the path to personal destruction? Or his own tormented longings? Based on an early draft of Shakespeare’s Richard III, Aya Kanno’s dark fantasy finds the man who could be king standing between worlds, between classes, between good and evil.

Chaos reigns over the houses of both York and Lancaster as they grapple for the throne. No sooner does the advantage seem to favor one over the other than the tide abruptly turns. And once again, it is Richard who must bear the brunt of another vicious sea change.

Review:

 A new volume of this series is always a surprise, and always a delight, oddly enough.

Edward and George both badly want the crown, and they're both so very close. But it's ultimately up to Warwick, as he's the one manipulating everything to get his way. By the end of the volume, Edward seems to have the upper hand again, and George feels scorned.

It's odd how Edward and Anne both want Richard so badly, and have somehow ended up together, though.

Richard is pretty much doing her own thing through all this. Quietly fighting through everything to free King Edward, with Catesby following along the entire time.

I really like Catesby. I want an entire plot line to follow Catesby, because I want to know more about him. It's weird how much I enjoy seeing him, every time he shows up to help Richard.

Similar to a few volumes ago, Richard and Henry stumble across each other. And it's so... it's heartbreaking and so very sweet at the same time. I really quite love them. It's interesting to see how Henry reacts when a woman hits on him, and then how Richard reacts upon seeing this and realizing her own conflicting feeling about both Henry and her gender.

This series is seriously just so good. Utterly amazing, so well written and thought out and paced and everything about it. And it's so freakin' pretty. I love it, and am always eager for another. Even with the long time between releases, I am always happy for a new one, and don't seem to forget what's happened. It's better every time.

 
A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!