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Title: Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation Vol 11

Author:  Yoshiyuki Nishi

Publisher:  Viz

ISBN:  9781421524252

May Contain Spoilers

Page and Yoichi are up to their armpits in trouble, and things just don’t look they are going to go their way.  The battle with Isabi has shaken magic law to the core, with Page invoking an extremely powerful spell that rewrites the rules of magic law.  Now, not only can he offer up his tempering to bind an envoy to him, he can also sacrifice his flesh and blood!  Will the old guy survive to learn the secret to destroying Teeki?

My favorite sub-plot right now is the one featuring Page and Yoichi.  The cunning professor has some tricks up his sleeve, and because he’s so set on saving Enchu, he’s not afraid to use them.  By binding the Demon Lord to him, and by mustering the Bells of Troy, he has made it possible to give his all to the fight against Isabi.  His all is starting to look like his life!  I really admire the old coot; he has taken responsibility for not being there for his student and for allowing him to stray down a very dark and destructive path, and he’s going to fix his mistake.  There are some emotional flashbacks to show how remorseful Page is that he allowed things to get so out of hand.  I never liked his character until this story thread started, and now I want him to feature more prominently in the book.  I hate to admit that I was disappointed when gears shifted over to Muhyo and Roji because I was enjoying this little foray so much.

Umekichi and the silly Seven-Faced Dog get their moment to shine, but I found the continuity of their big moment hard to follow at times.  There were shifts in time frame that confused me a little, and the pacing was a little off until the action settled down during the middle of the fight with Mick.  This battle is a little boring, too, because Mick has no redeeming qualities.  None.  I can’t stand the guy, don’t care if he dies a painful death, and can hardly wait for the story to move along to something else.  We just had a big battle with him and Imai, and I wasn’t terribly impressed with him then.  Ugh.  Just die already so that Umekichi and the ridiculous dog can feel like they have accomplished something and get that much needed shounen ego boost. 

I don’t know if I’m suffering from fighting manga burn-out or what, but the endless battle between Muhyo and the gang and Mick just didn’t give me the usual excited rush.  I think that the one-dimensional bad guys are starting to wear thin in Muhyo & Roji.  The fights are getting a little monotonous and the villains are interchangeable.  If I didn’t like Page so much and if Muhyo wasn’t such a smart-ass, there wouldn’t be much appeal to the series right now.

Grade:  C+

Review copy provided by Viz