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Title: Wild Ones Vol 3

Author: Kiyo Fujiwara

Publisher: Viz

ISBN: 9781421516028

May Contain Spoilers

Sachie is still adapting to her new life after moving in with her grandfather after the death of her mother. It’s not easy to adjust, because her grandfather is the head of a yakuza gang!  Not only is he a stranger to her, but she also has to learn to deal with having a bodyguard following her around.  Sachie just wants to be a normal high school student, but she’s finding it harder than ever.  What normal teen lives with a bunch of gangsters?

I am having a hard time bonding with Wild Ones.  Don’t get me wrong – the story isn’t bad.  In fact, I love the premise of a spunky girl who finds herself surrounded by a bunch of thugs who all share a terrible secret: they’re really a ground of emotional softies.  They trip over themselves trying to take care of Sachie, and they try to comply with her every wish.  But in the flash of an eye they can turn menacing when they think that their Sachie is being threatened or is in danger. 

My problem with the series is that the mostly episodic chapters aren’t really all that compelling or interesting.  Things started off on a humorous note, as the gang tries to fend off an underwear thief, but the rest of the book just wasn’t as engaging.  Everyone hustles off to an onsen during school break, an old acquaintance of Rakuto’s tests his suitability to be Sachie’s protector, and Sachie makes a bento for her bodyguard.  It’s the same old standard shoujo conventions, without much to set Sachie’s journey through them apart from all the other series out there.

Sachie is a fun character, and I really want to like her.  She’s gutsy, opinionated, and she can’t just sit back when she sees someone in trouble.  She turns awkward and uncertain when Rakuto’s around, but she is slowly starting to assert herself and not let him call all of the shots.  She is determined to depend on herself and not take his presence for granted, and I like that.  Rakuto can be standoffish and aloof, which intimidates Sachie and makes her hesitant with him.  He is shrouded in mystery, he doesn’t talk about himself, and because he can be unapproachable, Sachie isn’t comfortable digging for details about his background.  Because Rakuto is keeping a tight cover on his feelings and his past, I don’t feel like I am getting to know him at all, which is another stumbling block that is keeping me from enjoying the title more.

While Wild Ones didn’t blow me away, this is a series I will have to keep an eye on.  I like the art, though the characters occasionally have awkwardly flat facial features.  I am wondering where Sachie and Rakuto’s forbidden attraction is going to take them, and think that with the smallest of nudges, this could become a very entertaining romance.  Kiyo Fujiwara just needs to think outside of the shoujo box to really get the ball rolling.

Grade: C+

Review copy provided by Viz