This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Epilogue III
Series: Shaman King #22
Author: Hiroyuki Takei
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 192
Format: Digital Copy

Synopsis:

Ryu's fight with the Minions isn't going so well so Yoh heads back his way to see if he needs to intervene. Another Shaman team intervenes on Ryu's behalf and Ryu falls in love with their leader (like he does every girl he meets).

Joco goes for a walk and is looking for his old gang and finds them. All dead. He is confronted by the kids of the man he killed 3 years ago. The kids are shamans and control a nigh unstoppable golem. The kids were with Yoh's father but they attacked him to go after Joco. They're little psychopaths. Joco cuts the golem up but it simply regenerates and slices him up. Yoh and Ryu show up on the scene and Ryu takes Joco away leaving Yoh to face the brats and the golem. Yoh confronts the children and tricks the golem into cutting it's own head off. Then when he's convincing the kids to be good again the golem regenerates and stabs him.

Meanwhile Joco is on the edge of death and having his own little experience.

Yoh and the brother are on the run from the sister and golem, only to run directly into Hao and his entire team. Hao reveals that the children's father has possessed the daughter and he's the one killing everyone who killed him.

Yoh tries to defend the golem and the little girl inside but Hao has his minions casually brush him aside.

My Thoughts:

The manga-ka gets a bit preachy in this volume with a lot of talk about “hurting others only makes them hurt you” and such silly talk. The thing is, Yoh then turns around fights when needed. The manga-ka has him not kill anyone, but that is a hypocritical line with all the words the manga-ka has poured through Yoh's mouth. It's as evil as someone who will defend a mass murderer and then turns around and kills infants with a dull spoon as soon as they exit the mother's womb. You know, I bet Takei is a Democrat in a former life before getting hit by Truck-kun and reincarnating to atone for his horrific life from before. Of course, I'm not sure Truck-kun operates in America, so maybe it's distantly related cousin Mack Truck-kun?

Really, not much else to say. We still haven't gotten Yoh's Super Secret Get Everyone Together to Explain Plan. I figure I'm going to be lucky if that plan gets revealed within the next 3 volumes. Onward!

★★★☆☆ ( )

Looks like a new twist has been added to the series. ( )