Book Review: Magic Knight Rayearth Vol 2 (Ominibus)

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

The Deal: After the events of Vol 1. Uni, Fuu and Hikaru return to Cephiro, only to find it much changed since the Princess' death. The kingdom is crumbling bit by bit and three enemies are poised to take over any second now. 

So the country is at the verge of war and they are without a Pillar, which makes the girls sudden return to Cephiro even more startling as the Chief Magician, Clef, knows of no one with a heart so strong as to bring them back.

On one hand, this is a big mystery, on the other it gives them hope that a Pillar does exist out there, that they just need to find it. 

Meanwhile, the girls decide to stay and help Cephiro deal with the possibility of invasions, which means Fuu, Hikaru and Umi will eventually have to face Farhen, Autozam and Chizeta - the countries with their own reasons to want to invade Cephiro. 

And they aslo start to explore the possibility of romance...

My Thoughts: Magic Knight Rayearth Vol 2 is the second and last volume of this compilation put together by Dark Horse. I've talked about the story before so I'll just say that, while the first volume of the manga and the anime adaptation are basically the same, the second volume and second seasons differ a lot. 

In this version - the manga version - there is a bit of a difference on why the girls are able to return, and the villains Nova and Lady Debonair are absent as they were created specifically for the anime version.  The ending is different too - but I won't spoil it.

But most of the stuff I loved about the second season of the anime are present, Including Zagato's younger brother Lantis who was the one person who always knew Zagato was really in love with the Princess and was just trying to set her free. 

Now, this edition is awesome. The format works well, there is a new, smoother translation and the paper and illustrations are high quality. Plus, its a really good value - the book is over 600 pages and costs 20 dollars or less, depending on where you buy it. 

If you're a CLAMP/Manga fan I highly recommend it