Devils’ Line volume 13 starts off with Anzai confronting Kikuhara about their shared past. Meanwhile, Tsukasa is shocked that Shirase is working with the people storming the prime minister’s residence and that Lee, with his videos, is also helping the group. So on one hand, we have the emotional climax of the story, with Anzai fully accepting himself and all the pain that brings. Meanwhile, the raid makes up the dramatic climax. By the end of the book, everyone’s lives will have changed.
Between the two, the latter was the more engaging conflict of the volume. Anzai and Kikuhara’s talk went on for quite a while, and there’s a lot of discussion between the two men about light and darkness that sounds like the dialogue is from a magical girl series or Kingdom Hearts. It’s one of those conversations that some readers will think is moving and philosophical while others will think it’s corny. But the crisis in the government doesn’t let them talk long — Queen and the others are occupying the prime minister’s home, taking those inside as hostages. But they do not intend on killing anyone; they’ll let their allies in the government help push for devil rights. Of course, readers know that bullets will eventually fly, but who will fall in the process?
Volume 13 doesn’t turn into a gun battle, though. Tsukasa and Hans are hesitant about this whole thing despite agreeing with the end goal, so their conversations with Shirase and the camera audience breaks up the action scenes with Queen and Anzai. Although the ending may be mostly predictable (more on that in a minute), I like how the author doesn’t dissolve their roles in the story to just angrily declaring violence isn’t the answer. They both end up following their hearts without turning to melodramatic lectures.
The biggest reason why volume 13 isn’t full of blood and gore is that just under half of it is an epilogue. The manga checks in with almost every character six months down the line. That’s long enough to have everyone moving forward without showing them living completely new lives. The next volume preview reveals the chapter titles, so we’ll be checking in with the few missing characters and some fan favorites. So I can’t help but wonder…why not spend more time on the immediate situation and aftermath? Save the six month check-in for volume 14? If this was the last entry into Devils’ Line, I would just chalk it up to needing to wrap things up quickly and having a bit of an open ending for some characters. Maybe the side stories will take place during or before Devils’ Line, but right now, I’m calling the presentation odd. I didn’t even realize the main story was over, as the six month time skip starts at the end of the previous chapter.
I did like the epilogue, although it may be a little too full of happily-ever-afters. Still, there were a few surprises that make me want to reread Devils’ Line and see if there were any clues I missed. Tsukasa and Anzai’s final scene was also well-presented with the art and layout, plus the manga treats readers to a little side story connected to this sequence.
Devils’ Line will continue for a little longer, which causes some problems for this faux final entry of the series. Despite that, it still gives readers a nice rewarding feeling for having reached this point.