In almost every Final Fantasy, the party (or part of the party) is captured. But with no signs of an oglop, headless alien, or thief treasure hunter to bust them out, Shogo and his friends will have to come up with their own plan to escape from the Magus Sisters. But even if they get out, more trouble awaits Shogo and company!
Volume 3 is another long volume (about 224 pages), and the length means that Final Fantasy Lost Stranger has time to tackle three arcs. That’s impressive, but what is great is that these are three different types of arcs, with themes connecting to the previous sections. There’s something for everyone here, and not too many manga volumes can pull that off.
First, we have the dark/mystery segment in which Shogo and his companions are being held in a storage room. It’s a great way to get psyched up for the rest of Lost Stranger. Cindy, aka Miss Trying To Set A New Chest Size Record, invites Shogo and Sharuru for a talk. Shogo and readers get some important information on the state of Mysidia, the Forbidden Arts Guild, and other interesting tidbits. Whether their goal is honorable or not, they do not seem to have any limitations on achieving it. Well, we already knew that from the previous volume, but it’s a dramatic moment when they decide to prepare the activation for the Holy spell. Shogo’s so shook by everything he just heard and saw he couldn’t even report what happened.
For those of you more interested in characterization, well, Princess Sara is here to fill that role. Her story is the slowest of the three arcs, but it builds upon the complaints that the Magus Sisters mentioned. Her concerns are likely part of the reason Shogo and Yuko were summoned here.
Finally, it isn’t Final Fantasy without a good battle. But it once again brings up an issue I have with Shogo. He’s so much of a Final Fantasy otaku that he should be able to — at the very least — come up with a hypothesis about the monsters they’re facing right away. Technically, it was only a couple of pages later, but, well, it was too late and the monster, a Boss from a game, went into its second form. There aren’t too many Bosses of this type, and they’re pretty memorable too since they were the creepiest enemies in its debut game. (Still creepy here too thanks to Kameya’s art.) If I knew who it was right away, Mr. Walking Ultimania should have too. But even with his knowledge, getting people to follow his instructions is another issue. The battle ties in with Sara’s concern about not all people being equal, that some are disposable.
So while the story is developing nicely, aside from Sharuru, Shogo’s party members don’t play much of a role in the manga. They could have spent the whole time at whatever this world’s version of the Gold Saucer is and I don’t think anything would have been different. I like Sara more after this volume, but I wish the author could have given them something special to do or say.
But if you have been hesitating on this video game-inspired isekai, stop! No matter if you like ruthless villains, proud princesses, or tricky Boss battles, this third volume is ready and able to please.