When we last left off Misao, she was in the bad place. Kokai was seemingly taken care of, the gangster Kokai called was seemingly taken care of…basically, Sae won. There didn’t seem, from Misao’s perspective, any other way she could escape the terrors of Sae’s bullying. But from a reader’s perspective, the only person we knew who could jump in and help was the school newspaper president Ran Daimon. She does, which basically leads to a battle of guile and a hellish personality clash.
So rather than take Kokai’s approach — hide in the shadows then spring his various traps — Ran takes the initiative. She seeks out Misao, then after learning all about Sae, calls out Sae herself. This leads to a pretty tense conversation that reflects the inquisitive, annoying side of Ran and the cool, twisted side of Sae, but it’s good to note the conversation took place after Ran was busting out a song at a karaoke place. Anyways, the three seem to form a friendship with each other, but they all know it’s a farce. With summer break happening, Sae then invites Misao and Ran to her villa. You can expect it’s not all gonna be fun and games…
The Love and Creed of Sae Maki volume 3’s problem is it’s a bit wordy. In some cases, showing rather than telling could make things flow better rather than text explaining plans and thoughts from the characters. It’s not egregious, and in some cases it’s necessary, but sometimes less text or explanation is fine. The only other issue is a few of the drawings don’t look too great or that scary even.
But it’s only a few drawings. Just about everything else is terrifying. But the key to all that is Misao. The way Misao acts at almost every turn thanks to what Sae’s done to her is horrifying, and even with Ran’s happy-go-lucky persona, you still wonder what’s gonna happen next. You can’t help but wonder if the next thing Misao does will earn her the ire of Sae’s wrath, which means seeing Misao join Ran in exploring the villa is essentially courting death.
But this volume does seem to expose Sae’s weaknesses, while also making me wonder who the heck she is. Not spoiling the main secret that’s danced around in the prior volumes, but it certainly suggests she was, or is, in some sort of group. A cult. After all, there’s no way she can do the things she does without any financial backing or support. But the key is who in the world made her be this way? Whatever the case, between that and her extreme devotion to Misao, Sae’s a tough one to crack, but even she seems to have weaknesses that can ultimately stop her.
But, now that we’re getting closer to the end…how can Sae be stopped? Will her numerous crimes finally catch up to her? Did that “reveal” of that major character suggest she actually has enemies within her group, particularly if she doesn’t know? How will Misao and Ran turn out when this is all taken care of? Lots of questions, and questions I want to know. I’m definitely looking forward to finding out.