MAO (2021)

[MAO（マオ）]

Volume 7

Author/Artist: Rumiko Takahashi
Publisher: Shounen Sunday Comics

Synopsis:
Following the trail of someone who could be the earth caster of the successor candidates, Mao tells Nanoka about the elder disciple he most admired.

Story/Characters:
The earth caster rounds out the set of five and we're initially led to believe that it's Daigo, an orphan like Mao who proved to be exceptionally gifted. As I can't really talk about the rest of the volume without spoiling this point, I'm going to go ahead and do it. The earth caster ends up not being Daigo but rather another earth caster, Natsuno. With the introduction of the last of the successor candidates, we get some more pieces of the puzzle. It really was quite the Heian Era soap opera. It goes even further when Kamon comes back into the story and his pursuit of Shiranui leads him to traces of his lost lover Masago. Mao and Kamon then launch an attack on Shiranui's shrine and learn of further wrinkles to the plot. It doesn't exactly absolve Shiranui for all the stuff he's done, but his situation is a little more complicated than mere petty villainy. In the aftermath of the big dustup, we find ourselves with several new questions to keep us wondering, as there's a bit more to Yurako than just being Sana, but that'll be something for next time.

I mentioned in earlier volumes that it looked like we were developing a similar love triangle to the one in Inuyasha and that seems to be holding true here. Nanoka is jealous and prods Mao to open up about how he feels about Sana, but whereas Inuyasha was deliberately evasive, Mao seems much more detached, but he's had to live through a few centuries with his feelings instead of being put in an enchanted slumber, so it's probably not as raw for him. Yurako has also taken notice of Mao and Nanoka and it's looking like the green-eyed monster will be quite mutual. Interestingly, this is all kept pretty much in the background where the romantic conflict was more prominent in the other series. Just interesting how we have a similar dynamic presented in different ways.

Art:
The art maintains the quality you'd expect. The attack on Shiranui's shrine is pretty good. I rather like the vengeful Kamon going after Shiranui.

Conclusion:
An uncharitable reader might accuse Takahashi of succumbing to complexity addiction with the plot. Personally, I'm a bit split on it. Part of me likes the nested webs within webs of mystery we're slowly but surely unraveling as we progress while another part of me thinks a more streamlined narrative might be more effective. I continue to find myself invested enough to keep going but not really feeling much passion for the story. If it's clicked with you, I think you'll be happy with what you get. It's worth a read, but I can give it a stronger endorsement than that.

Rating:
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