Is salvation truly awaiting Theo in France? The scars caused by the blood of righteous anger seem to run deeper than anyone thought.
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My thoughts on this volume (Spoilers!)
Honestly, I didn’t enjoy this volume nearly as much as the first. While it does still have that witchy, mysterious and magical atmosphere that drew me in while reading volume one, I haven’t been able to relate to any of the characters besides Marie just yet. While everyone is clearly motivated by something, what that something is, remains unclear to me.
First I’d like to talk about what I did like in this volume, as while I do have a few complaints, I am still enjoying it. For me, Marie was once again the star of the story. In volume two, we get to see more of both her vulnerable side and her incredible prowess as a spirit negotiator. I thought the mangaka did a fantastic job of depicting her crippling loneliness when the topic of Theo staying in France without her came up. She was completely alone until he was suddenly thrust upon her, and then once she was finally used to his company, he was going to willingly leave her!? Of course she would start drinking herself into oblivion.
At first, I found myself a bit frustrated with how she treated Theo—I mean, she barely taught him anything before whisking him away to France. He was completely unprepared for dealing with the world around him, magical or not. I wouldn’t trust him to take two steps unless Marie was by his side. As I read on and thought more about their circumstances however, I was able to understand Marie’s actions.
In Marie’s eye’s, France was most likely a potential safe haven for Theo—it was practically said so by the man who came to request their presence. This man seemed trustworthy enough, and clearly has a history with Marie. So, it would make perfect sense that Theo should be safe with his apprentice, someone who should, in theory, share his master’s morals. Theo can’t live his whole life at Marie’s side, so this should have been the perfect opportunity to actually talk to someone else his age who understands the world of magic.
Moving on to my biggest complaint about this chapter…I don’t understand the motives for the more villainous characters at all. I still don’t fully understand the blood of righteous anger, something that I believe lives inside little Theo. The apprentice of the man who brought Marie and Theo to France clearly holds a dark grudge against the blood of righteous anger, seemingly having the exact opposite goal of his master. One wants to protect him, while the other wants him dead.
The apprentice, Charles, was clearly depicted as a nefarious character the moment he was introduced. I wasn’t shocked in the slightest when he betrayed Theo, but I was shocked with just how easily Theo let himself be betrayed. On top of that, his master really didn’t seem to care in the slightest for what his apprentice did. While sure, he does offer to protect Theo if he stayed in France after the betrayal, there’s absolutely no way he would be safe with Charles around. There is absolutely no mention of the betrayal after the fact—Charles quite literally attempted to murder Theo—and Theo forgives him for no rhyme or reason right away.
While Theo has grown up with his own traumas and insecurities, I found myself getting very frustrated watching him attempt to defend the boy that treated him so poorly. Why does Charles hate Theo to the point of trying to murder him? That remains unclear, and it doesn’t look like there will be an explanation anytime soon.
Initially, the mysterious atmosphere and lack of explicit explanation behind the lore of this manga universe was what made me excited to read on. I felt as though I was discovering this magical world alongside Theo, and was ready to figure things out for myself. Now though, I find myself getting frustrated at a lack of explanation behind anything. Why does the French man want to protect Theo so much? Is it a situation where it’s just French radical groups that are out to get rid of Theo? I haven’t been able to get a sense of just what’s happening yet. I wish there were more clues scattered throughout the story to at least allow me to put the pieces together myself.
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