Manga Monday: Oreimo: Kuroneko Vol. 4

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Manga Monday: Oreimo: Kuroneko Vol. 4

01/25/2016 4:12pm

In the world of Oreimo, summer has come again—and that means it’s time for another go at Comike, also known as Comiket—short for “Comic Market.” It says something about how popular comics still are in Japan that Comike, their largest self-publishing convention, is bigger than San Diego Comic-Con, our largest pro comics convention. It’s not unusual for 500,000 attendees to pass through the doors of Comike—and that’s not once a year, but twice a year; they have it in both winter and summer!

And that brings us back to vol. 4 of Oreimo: Kuroneko, on sale this week, where Kuroneko and her friends have braved the heat of natsu-komi (the even shorter term for Summer Comic Market—natsu meaning “summer”), trying to sell a stack of her self-published comic...not so easy when you’re competing for attention with literally thousands of other tables. What might be an artist alley in America is an artist city in Japan!

Of course that’s not the only struggle taking place in this new installment for our high school heroes—not even close. Kirino, the star of our previous Oreimo series, is still superficially perfect with dark obsessions just below her jangling accessories and perfectly applied makeup; willing to lie even among her otaku friends just to see some angst. Saori remains the mellowest and most mature of the gang, yet ready to be swayed by a bit of unexpected attention from Kyousuke, Kirino’s older brother—still fairly clueless about fannish things, but a chivalrous advocate for his little sister and her weird group of friends.

And what of this series’ title character, Kuroneko—also known by her earthly name, Ruri Gokou? Programmer, writer, artist, and part-time human being, the adorable goth girl is discovering the risks of revealing her heart to mortals. In volume 4, Kuroneko builds courage with each hesitant step to declare her feelings for Kyousuke, even at the risk of shattering her precious friendship with everyone else—especially Kirino. But then, wasn’t it Kirino who taught her that one must be true to one’s desires…?

Jemiah Jefferson

Assistant Editor

Dark Horse Comics

Manga Monday: Oreimo: Kuroneko Vol. 4

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Manga Monday: Oreimo: Kuroneko Vol. 4

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