Spiral, Vol. 3: The Bonds of Reasoning

Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning 3 is now the third in the ever growing Spiral series and continues to expand the suspense and drama of the Blade Children and the disappearance of Kiyotaka. Fortunately, this one does not open up with the same sort of continuation that the second one seemed to have, that is, this doesn't include a part III as the opening chapter. In fact, this one begins with a quick blip of two characters in deep thought about the past events and Kiyotaka. This book consist of four chapters which consists of an introduction of two new characters, a murder, a bombing, and another death game/reasoning. All of these stories are still tied to the same theme of the mystery of the Blade Children. Fortunately for those that are falling in love with the series the mystery of the children still continues through this story and works to keep us turning pages even more. In regards to the character cast, a new Blade Child joins the scene, Rio Takeuchi who along with Eyes Rutherford and Kousuke Asazuki, work to drive the story along. She is an excellent addition to the cast and is even more willing to risk her life over testing the limits of Ayumu's strength. Hiyono and Ayumu also have a much larger and direct role in this one, with Madoka and Wataya taking on a much more background role. One of the themes that this book adds to the series is the theme of faith. Readers will still see Ayumu in his usual role of pushing himself to find conclusions, however it is more evident in this one, more so than it was in the second book, that he has a few issues with believing in himself. It seems that he keeps his brother elevated on such a pedestal that he cant even bear to give himself any credit for how he craftily creates conclusions, or even a stellar trap, in this book. Once again it is Hiyono's task to still try to make him believe in himself and she stands by his side for the entire novel. Even the Blade Children make an attempt to test him to see if he can finally find the faith inside to believe in himself. It is pretty interesting to see so many people trying to get him to believe in himself. I am quite interested to see how this will play out in the future. We must once again commend Kyo Shirodaira for pretty splendid writing. The new change into the focus of what is driving the mystery is welcome to this genre of book. By relying more on the characters and how they respond to each other and try to remain a step ahead of their opponent by analyzing them and their actions, there is much more of a drive to see who will triumph in the end. Ultimately, the interaction between the characters at hand works wonders in the story and keeps it interesting. Sure the thrill of trying to figure out who did it is still present in the story but the goal of trying to capture the person is more of the focus. The idea of these type of death games using reasoning and logic to overcome them is one of the beauties of this series. Eita M

Events got much darker and weirder in the second volume of "Spiral," with some new revelations about Ayumu's brother. But those are only part of the puzzle in the third "Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning," in which Ayumu finds himself up against the most lethal, devious Blade Child yet. And it's probably the best yet -- tenser, tighter writing from Kyo Shirodaira, and more elaborate, polished artwork from Eita Mizuno add up to one heckuva experience. While Ayumu struggles with his self-doubts, his teacher Mr. Imazato is butting heads with Eyes Rutherford (who still looks like Sephiroth's baby brother). Imazato is determined to help Ayumu WITHOUT their potentially deadly "tests." Imazato offers to tell Ayumu about the Blade Children -- only to be stabbed to death by the most cold-blooded of the Blade Children, the cutesy girly Rio. Using Hiyono's vast store of information, she and Ayumu are able to narrow down the suspects -- and Ayumu sets up an elaborate trap for the murderer. Both he and the murderer are playing this game several moves in advance -- until she twists his plans with a shocking, dangerous ploy. But Rio has prepared the most shocking challenge to Ayumu yet -- and it may be enough to destroy him... The first two volumes of "Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning" were all about setting up the stage -- Shirodaira introduces the genius Ayumu, his mystery brother, the cursed Blade Children, and a bunch of mysteries loosely linked to them. But the plot really starts rolling in this one: Ayumu is now neck-deep in the Blade Children's plotting, and they're no longer working from the background. Despite Imazato's murder, the first half of "Spiral Volume 3" moves rather slowly -- most of it is Ayumu brainstorming, and spinning his little webs for Rio. But after the halfway point, Shirodaira's story gets tighter and more intense, especially now that we know how desperate and dangerous the Blade Children are when backed into a corner. The climactic confrontation between Rio and Ayumu is pretty astounding, not to mention unexpected. Even Mizuno's artwork, which was originally rather ordinary in style, seems sharper and more complex here. There are even some little poetic flourishes, such as the flying irises. The one problem is that Shirodaira still doesn't answer any questions, and he raises a few along the way -- where are the other Blade Children? Where is their "destiny" coming from? And why is their time running out. But the backbone of this manga is Ayumu's lack of belief in himself. In the first chapter, we get a glimpse of why this analytical and artistic genius has no faith in himself, and it becomes the linchpin of Rio's plans. Rio herself is a pretty creepy introduction -- she's ruthless, devious, cold-blooded, yet still incredibly childlike in personality. The third volume of "Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning" takes our hero into new deductive depths, and leaves us waiting to see how things will turn out for him. Here's where it all t