Comics / Manga

S A (Special A): Volume 9

By Leroy Douresseaux
June 30, 2015 - 19:24

S A (Special A) Volume 9 cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

Rated “T” for “Teen”

Exclusive Hakusenkan High School is divided into different grades, with each grade divided into groups A though F.  The top seven students in each grade are placed in Group A.  The top seven students from all the Group A’s combined are called “Special A” or “S A,” for short.

Fifteen-year-old Hikari Hanazono has spent her entire life consumed with beating a boy named Kei Takishima, who bested Hikari in a wrestling match when they were younger.  In spite of her working class background, Hikari attends Hakusenkan and manages to make it into Special A, but even here, she is #2 behind Kei.  She’s in love with him, and he’s in love with her.  Let the games begin!

S•A (Special A): Vol. 9 (Chapters 47 to 52) opens in London.  Hikari has been summoned there by Kei's grandfather.  She assumed he had something to discuss with her; instead, he wanted her to meet someone else... a whole bunch of them.

While in London, Hikari meets Finn, a prince looking for a bride.  Finn follows Hikari all the way back to Japan, and he is ready to turn on the royal charms.  Plus, Ryu Tsuji's relationship with the twins Jun and Megumi Yamamoto, takes a turn.

[The volume includes a special short story and bonus pages.]

THE LOWDOWN:  I found some manga volumes that my VIZ Media rep sent me over a period of five to seven years ago that I had never reviewed.  I found a copy of the S•A manga.  In fact, it has been a little over seven years since I read S•A.  Since then, I have started reading S•A creator Maki Minami's recent manga series, Voice Over: Seiyu Academy.

Looking back, I can see that I was not too crazy about S•A, but I found S•A Volume 9 to be an enjoyable read.  The chapters contained in this volume also focus on other relationship dynamics, to the point that I momentarily forgot that Hikari and Kei are the series leads.  In fact, the other relationships are either kooky or dysfunctional in a way that makes for good reading.  After reading Vol. 9, I would like to see how this series ended.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Shojo fanatics will want to try the “Shojo Beat” title, S•A.

Rating: B /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12