I mean there's zero chance she shoots Rose. Also there are other solutions to this problem. The three of them could just leave and go somewhere far away.

Plot twist: Benika was the ace in the hole the whole time. That could hit hard, but it would also contradict things in earlier chapters.

i knew the story was going this way as soon they made the archbishop homophobic. narratively it's only there to soften rose eventually siding with the fascists.

Maybe Benika will open next chapter by shooting the head of Babylon. "One less problem, Rose-san! Let's go get that bishop next!"
Basically the manga turns into Liberta. I certainly wouldn't complain.

Ah, politics. Where all choices are bad or worse.

Yeah. Take the gun. Shoot Babylon woman. Use the power of ... extrajudicial murder ... for, uh, good.

I bet Benika hitman girl will shoot Babylon, defeat bishop and reveal herself as the Ace Hitman. The only person who is hidden in the shadows, the legendary marksman, daughter of the two most terrible marksmen who died in that war. Ready for every revenge. Reveal yourself now, Benika!

last edited at Aug 15, 2023 5:11PM

For chapter 41, [@Skywalk] is right about it being heavy on the Commentary...but I think he/she is taking drugs/or having delusions about Rose playing around with Benika...

I am not on any exciting drugs bit I do seem to have worded things poorly, I didn't mean I thought Rose was actually playing around, I meant that she might as well be with her choice. She had the rosary to buy their escape, going back into the fray may be a logical act of protection to her but it's also tantamount to throwing the actual relationship away, Benika could barely stomach the most mundane form of vigilante justice so how is she expected to handle going through her day knowing her partner is killing people when she's not home. And Rose even addresses these concerns with "you have my permission to cripple me"

Well, that's one way to solve things. :D

Did not expect the people who joked about Benika solving things in the end ending up being correct, even if not the way they thought. :D

Well, that's one way to solve things. :D

Did not expect the people who joked about Benika solving things in the end ending up being correct, even if not the way they thought. :D

Yeah they've got some work to do, for sure but at least their together. Would love to hear more about their exploits in the short sequel that's mentioned.

Interesting series. A lot of fun ideas but plotting felt loose, the author didn't seem quite sure what they wanted to say, and then it got axed.

This was a fun read all the way from beginning to end. I enjoyed the realistic ending and it was cool to see a story talk about refugee issues like this. Thanks so much for scanalating it! I'm looking forward to the Hibai and Gina extra!

Fuck, it's been a while since I've felt so blue balled by an ending. Did it get axed??

On the one hand, I understand that it's unrealistic to expect a clean resolution to the complex issue of the refugee problem and the Church and Babylon manipulating them for their own hands.

On the other hand, the ending felt rather abrupt, as if it got cancelled. I would have liked to have seen at least one more arc dealing with the actual revolution, and providing more of a conclusive ending for at least Benika and Rose.

As an edit, what happened to Hibai and Gina? Unless I'm mistaken, we haven't seen either since the explosion.

last edited at Aug 16, 2023 3:02PM

As an edit, what happened to Hibai and Gina? Unless I'm mistaken, we haven't seen either since the explosion.

The afterword implies a sequel series with them.

last edited at Aug 16, 2023 3:07PM

Bravo Kojima, for a reason he recommended this manga!

This very much feels like the ending of an anime season 1 where you know there's more to come but it never got a second season. A lot is left unresolved, i hope we get to see it all someday. At least we can look forward to the Hibai x Gina epilogue thingy~

Meh, dunno. Can't say that entirely convinced me; tone swings around too much, pacing seems kinda off balance - some things very rushed, others kinda drag. Bits feel like they weren't planned ahead. Ending is "people stand around and preach" and that's about it.

"The true hitman is the girlfriends we made along the way."

Wait seriously? that's it? a dog vomiting on the shoes of both the secret leaders and indirectly causing peace between the two would've been a better ending than this nonsense

This very much feels like the ending of an anime season 1 where you know there's more to come but it never got a second season.

I couldn't agree more. It's not a completely open ending, but rather one that marks both a close to one chapter of the story while at the same time setting the stage for the next chapter. It's just a shame we likely won't be getting that next chapter.

An ending whose worst fault is that it leaves you wanting more isn't too bad in my estimation. I've certainly seen plenty of worse endings than this too, so overall I have to say I really enjoyed this series. John Wick/Jason Bourne, but lesbians, is a hell of a concept. Can't wait to see what the mangaka does next.

I also really liked that it actually brought up the church's issues with homosexuality. It's always been a bit weird to me that Catholic school is like, the stereotypical yuri backdrop, but stories with that setting almost never actually bring it up.

Honestly, most of the series is pretty good, despite the monologues of the last few chapters, but this ending feels so anticlimactic. We got the fight between Gina, Hibai, and Rose, yes, but just about everything else the story is building up to either feels unresolved or is resolved in a bit of an unsatisfactory manner. For example, while we did get to see Benika find out about Rose’s work, we never really got her reaction to it (all of the time that she would have had to react was taken by Hibai and Gina’s joint monologue about the relationship, and then by the subsequent fight).

I don’t know if the series got axed, or if the author just ran out of time, or if they’re just really bad and concluding what they start. but it’s a shame all the same. They did a pretty good job building everything up, but just jumbled it near the end. This whole thing just feels like it needed more time. But who knows? Maybe we’ll get a sequel series with Rose and Benika murdering and politicking their way up the city’s ranks while dealing with the fallout of this story? A guy can dream.

last edited at Aug 16, 2023 3:51PM

The ending leaves much to be desired, writing-wise. It feels rushed and a bit convoluted, and I'm not sure what the author was trying to go for. I like the story as a whole, but the ending makes it so I probably won't come back to this one for a re-read.

last edited at Aug 16, 2023 3:59PM

@Skywalker
-yeah what you just said is 'much much' better said/much more sense, though technically while Rose can argue and or threaten the Hitmen group into making them leave her, Benika + father-in-law alone just by claiming she gave them the Rosary + she will fight back she cannot be 100% sure they won't harass them or provide aid (Either for their protection or any aid in escaping the counry) if she doesn't sweeten the deal a bit.
Yeah Benika is probably not happy with Rose's choice to continue to kill/fight but to Rose's thought process it the best logical choice if they are planning to still stay in the country since there would possible be more random violence in the future if Church managed to win their 10% victory rate...though as you said and like in ch.42, Rose is giving the end choice to Benika (Bit heavy...but to Rose, Benika is her hope and motivation for living).

---

Ch 43 (Apparently the final chapter...sad but alright open-end chapter. Could be better...could be worse...
Hope their is a season 2 or at least 1-2 small chapter showing the future where Rose and Benika managed to solve the Refugee situation while being happy married couple.)

Hibai and Gina (Sanguinaria) are alive still, Rose is at least a woman of her word...

...lol Benika is truly a good nice person (SHE IS EVEN TAKING MY SUGGESTION/ADVICE EVEN IF SHE PROBABLY NEVER READ THE COMMENT HERE...in fact even better since I just said for her to take a position of power XD)...yeah sure it might sound like a kid's pipe dream for now...but in the future 3-5 years later who knows!?

With determination and hard work I am sure what Benika said might come true...Rose becoming the hitmen leader(Babylon) while Benika aims for to become the female ArchBishop XD

Shut up Babylon/hitmen leader...you can start talking smack when your organization + Church didn't get their butts kicked by a single hitman/woman (Technically the best hitman in the country but still!!!)

Lady...you better watch out in the future cuz Rose is going to steal your leadership position while making a janitor...she just got to prove herself and be more charismatic to get people support lol XD

There are bunch of/dozen of IRL example of Refugee like situation from this manga that is similar to IRL situation, though not 100% accurate but more like 70-80% accurate, they can learn from history to know what to do and what not to do...but meh I read manga to escape IRL sh*t...not to be a teacher/lecturer about IRL history...

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Good end in the future (HEAD-CANON/Mini Fanfic IN MY HEAD):
The future that Benika described to Rose happens after 4 to 7 years later.

It was a lot of hard work but with help from other people they meet along the while that share the same goals of helping make the country better + Father shirafune (Father-in-law) support from the church side they both take positions of power due to all their hard work + respect they earn.

Though while things are not perfect, Refugee still sometimes get abuse sometimes and some racial discrimination but it was much better than compared to in the past. They hope in about 10-20 more years they can retired, leaving things to the next generation.

The former leader of Hitman/Babylon and church are now working as Janitors...moaning and groaning/wondering how this even happy but yet still somewhat happy that the Refugees are being treated better and things are becoming stable...they both occasionally have Hate-Seggs sometimes when they hang out to complain but both refuse to comment on their questionable relationship.

Hibai and Sang(Gina) are now in a questionable relationship after Hibai + (Rose & Benkia for moral support) helped find out who killed Sang(Gina)'s parents after 4 year of chapter 43 happen [They found the killer after 2 year after ch.43 happen].
while they are not a happy doki doki couple opening showing each other affection, they still signs of shy affections out of the public's eyes....Benika teased them mercilessly when she caught them swapping spit when they came to help make sure things are stable + safe (The public order is much better in the Refugee camp/area but still need some firm violence/beat up to make no one does anything stpid) when a new group of refugee arrived from a country's war.

Their excuse:
They were simply providing first aid due to one of them burning their tongue from eating something very hot...

[Not important note before they came to help out a bit with public security/order]:
Benika also punch them both in the face after 2 years of chapter 43 for hurting her father, she forgive them before lending them Rose to help them track down the person/people responsible for killing Sang(Gina)'s family.

last edited at Aug 16, 2023 4:16PM

i knew the story was going this way as soon they made the archbishop homophobic. narratively it's only there to soften rose eventually siding with the fascists.

To be fair, there aren't many Japanese stories where the church isn't the bad guy

well.... that was certainly underwhelming....