Give the raw chapters a like if you can.
The start of a new season!
The way I see things, with THAT girl's debut at the end of volume 5 we've reached the turning point... But the truth is I can't tell how many chapters are left until I draw them. All the characters have so many things left to explore... I have to at least try to keep the manga going until I cover what I have in mind—I'll do my best!
- Odoroo Dorothy
After half a year we're finally back. The delay can partially be explained by Dorothy's other manga, Banpu-sensei ending. She wanted to put extra focus on it so it ended well. But she's also been talking about Aizawa-san's return as a "new season" for a while. With that likely came a lot of planning. Interestingly if Aizawa-san were ever animated this is likely where a break in seasons would happen too.
Dorothy is a big planner. More than typical, these volumes are written to be read as complete stories rather than individual chapters. The old magazine, Comic Valkyrie was an... unusual fit for Aizawa-san (mostly publishing gratuitous ecchi and isekai with a handful of token yuri series that also leaned sexual, ie Hitozuma to JK) and there was likely an expectation volume releases reached a different and primary audience.
What that means is Dorothy has always been a strong adherent to the first chapter setting up all a volume's plotlines. Here we have
- Michi wanting to tell Sayaka about her powers
- Kasumi not knowing what's happening now that she sees Aizawa
- Sayaka going out of her way to protect everyone and starting to grapple with her powers
- Aizawa being scared of herself
- Mini Michi acting more independently but also weakening
- Karasuma being everyone's lifeline
- Nagi on the offensive
So starting at the bottom...
Nagi
Nagi out of nowhere is somehow one of the most unsettling pages. Why is she at school? Come to test the barrier? Or to be near Aizawa. Either way, she recognizes Sayaka. Sayaka's the whole reason she was kicked out last time. If Sayaka didn't refresh the AAA mark now Nagi might have been able to break in. Remember how I said Nagi might do irredeemable things? I've been worried for Sayaka ever since we learned she has powerful blood but only if she bleeds. Her nature leads her to self-sacrifice—something Mini Michi commented on. There's a few flags this chapter that don't bode well: Michi worrying she's putting Sayaka in danger, being the messenger for Mini Michi's call for help, and wondering about the nature of what she sees only to get confronted by one of the worst.
But most major is Michi wanting to tell Sayaka about Aizawa. Ch30 strongly suggested it's Kasumi Michi will talk to instead. The narrative is looking to accomplish 3 things: establish Nagi as a threat, confront Sayaka with the otherworldly, and give reason for Michi to confide in Kasumi. You get all 3 by taking Sayaka out. Now I'm not saying she's going to die (c'mon you can't kill someone at the start of a new season) but the strangleghost is in stranglerange.
Sayaka + Mini Michi
Dorothy called this the beginning of the & arc and it's a safe assumption it's theirs. I really thought Sayaka was just pretending not to know about ghosts, like the inverse of Michi. If you treat ghosts like normal, maybe they don't freak out. But nope, the supernatural world is so pervasive in her eyes she can't tell it from grounded reality. And maybe hanging around those who share her sight helps normalize it, like Karasuma or her grandmother potentially. But she clearly suspects something's wrong and simply decided to grin and bear it like she usually does. She's not that dense, even if she's really really really dense.
Then there's Mini Michi casually dropping she's not a ghost. I don't know why that caught me by surprise; maybe it's that this manga is never so direct. But it's another teasing bit of supernatural worldbuilding if she's some other form of guardian spirit. She's working directly against Michi's goals too, and acting more independent than ever made me realize she deserves a spot on the recent character chart.
We know the barrier around school keeps harmful ghosts out, which Mini Michi is here to maintain. Karasuma cleansed the school and Michi later noted ghosts were returning. But it's interesting how we're seeing genuinely benign ghosts. From Michi's perspective they're all dangerous, yet to Sayaka they can be helpers. Regardless, it's more surreal than ever how normal Aizawa looks compared to every other ghost.
Mini Michi struggled to say 霊能者 which I translated as spiritualist last time, so it's spirity-list here. I'm deliberately making her dialogue a little more childlike now.
Aizawa
She gets her first speech bubble and it's "..." What is there to say about "I'm scared of me" beyond my heart hurts? Her Japanese handwriting was awful too, like she was struggling to write. And either the emotion was overwhelming or speaking broke the rules but it made her shoggothify again. That previously only happened when someone important either seemingly forgot or stopped caring about her but it looks like the trigger's a looser than I thought. I like how it becoming a little routine by now is played from Sayaka's perspective where her recovery is as natural as the rest of the ghosts floating around school.
"Someone who means a lot to her" is likely Michi but could also be Nagi.
Everyone Else
Dorothy did say Karasuma would be key this volume. When we last saw her she was talking business with Tear. She's certainly on Nagi's trail and we're headed for a confrontation. But maybe that's waiting at the volume climax. We have to see the end of that meeting first, along with how the rest of DeLphi's holding up.
While Michi's more determined than ever, I don't expect her to get very far this volume. I predict things will move behind her back for a while before she and Kasumi get on the same page, setting us up for vol7.
I doubt Michi's mom will be a focus either but she might be touched on if we delve into Mini Michi. Maybe she'll even be the end of volume teaser, since those are always major reveals that advance the mystery.
Hey it's that guy again. Guess he's not one of the bad ones?
That AAA sure looks like an MA again.
