written by Daisuke Sato
illustrated by Shouji Sato

 It is a complete maelstrom, or in this case, mallstrom (yeah, I said it!) of walking corpses. Due to the recklessness of a crazed teen survivor, “they” have invaded the mall in which Takashi and his team have taken shelter, and the adults are starting to panic.

 

Right now, the focus is on escaping the Mall of the Dead and finding Takashi and Rei’s parents. At first, they feel guilty for dragging everyone else into their selfish mission, but it’s gotten to be a little too late for those sentiments, and they all know it.

 

Kouta is still getting over the revelation that Asami doesn’t like him, despite his apparent feelings for her. However, Takashi inspires him to invite her to join them. Asami is overjoyed by his invitation and accepts. However, when it comes time for them to leave, there’s big trouble when the aforementioned crazed teen is heard crying for help in the parking lot, having been cornered by “them.”

 

Asami claims to have quit being a cop, but in the face of a citizen, hysterical or not, she cannot resist her civic duty. However, with “them” closing in on all sides, Kouta may be forced to commit an act we’ve seen Takashi commit in an earlier volume.

 

In addition, the last pages of this volume, instead of another chapter, give us a special comedy-relief mini-chapter, which is much needed at this stage. There hasn’t been much of that thus far. Plus, we get a section of profile and character design pages for each of the main characters, as well as a series of interviews with the creators of the manga. About time we heard from them about their brilliant creation.

 

The flow of this volume is a little bit erratic, due to the fact that a large portion of the plot is explained in retrospect by one of the adults who decided to stay behind on the mall’s roof. Still, if one can adapt to the changing flow, the book is as enjoyable as always. 

-- David Gromer

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