Welcome to Volume 3 of From Far Away, or as this volume proves, no action does not mean inaction! When last we left our duo the two had left Calco and headed...somewhere farther away. Noriko's language difficulties were becoming less of a problem and things seemed to be going well. You know except for Keimos hanging out there somewhere, Lord Rachef hanging out with Keimos out there somewhere, Noriko's possible status as the destroyer of worlds, Izark's unhappiness over her status as a possible destroyer of worlds...

We pick up the story about three months into Noriko landing in the world. She's frantic because Izark left her behind. The long story short is they arrived at this small town and unfortunately Noriko began gabbing about how she met Izark. So in true Izark fashion he decides they need SPACE and he leaves her in the care of a friend of his. Noriko is upset, but she eventually rationalizes that he wouldn't have left her behind unless he trusted the woman and felt Noriko would be safe.

Let me state again that Noriko being so practical about matters is SO NICE (especially since at the time I originally read this series, in 2004, I was also reading Fushigi Yugi and lawd Miaka x.x).

So here's where sadly Izark needs to stop trying to escape fate - he leaves her with his friend...who happens to be on friendly terms with the newly deposed leader of the city she lives in. Doubly unfortunate is she decides to harbor this deposed leader and FIGHTING OCCURS.

We also meet Barago (he becomes important later), Noriko meets Agol & Geena Haas (who have sort of left Rachef's service) and Izark feels a PAIN in his chest when he thinks of leaving Noriko behind...and then he gets himself kidnapped. Because for once its the able warrior man who gets kidnapped, not the damsel.

There's also a short story - chapter 3 of "Girls Have a Lot of Room in Their Hearts" or Onnanoko wa Yoyuu (aka "Girls Need to Be Self-Composed", at least that's the title I knew it as in scanlation). I always felt it was weird that they included this, because the first two chapters were not (to my knowledge) officially translated in America so the entire nuance of the story is lost.

The basic story is that Tomomi was originally in love with her best friend, but he was in love with another classmate. Heart broken she finds her senpai (upper classman) Ojika trying to win her heart. This last chapter shows how the last two chapters (the first in which Tomomi is too heart broken to see beyond tomorrow and the second in which Ojika proves he is serious in his pursuit) culminate. Its a sweet slice of life manga, very much in line with Hikawa's other series I love (Chizumi & Fujiomi). ( )

Noriko and Izark part ways in this third volume of Kyoko Hikawa's epic fourteen-volume manga series, which tells the fantastical tale of a contemporary Japanese schoolgirl who finds herself transported to another world, where her coming - as the fabled "Awakening" - has been foretold, and where she finds herself involved with a wandering warrior who has a connection to the same prophecy. Leaving Noriko in the care of gruff but kindhearted Gaya, Izark sets off on his own, determined to forget the young girl he rescued a few months before, who, all unknowingly, is set to bring cataclysmic changes to his world. Noriko, for her part, tries to adapt to life at Gaya's, only to lose this new protector as well when beleaguered Grand Duke Jeida seeks shelter at her house, only to find it attacked by his enemy, Grand Duke Kemil. Far apart, and facing different challenges and difficulties - Noriko is pursued through the streets by a gang of young men, while Izark is harassed by men who want to fight him, for the entertainment of Lord Nada - the two are still connected, somehow...

I enjoyed this installment of the series and the revelations it brought, concerning the main characters and their relationship. Clearly, if Izark is hearing Noriko's cries for help from miles way, there is a strong metaphysical connection between them. More importantly, the pain they both feel at parting is evidence of a strong emotional connection. There are hints of Izark's curse in the scene at the beginning, in which he fights the monsters that are pursuing him, and the other travelers - he is shown with fangs, at one point - and that was very interesting. Noriko begins to figure out that she is the Awakening, despite the language barrier - a process I expect to see continue, in the next volume. I was intrigued to see Agol Dena Ofa and his blind seeress daughter, Geena Haas, both servants of Lord Rachef of Rienka, pop up in the unnamed town where Gaya lives. I suspect that they are going to turn out to be allies for Noriko, although it's too soon to say for sure.

All in all, this was an engaging entry in the series, one which left me wanting more! I will note that it was a little odd to see an unrelated story included at the back of the volume - apparently the third chapter of a school story known as "Girls Have a Lot of Room in Their Hearts? - and I was left wondering whether it had any significance for the main narrative. But leaving that aside, this was an entertaining book, one I would recommend (along with its companions) to readers who enjoy romantic-fantasy manga. ( )

Picking up the third volume in the From Far Away series I thought I had a pretty good handle on where things were headed. We had a teenage couple set up against some pretty corrupt and evil governmental figures and some sort of magical prophecy bound them together. So I was stunned that within the first five pages Izark left Noriko! Their separation allows them to grow individually as they each go on their own adventures and yet something magical still ties them together. Not to mention that even through the language barrier Noriko is beginning to realize it and just how much danger that puts them both in.

There was also some adorable flash backs that showed the couple before they split up and it shows that they have grown in their relationship together. Though Noriko’s grasp of the new language is tenuous at best. They were still very cute to read about, though worrisome too as the more Noriko grows and learns about the world she has been transported too, the more danger there is of her letting slip to others just where she came from and how she got there.

This volume ends leaves you on the edge of your seat as the characters each are in the midst of their own dangerous adventure. But even though they are separated Noriko at least has not been totally abandoned and she finds strength in new allies as tries to survive in spite of an alien world’s political plots and machinations that want her dead, if they only found out just who she was.

P.S. About 1/3rd of this volume cuts away from From Far Away and tells a completely different story set in the real world about unrelated characters. Not sure why but thought I would warn potential buyers about the deviation from the plot. Fourth volume picks up with From Far Away again and we never hear about the real world characters ever again. ( )

This manga starts off after Izark leaves Noriko in a town where he believes she may be safe. Unfortunately disaster strikes leaving Noriko in more danger than ever with Izark too far away to help.

This is another series I'm really enjoying. I did have one complaint about this particular manga which has nothing to do with the story. Apparently the publisher decided to devote about 1/3rd of the book to another story entirely which was completely unexpected and unappreciated. I don't mind excerpts but this was a bit overboard. Hopefully the other manga in this series will be more devoted to the From Far Away story that I'm actually shelling the money out for. ( )