Picking up a few months after the events of the previous episode, this eighth volume of Kyoko Hikawa's epic manga fantasy series sees traveling companions Noriko and Izark, on the run from those who would exploit their respective (but intertwined) destinies as The Awakening and The Sky Demon, participating in a local flower festival, as a favor to their hosts in the town through which they are passing. When the local seer senses a terrible evil on the move, the two star-crossed lovers flee again, only to find themselves confronting an old enemy, in the form of deranged warrior Keimos Lee Goda, intent upon avenging himself against Izark, the only opponent who ever defeated him. As the two warriors and swordsmen face off, Noriko is kidnapped by the agents of the evil Lord Rachef, who dispatched Keimos as a distraction. Will Izark be able to defeat his enemy, whose powers have been magically enhanced? Will he be able to rescue Noriko, transported, in the blink of an eye, thousands of miles away...?

The tension continues to build in this installment of the series - I'm now more than halfway through! - and I raced along, completely engrossed in my reading on this morning's train commute. Keimos makes a good pawn for Rachef, but not a particularly convincing character in his own right, and I found myself wondering whether there was anything to him, save for a desire to fight. Leaving him aside, the characters here are complex and fascinating: Izark is becoming more human, through his contact with Noriko, but also is in danger of losing his humanity altogether; Noriko herself is still a bit of a goofball, but also increasingly capable of sticking up for herself; while Rachef is so cool and calculating, that I'm convinced that something more must lie beneath his exterior. I was pleased to see that some of our supporting cast appear briefly here, in a short scene that makes it evident that they are continuing their quest to unite some of the moderate leaders recently dispossessed as their respective countries have lurched toward extremism and warfare.

All in all, an entertaining episode in an engaging series! With a cliffhanger, of course, which means I need to get to episode nine as soon as possible... ( )

Volume 8 is pretty much a fresh start of the story of Izark and Noriko, the predestined and dreaded combination of the Sky Demon and The Awakening. Now that they share the knowledge of who they are and of the feelings they have for each other Noriko and Izark are on a quest to fight the destiny laid before them. However, old enemies with new powers reappear to complicate matters leaving their future more unsure than ever.

I thought this one was very sweet. Izark is struggling with his over-protective feelings for Noriko and is having trouble understanding why he feels the need to be by her side constantly. Noriko continues to be innocent and naieve despite her new found knowledge of their entertwined destiny which is nice. Although she is quite childish, I have grown to really enjoy her as she is and wouldn't have liked to see a big personality shift. In addition the author shares a bit about the cats in the neighborhood that is completely unrelated to the story, but interesting nonetheless. This continues to be a series I would have absolutely not trouble recommending to pre-teens and teens with an interest in fantasy manga. ( )