Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers Vol 5
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!
Having discovered the horrifying truth of the Black Barrenbloom, Adlet makes his way to the Temple of Fate with the other Braves. Unfortunately, Tgurneu's diabolical weapon isn't the only trick up its sleeve, and the heroes are about to learn secrets that could tear the group apart for good... Will they be able to stand strong together?
Christ this series is going to actually kill me, I swear! It has me so on edge! The opening for the latest volume is both interesting and foreboding...and it confirms Fremy isn't the seventh!? Which leaves us with the question...who is!? Honestly I've been trying to figure out for...well..forever.
As we rejoin the Braves, Adlet is dealing with Rainer's bomb drop about Fremy. Obviously he has feelings for her and wants to protect her if she doesn't know but if she does...he's going to have to do something although Hans has already stated his intentions on the matter. As they try to figure out what to do about the Black Barrenbloom they come across the Saint of the Single Flower, and throughout the process of them puzzling out what or who the Barrenbloom is we discover how it works and possibly what happened to Fremy.
We get a lengthy flashback from a fiend that sheds a lot more light on Fremy and her life and how she grew up, as well as filling in some blanks regarding the fiends plan. Things are getting more and more tense as the volumes go on, and this certainly added some intrigue.
I reached a point in this volume where...while Adlet trying to protect Fremy was cute and all...it wasn't making him look good and I was quite worried the group was going to be torn apart by all of this. Plus I was trying to figure out who the damn seventh is. It's been driving me crazy, everyone keeps alluding to the seventh!? Maybe I'm dumb and missed some clues and hints but I genuinely had no clue, other than suspecting my fave!
Honestly, this volume made my head hurt trying to figure out who was and wasn't lying. I had the thought that one of our narrators could be a biased narrator, and we probably wouldn't even know it. We'd just go along with them...which just made the plot thicken for me even more and my head hurt even more because that meant no-one was safe from suspicion.
The one thing I will say...the seventh is finally revealed in this volume and it honestly completely blew my mind. I'm still not over it. On top of that the Braves are slowly but surely being torn apart by the argument over the seventh and we end the volume with them having split in to two factions. So not only do they have to face down the fiends but they're going to have to fight each other as well.
Volume 5 takes us on one hell of a ride, that's for sure as we build up to what I assume is the big battle and peoples true loyalties and intentions will no doubt be revealed. Just when I didn't think this series could get any better as well!
Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers Vol 4
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!
Still unsure of the traitor's identity, the seven Braves plunge deeper into the Howling VInelands-but now they learn of a deadly weapon that could spell the end for the heroes and ensure the Evil God's victory. However, before they can discover how to stop the weapon, they must contend with their most horrifying enemy yet...
And to make matters worse, their efforts to reach the truth may destroy their chances of ever finding it.
No light novel pulls me in quite like Rokka, right from the start with the ominous and intriguing prologue and from that point on...I was completely hooked once again.
Dozzu has quite an interesting tale to spin for us, and the Braves find themselves teaming up with him. Suspicion is being thrown about all over the place, and some of it is cast back on Adlet once again, so he and Hans end up as kind of co leaders. The bromance between the two of them is still alive and kicking though and I live for it! Rolonia is also cast under a heaping mountain of suspicion this volume too.
Adlet has quite the rough ride this book as he learns the fate of his village and his friend Rainer and is, you know...suspected of being the seventh. Nashetania...well she's just really unpleasant isn't she? I kind of want to hit Goldof too this volume. Rolonia is also cruising for a bruising with how easy she makes it for herself to be set up. Although I do empathise with her and understand her when you get to see more of her past and her relationship with Adlet, and how they met and so on. It actually provides some interesting insight in to Adlet too!
I am forever tense when I read these volumes, I'm used to the surprising plot twists but...they tend to pop up out of nowhere when you least expect it. There's a mind blowing plot twist at the end of this volume, and I can't even with it. I actually didn't see it coming, and like...is that person the seventh too? Or do we have two dangers in the group? Much as I love Hans he seems pretty suspect as well! I just have so many questions now and the wait for the next volume is just painful.
Volume 4 has an excellent pace with plenty of action and a sense of intense tension as Rainer is in a race against time to get to Adlet and the others and it's the whole, will he make it or won't he? kind of thing. The volume keeps you on the edge of your seat, and like I said...we end with a mind blowing plot twist that leaves you desperate for the next volume!
Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers Vol 3
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!
The Braves still have not identified the impostor among them. When Goldof takes off to help Nashetania, the initial seventh Brave, the group begins to suspect him of aiding Tgurneu. What is the fiend plotting...?
I've said it every single time, and I'll say it again....I freaking love this series! The colour pages are forever gorgeous and the plot is intricate and draws you in. Each character is slowly being unravelled as we get to know more and more about them see their view points.
The prologue is super creepy, and the volume as a whole has a nice fast pace. We switch between the Braves and Nashetania and Tgurneu with a bit of Goldof. This volume really lets us get to know Goldof, he's been somewhat mysterious and quiet up to this point, but this is the volume that pulls his mask away as it where and we get to see his background and his relationship with Nashetania.
Goldof literally goes over the edge this volume, and is the biggest pain in the ass....or so it seems for most of the volume. Towards the end we get thrown in a complete 180 when it comes to him when we finally see his view point and understand him and his motivations. Which is one thing I love about this series, nothing is what it seems, and neither are the characters. There's always more going on under the surface and it's hard to tell what's what. It keeps you on your toes.
Chamo I'm finally starting to warm up to, and I really liked her this volume. I like her more and more the more of her I see and the other sides of her we get to see. Despite one of them being a traitor, they all work well together as a team. I still can't quite pin point who the traitor might be. Like I genuinely have no clue and it's driving me mad! I'm just hoping it isn't either of my two favourites! Well...that's a lie. The only two characters we haven't explored in depth is Hans and Chamo....so it must be one of the two of them...but then I wouldn't put it past the author to have it be Adlet or one of the others that we've already gotten to know the background of...okay yeah. I wasn't lying...I really do have no clue!
This volume has plenty of action as is usual, as we face off with Nashetania and Dozzu in a race to save Chamo. Plus there's the mystery element to it, courtesy of the traitor in general and Goldof in this volume, AND we have multiple plot threads to untangle, that all weave together to create the plot. Both the plot just for this volume and for the story as a whole.
The plot moves forward, there's more plot threads unravelled and mysteries explained...but there's more mysteries and new plot threads are added to carry over to the next volume, as well as making the overall plot more intricate. I'm loving how the plot is fleshed out more and more, with more little things added. As well as the characters who get more and more fleshed out as the volumes progress. I'm hoping one of the next volumes will reveal more about Hans and Camo! Trying to work out who to trust leaves you on edge somewhat and there's a bomb about to be dropped at the end of this volume...so I'm kind of in suspense for volume 4!
Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers Vol 4
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!
It all comes down to this: Adlet's last chance to expose the seventh! If he can't figure out who the traitor is in time, his life will be forfeit. He'll have to pull out all the stops--and accept a little timely help from an unlikely ally--to save the day. All will be revealed in this final volume of ROKKA!
It's finally here...the final showdown and the big reveal! This volume starts off throwing you right in to the action as Adlet is battling Mora.....and Nashetania comes to join in. Nashetania is super creepy...just saying. She pulls a Jekyll and Hyde this volume and I've never seen someone go from kind of innocent to super shady so fast.
Volume Four is pretty heavy with the action as we have some epic fight scenes, and a nice fast pace throughout. The battle scenes are drawn brilliantly, providing you with a sense of the speed and tension. Everything is laid out so well, and the seventh is finally revealed bit by tantalising bit! The tension leading up to this moment has been brilliantly done, as has the suspicion. Keeping you on your toes, making sure you never know for definite who it is. Clues changing your opinion each volume. It's hard to know who to trust in this volume...even Adlet at points!
The smart explanations and tricks have been a lot of fun to read about, and there's even more thrown in to this volume! Now, this says it's the final volume buuuuttt it does throw a cheeky little cliffhanger in at the end! Rokka has been quiet the wild ride, and this manga adaption of the light novel has been brilliantly done! It's kept everything that I loved so much about the light novel and brought it to life, adding another dimension to the story and adding some nice details!
Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers Vol 2
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!
After discovering the seventh Brave and escaping her trap, the newly assembled Braves of the Six Flowers set off to fight the Evil God--only to find yet another Brave! With the clock ticking until the Evil God awakens, the seven set off into the Howling Vilelands with the impostor in their midst. A fiend appears, telling Mora her time is short. Not only that, but a commander of the fiends suddenly appears before the Braves. Could the seventh have something to do with it? Amid the chaos, a fierce battle begins!
I am loving this series so much! So, so, SO much. I love the manga, and I love the light novel although I do think the light novel is a notch above the manga! I've been so excited for this volume ever since I read the last page of the previous volume. The first volume just ended so perfectly and everything was wrapped up but DUN DUN DUUUUUUNNNN there was another twist and I've been in agony waiting for this volume!
So I went in to this volume anticipating epicness and more shocking twists and learning more about the characters. I was also hoping that the impostor was Chamo or Mora because after last volume I really didn't like either....I wasn't disappointed in one aspect, the other is more complicated!
Right. So. There I am, settled down, ready to read this in one go because I specifically made time to read this without interruptions! I open the page and I started to read and I'm confronted with....
...The awkward moment when the volume opens with your favourite character having been murdered. I may have shrieked. I may have sworn a little bit. I may have been completely devastated. Then my brain kicked in and I remembered how things went in the first book and I started to run through every single possible explanation and scenario. I was still wrong. Towards the end of the novel I started to guess/hope about the ending and I was correct but right from the start I was devastated and waiting to see why this all came about.
We have the new character of Rolonia joining our team this book. She knows Adlet and Mora and appears to be quite close with both. We actually got to know even more about Adlet and his past via her. She's timid at first but then incredibly scary in battle and the more I learned about her the more I had to admire how hard she worked to get to the stage she's at and how courageous she is.
This volume is quite Mora centric, so obviously we learn a tonne more about her and her past. It was interesting to have this insight in to her and it changed how you perceived her and her actions in volume one. You understand her a lot more. I'm still undecided on whether or not I actually like her. I understand her, I understand her actions, and I know she didn't really do what she was supposed to and she was actually quite intelligent about it but I'm still a bit wary of her. Although, thanks to Mora we got to meet a couple of other saints that I'm very curious about! I loved Marmanna best, she was hilarious. We need her on Team Brave!
Chamo I have to say is growing on me like a fungus. She's developing and changing and being a bit more grown up. She still irritated me more than once with her behaviour and how she acted but she is slowly, very slowly growing on me.
Interestingly enough we learn a tonne more about the Fiends and their hierarchy which is going to be important in the coming volumes. We learn aaalll about Tgurneu, Cargikk and Dozzu the three commanders who are running things...sort of. We get to meet the latter two briefly as well, which provided some interesting insight in to how things are running and some coming intrigues.
We get a nice chance of scenery too in this volume! Finally moving from the previous location to the Vilelands and the Bud of Eternity. We hear a lot more about the world too and I'm excited to get to see more locations. I feel like this series has some really brilliant world building and the settings and scenes are so vivid for me when I'm reading!
Rokka Volume 2 is a brilliant continuation to what's going to be an epic series. There's more history to the world and characters. There's another mystery or two rather, with lots of different threads to it. There's more intense battles, and I'm talking really intense battles which fit the fast pace perfectly. These volumes really do have a cracking pace and the world, characters and setting suck you in! It's truly one of my favourites, it always surprises me and blows me away when I read. We leave this volume with everything seemingly solved and ready for the next battle but then....it twists AGAIN! And we have one or two more threads to carry us over to volume three and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next, and how those plot threads continue!
Rokka is hands down one of my favourite series, and I genuinely look forward to every single volume!
Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers Vol 2
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!
After barging into the Piena Kingdom's holy tournament and causing a scene, Adlet was curtly jailed and, soon after, met the princess Nashetania. Though Adlet was viewed as unfit and unworthy by his fellow man, the Spirit of Fate bestowed upon Adlet the proof that he was one of the chosen Braves of the Six Flowers. But cornered by his fellow Braves who believe he is a traitor, Adlet must prove his innocence and find the true imposter before his companions play right into the enemy's hands.
I have to say, I am loving this series! I recently read and reviewed the light novel version which finished up this arc so I was curious to see how the manga would handle it. When I reviewed the light novel, I noticed some differences straight off the bat, and some of the differences are made up for in this volume of the manga!
We start the volume off with a flashback that's actually the opening of the light novel and I really liked how it was incorporated in to the narrative! The same can be said for the flashbacks to baby Adlet and his past. I was really impressed with how they merged with the main narrative and how they where drawn. They all worked really nicely, and where slotted in at the perfect moments.
The suspicion and tension isn't as strong as it is in the light novel, but it's still present, and certain characters start to look miiiighty suspicious in this volume! Chamo still bugs me, I jus really don't like her character, but I LOVE the broship between Adlet and Hans. They genuinely crack me up and I love it when they team up! They're kinda tied for favourite character, I'm not going to lie!
The plot is starting to thicken in this volume, and more characters are thrown in to suspicion as Adlet and Hans work together to try to figure out who the fake Brave is...but there's some interference. I really enjoy the art to the manga, and I think this volume steps it up a lot! There was a lot happening in the first volume and a couple moments of confusion, but in this volume the manga really starts to come in to it's own! I like the differences between the light novel and how the manga is using them to create more intrigue, and to help you get to know the characters. Like with Adlet....I was mildly suspicious of him in the first volume of the manga, but after seeing the flashbacks I'm like "Naaaahhh Adlet's the real deal!". I feel like the flashbacks here in the manga, bring Adlet more to to life as well.
I'm really loving this adaption of the light novel, it really brings the characters to life, and adds another dimension to the story. I'm so intrigued to see how the rest of the light novel is going to play out in manga form! Rokka is a brilliant blend of action, adventure and mystery....and we're talking old school mystery with plenty of suspects and a nefarious plot!
Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy!
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!
In order to stop the revival of the Demon God, six heroes are to be chosen to save the world. Those chosen surely have great combat abilities, special powers, or have been intensely trained as Saints. Excellence and ability are supposed to be the calling card of the chosen heroes, but this ragtag band lived far from normal, peaceful lives before they came together to become heroes.
Hanz's mysterious assassin for hire trade. Mora and Chamo's daily life at the World Temple. Nashetania and the youth scheming to win her heart, Goldof. The one who lives her life as a demon thinking of her family, Fremi. And the boy who lives with only his dream in mind, Adlet.
Their true feelings and personalities all seem to have another side to them... They will all come together to battle mystery, reveal the past, and step into legends in this new exciting series!
I'm going to say it....I think Rokka might just be my favourite light novel and manga series. Seriously. I love the mystery element to this, and how it keeps me guessing the entire time! I seriously spent so much time trying to put all the clues together and work out who the fake was, but I genuinely couldn't work it out! I ended up being so surprised, and I hadn't worked out how it all went together either!
The light novel version of Rokka carries on past the manga and it wraps the mystery all up in one volume. I have a feeling the manga might wrap it up in the second volume but I'm not too sure! I was so intrigued to see the more fleshed out version after reading and loving the manga and I wasn't at all disappointed! There was so much additional information in here, plus some completely gorgeous character art at the beginning.
The opening draws you in and sets the scene perfectly, and there's plenty of information on the Braves and the Evil God and the lore to do with it all that I found so fascinating and I wanted to read more and more. We get a tonne more background on Adlet, who I was so intrigued about from the manga, and I loved getting to know him better and find out about his childhood and how he got his training and why he wants to fight the Evil God. We get to see how he met Nashetania and see her power, and how they got separated before he met up with Fremy. The characters are all fleshed out and I'm excited for the next volume to hopefully get to learn some more about the other characters.
There's action from the start, and we skip ahead for the prologue which provides some intrigue and excitement before we go back. The light novel starts way before the manga does, like before Adlet even got his mark and then catches up and goes past it to wrap up the mystery, like I said. I enjoyed the different POVs. We got Adlet's POV and it was a brilliant narrative because he does make me chuckle and roll my eyes a little bit sometimes. But we also get the POV of traitor/fake Brave, which was veeerrry interesting and I tried to use it to help me work out who it was but...epic fail.
I really liked Fremy in this volume, we get to know her and understand her a bit better than in the manga, partially because we see more of her, obviously. She makes me chuckle and I'm still so curious about her! I also totally ship her and Adlet. Just saying. Sorry.
I really loved the bickering and banter between Adlet, Fremy, Hans, Nashetania and Goldof. It made for entertaining reading and I liked the bond they where all forming at one point. Before things happen. I'm not going to lie, Hans irritated me a little at the beginning, mostly because he was making things difficult for an obviously innocent Adlet. BUT. I ended up really loving Hans. I liked the budding friendship he and Adlet had going on and I'm really hoping he's a good guy! Chamo on the other hand just bugs me and I'm lowkey hoping she's the new bad guy. Please. Please writers. I like all of the others...mostly.
This light novel is very well written, it's great at creating an atmosphere and letting you really feel the tension and suspense as you read. And like I said, it keeps you guessing and I kept changing my mind about who I suspected as I tried to put all the pieces together. Then there's the ending....and what an ending. Just when you thought it was all over....oh no. Just please don't let it be Fremy, Adlet or Hans. PLEAAASEE!
In short...this is basically one of the best light novels I've ever read, and I need the second volume like I need life. I'm also really loving the manga as well, and I'm intrigued by the differences between the two!
