Manga: Compulsive Gambler 4

Compulsive Gambler Vol 4
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

The Student Council President is away, and the rest of the council will play...

Yumemi Yumemite is a super popular idol who's a big hit in the indie scene. Not only is she a student at the Hyakkaou academy, but she's also a member of the student council?! How will Yumeko do in a gamble with an idol?

This volume provides an interesting turn, as everyone seems pretty convinced that Yumeko is starting off a revolution against the President. I mean...she only really cares about gambling and playing games, but let's go with that! There's an interesting question at the end of the volume as well thanks to the preview! 

Yumemi is the latest Student Council member gunning for Yumeko, she's an idol as well, and she and Manyuda organise a rather public showdown with Yumeko. None of the council are happy about Yumeko beating two of their members and their trying to work out what to do next without the Presidents input because she's off on an "errand" to do with Yumeko. She's pretty much left them in charge. Yumemi is kind of deceptively normal but every bit as psych as the others, although probably down a peg or two from some of the others. She goes from cute to ugly/scary in seconds both personality wise and in how she's drawn. To be honest, she probably isn't the worst Council member, I could get where she was coming from with her dream, but she was kind of an a-hole. 

Itsuki makes an appearance again, remember her? She wants to join Yumeko and her squad to take down the President, and so begins an interesting storyline. She could be a funny addition, one of the slightly less psycho Council members, and Mary is hilariously not impressed with her. Throughout this volume Yumeko's squad do have some humorous banter amongst themselves. 

The gambling and gaming took an interesting turn this volume, Yumeko's opponent is an Idol and she's made the battle between the two quite public, so the games in this volume are twisted towards that. There's none of the usual card games, except for Old Maid. There's basically a giant game of tic tac toe and singing other idol related activities, which made for an interesting change and stopped the plot line from getting repetitive. 

The tension leads in to a deceptively happyish and kind of funny ending, with plenty of humour throughout the volume, but I don't think it's really over yet as someone appears to have had a hand in how things turned out, someone worked against Yumemi...and it could be someone shocking. 

I'm 99% sure the Student Council President is up to something, and it has me on edge, plus I'm still trying to work out what Yumeko's deal is. What exactly is she planning? Is she really only in it for the gambling or is this all part of her plan? This is another brilliant volume as we take down another member of the Council, people are definitely choosing sides, and it would appear a revolution is going to happen. But first Yumeko is going to have to deal with the President!