Manga: The Heroic Legend of Arslan 12

The Heroic Legend of Arslan Vol 12
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

Arslan is the teenage prince of the ancient kingdom of Pars, who doesn't seem to have what it takes to be a great ruler like his father. A fateful encounter with a slave from the neighbouring country of Lusitania leads Arslan to question the world outside of the royal capital's walls, but before he can indulge his curiosity, war breaks out. Arslan is rushed off to his first war, only to see his kingdom crumble in front of his eyes. This series of events leads the young Arslan on a journey to reclaim his lost kingdom.

Okay, there's quite a lot of interesting developments this volume! Hilmes is doing some quite tense manoeuvring when it comes to his position with the Lusitanian's and there's also a hunt for a treasured sword that is allegedly the rightful sword of the King of Pars. This quest will be quite familiar to readers who have watched the anime! Meanwhile we have Guiscard scheming for his own position and I can't exactly blame him, his brother is kind of useless. 

Then there's shady sorcerer guy who only gets more shady in this volume. Andragoras has a very interesting role to play in this volume, and if you've watched the anime you'll know exactly what's coming with him, though this volume does plenty to instil a sense of foreboding. I would say, in terms of the anime, we're fast approaching the second season. 

As for Arslan and co, they are on the move once again with survivors in tow which means Etoile has some time to acquaint herself with our crew. The banter between all of them and her attitude were amusing, but I also so badly want her to thaw towards them and join the crew officially already! 

But that's not all this volume, there's also Merlain (Alfareid's brother) who is on the move himself as he escorts the princess to Hilmes. Like I said...there's a lot going on and we see pretty much all of our main characters. 

What's particularly interesting about this volume is Tahamenay. She's been quite quiet this series, but in this volume she finally speaks up. Her wording, particularly when referring to her child, brings up an interesting point of intrigue. Especially after what we've seen of how she treats Arslan and what she knows. If my suspicions are right, there could be quite a plot twist in store. 

Of course, this is all quite calm and leisurely as our characters move around the board and we have a smooth passing of time. But it's not long before danger looms again in the form of the Turanian army, which also heralds the arrival of a familiar face...I'm sure you can tell who it is from the cover of this volume! 

I was more than happy to see Kubard come back into play, I actually quite like his character and I've been waiting for him to join Team Arslan! I also really enjoyed that Farangis got a little bit of the spotlight in this volume as she gets to lead an attack of her own and team up with Kubard. 

While there's a little of Arslan, it's nice to see other characters take more of a role in this volume. Farangis and Kubard in particular! The plot moves smoothly on, driving forward and I'm a big fan of the transitions and how the passing of time is handled in this series. While not quite as action heavy as previous volumes, characters are moving across the board and it seems that Arslan has a new ally on his side. 

Volume 12 leaves us on a nice little cliffhanger which wouldn't be quite so bad if we didn't have to wait so long for the next volume! My one and only disappointment with this volume is the lack of Gieve, I have to be honest!