I wasn’t super sure what to expect from this volume given how much I enjoyed The Silent Grove volumes, but was a little more iffy on Magekiller. Fortunately, I actually really enjoyed this and thought it was pretty good despite its flaws.

I think from the start the comic did a really solid job at establishing the cast and their motivations. Every time a character I hadn’t previously met was introduced I felt like it was quickly established who they were and their motivations. This allowed for the comic to more easily go into their pasts and provide extra depth from that. It also allowed for the quick establishment of any shared past between characters and their dynamics.

This comic also EASILY had my favourite art so far. Something about it was soft in a very nice way and it was more pleasing to my aesthetic taste than the other comics had. It did a really solid job at conveying emotion and character. A solid mix of the style’s strengths and character designs that went together in a really satisfying way.

Finally, I like how this expanded on the larger word and connected to and referenced other characters from other content. However, part of me wonders if these nods to other characters and events ended up sacrificing the story. Overall it moved very quickly and it made the pacing feel off. Due to everything moving so quickly, while I could buy into relationships established from past experience, I had a much harder time buying into the relationships of people who had just met. Everything felt like it was moving so quickly I couldn’t get invested because I didn’t feel like the characters were given the time to get to know each other. When some plot beats hinged on characters having close relationships, I just didn’t feel like they were there.

Overall it was just alright, it wasn’t my favourite from this series, but it wasn’t the worst either.