MANGA REVIEW | "Mission: Yozakura Family" - Volume Seventeen
When you’re dealing with a big family of assassins and spies, the thought of one of your own joining the side of the enemy may pop up from time to time. So it felt inevitable that within the story of Mission: Yozakura Family, a couple of siblings may find themselves working alongside Papa Momo. At the end of the last volume, Futaba and Shinzo were brainwashed into joining Momo, leaving the family frustrated. So now the question is, how are they going to get them back?
Volume Seventeen first begins with the aftermath of the brainwashing. Sibling versus sibling, in a couple of fights that show just how strong Futaba and Shinzo really are. So strong, in fact, that no other sibling can actually take them down and slap some sense into them. Kyoichiro may be the strongest out of everyone, but you’d need at least three of him to take down their brother and sister.
Hence why some training is in order. But first, a traditional family meal. Nothing says family quite like making a soba dish. However, it wouldn’t be Mission: Yozakura Family if it were a normal noodle dinner; this is the potent black cherry blossom soba. Eat this, and you’ll get the health benefits needed for taking on a high-ranking mission. Once eaten, the time to grow stronger begins.
For Shion, it’s becoming a better hacker, one that requires her to go one-on-one with the self-proclaimed Cyber Demon Lord Giga. It’s more of a battle of bargains between the two, but Giga does show the kind of explosive techniques they’re capable of. However, it’s a little glitch that reveals just what kind of person Giga is. Not only is the “Demon Lord” embarrassed, but they’re willing to help in order to keep their adorable identity secret!
Kengo has a run-in with an old teacher at the mall for spies, and while he’s grown, Kengo still has room to improve. Of course, it doesn’t help that the teacher’s training methods are now considered modern-day BDSM, as her pupils now love her punishment rather than fear it. Then there’s Taiyo, who needs to learn to master his Blooming powers to the max. It takes some brotherly “love” and the aid of the Spy Association President to get Taiyo up to the level he needs to be.
Once training ends, the next task in Mission: Yozakura Family commences. For now, it’s about saving Futaba and Shinzo, although Kyoichiro wishes to be alone with Papa Momo if he can. Readers are treated first to the battle between Shinzo and Taiyo & Kengo. It’s a fight that’s not just visually stunning, but it shows just how much the younger brother and the in-law have grown since this manga began.
However, just because they’ve grown stronger doesn’t mean they’re stronger than Shinzo. Their battle goes back-and-forth like a high-stakes ping-pong game, with the three throwing everything they have into the fight. It’s the kind of match where one doesn’t know how it’ll turn out until the very end. As such, when we see who comes out on top, readers can appreciate everything these three bros are able to do.
That leaves us to the fight between Futaba and the rest of the family. Sadly, we won’t know what happens until the next volume. For now, the seventeenth volume of Mission: Yozakura Family delivers a good amount of its trademark action, while sprinkling a little drama and humor for good measure. While not as groundbreaking as the last couple of volumes, Mission: Yozakura Family shows that even the top spy family has room to grow.
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.
