The first volume in the series consisting of multiple consequential story/character arcs coming to a rising action head is also the best of the series thus far. Loads of Kaiju conflict as Asa faces her first real trial as a pilot with a neurotic researcher in tow; Kasuga, diverted by a predicament not of his own making but for which he becomes responsible; Miyako, finding herself in a spot of trouble after tailing her best friend, Yone; and the latter, whose encounter with an agency scout reveals her to be something of an accidental sexpot, belying her otherwise awkward, dorky personality, by way of her pursuit to break into the entertainment industry. Urasawa's practiced hand at balancing all these storylines and the editorial transitions between each is page-turning in its deftness.
