D-Frag! Volume 07
ディーふらぐ!
D-Fragments 07

–> Purchase D-Frag! Volume 07 from Amazon.com

***SPOILERS***

D-Frag! has become one of my two favorite manga titles. The first six volumes have been a hoot. Thankfully, D-Frag! Volume 07 continues the wacky fun that appeals to me, though there weren’t quite as many laughs.

The Story: Chapter 45 – Prelude

The volume begins with Kenji discovering that the club outing he agreed to for the weekend is encompassing the entire weekend. Not only that, his little sister Noe is roped into things. After several failed attempts to head out, due to the different club members showing up and delaying the trip, the group boards a ferry.

The Story: Chapter 46 – The Ferry Trip

While Kenji still has no clue what’s going on, he does understand that the other folks on the ferry are from other game development clubs. He is dispatched with Roka to intimidate folks, but discovers a lot of weirdos on the ship. After running into Takao, Kenji then encounters TAKAFUDOU Hata, president of another game development club. She inhales the sighs of others to increase her own happiness. After Kenji complains, she reluctantly is going to return his sigh to him. Takao and Roka object, causing Roka to bag Kenji.

The Story: Chapters 47 Through 51

Sapped of his strength, Noe has to get Kenji off the ferry and onto Famous Athlete Hashimoto’s Adventure Island, where a tournament is being held. There, Noe snaps comebacks at all of the stupidity she sees. However, the weirdness, including threats from one club in monster helmets causes her to break down.

When Kenji recovers, he’s none to pleased. However, he and Roka manage to save one of the monster club members. Kenji flees from his clubmates and Takao, after they try to make curry. He finds Funabori on the island with her Cooking Club mates. Unfortunately, he’s found and dragged back, though his club members haven’t even started food prep. When the girls finally make curry, they discover they have no rice. As such, the group and Takao have to beg Funabori for rice, though Kenji makes sure to eat some of Funabori’s food as well.

After eating, many clubs end up on the beach. A conflict arises between Takao and Hata, causing them to get into a cavalry battle. When Takao’s team manages to win, Kenji discovers that Hata had held a last key they needed to free the captive Hashimoto and win the tournament. That night, the males on the island decide to pay a visit to the female onsen, where they trick Noe into tossing a bottle of shampoo over the wall. He discovers the masked helmet girl stealing the key. While chasing her, they run into Takao on the beach, who’s looking for her phone charm. She finds the key the other girl dropped and the other girl finds her charm. As such, an exchange is made. It is only then that Takao realizes she’s been with Kenji

The Comedy

Outside of the Takao family omake chapter, this first chapter of the Hashimoto Adventure Island Arc is probably the funniest.  In terms of comedy, having the hero’s attempt to start his adventure be thwarted by the staggered arrival of his comrades isn’t new. However, Haruno-sensei makes the most of it while keeping everyone in the dark as to what this story arc is about.

Otherwise, while there are humorous and comedic moments, D-Frag! Volume 07 isn’t as funny as earlier volumes. This is because there weren’t many belly laughs. That’s not a bad thing as there was still a lot of wackiness that I enjoy.

Takao is Best Girl

It is always amusing when Takao takes things to the extreme, such as when Hata’s inhaling both Takao’s sigh and Kenji’s sigh somehow became an indirect kiss in her mind. While she already has a rivalry of sorts with Roka and Funabori for Kenji’s attention, Hata becomes the latest girl to become a rival of sorts. I enjoyed how Hata and Takao evoked “gamer logic” during the prelude to their cavalry fight.

I don’t know if Haruno-sensei is going to going to end D-Frag! with Kenji ending up with a girl or not. However, I kinda hope that Takao ends up being that girl. She’s clueless at times, tsundere at times, and sometimes she’s timid (and sometimes she’s aggressive), but she’s a good girl whom I like a lot.

Funabori is Second Best Girl

It is amusing to me how Haruno-sensei managed to get Funabori into this story arc. Funabori wasn’t even supposed to be a real character in D-Frag! (at least as I understand it), but she’s part of Kenji’s harem. As a trope type, I understand why Haruno-sensei would want her in the manga. She’s like the perfect housewife. But since Takao came first in the manga, I’m giving her the edge.

Now that Funabori and her Cooking Club are on the island, I wonder what rivalry elements will be introduced before this arc is over. So far, she’s simply been peripherally involved in the other girls attempting to feed Kenji, but I could see her becoming more involved, though probably not by choice.

Hashimoto’s Adventure Island Arc

As a story, the Hashimoto’s Adventure Island Arc continues the tradition of introducing new characters as well as tons of unnamed characters. As a story, it is pretty silly. This Hashimoto guy is supposedly held captive, but there’s no sense of urgency to save him. So on day 1, we only see one attempt at pushing the “plot” forward, and that came when Roka and Kenji chased the one helmet-mask girl. Otherwise, it was a lot of nuttiness with getting registered, going to the beach, cooking lunch, having a bath in the outdoor onsen, and then finding Takao’s key strap.

Now that the first day has passed, I can’t even begin to imagine how the rest of the arc will go. The way Haruno-sensei writes, there might not be a resolution at all.

The Omake

Takao’s mom continues to increase in awesomeness. The mini omake chapters featuring Takao’s mom and two older sisters are a delight and a hoot. For this volume, we get an aftermath of the nice dresses that got soiled when Takao joined the others after Tama paid up what she and her people owed them. For whatever reasons, Takao’s mom has higher confidence that Takao will succeed where her sisters fail. Funny stuff.

The other two omake manga consisted of a single page manga showing Keji’s male friends showing up at his house and being shocked he wasn’t there. The other omake manga revealed that forced-trap Sakuragaoka did come with Takao and the rest of the Real Game Development Club, but is in hiding since he doesn’t know how to let Kenji know he’s a man.

Seven Seas

On the Seven Seas side of things, the adaptation makes use of Japanese honorifics. Noe still calls Kenji “Aniki” most of the time, then “Oniichan” when she starts freaking out. I like that because it helps show more about her character. Some liberalities are taken with the “localization” of the manga. For example, the cavalry fight is first called “Chicken” until it is forced to switch because Hata looks for cavalry steed volunteers. But on the whole, no problems.

There are two color pages at the start of the manga. Haruno-sensei has his remarks done in manga form, which is normal. There are no translator notes.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

And now to wrap this review of D-Frag! Volume 07.

• Nikujaga continues to appear in manga that I read. I first noticed it in School Rumble. I want to try it, but I’ve never seen it as a menu item at any Japanese restaurant I’ve ever been to. 🙁
• I feel bad for Noe-chan getting caught up in this mess. Still, she’s a fun character.
• I also feel bad for Tsutsuji-chan. She’s a siscon and Roka having to push her away was sad, in a humorous sort of way.

In the end, D-Frag! Volume 07 may not be quite as funny as earlier volumes, but it is still just as wacky as the earlier volumes and just as fun. As such