Pun game, on point.

Welcome back to the second instalment of our V Series reviews, and today we'll be looking over Cardfight!! Vanguard: Silence, written by Little_Cute_Cookie and released on the 11th of October! Obligatory spoiler warning is obligatory.

To surmise Silence to those who forgot, we follow a new female protagonist, Kin Takami, and her journey through her new school, Setsuna Academy. However, Setsuna Academy is different than other schools of its kind, boasting a faction system where the Royalty members of the school each control one of the five following factions: Salvation, Venom, Dystopia, Brilliance and Chevalier. These five factions fight over the sixteen chess pieces scattered throughout the school, and the faction that gathers all chess pieces can grant one wish— and eternal glory, fame, and money!

However, Kin is a sheep's in wolf clothing and is secretly the mysterious Cardfighter that can crush even the royalty beneath her feet— Sakayanagi. With her twisted view of the world, Kin sets out to gather all chess pieces for herself and grant her own very wish.

So, what did I think of the story?

Alright, to be fair, I'm judging this based on five chapters. So, whatever I say here is also a first impression, technically. However, so far, I've enjoyed the current story. The fights are fun, the characters are lively, and the main stand-out for me was Checkmate 5. God damn, that chapter had amazing structure and dialogue in it. I really liked the concepts and ideas brought out, having the factions accuse each other while trying to decipher Sakayanagi's true identity; before hitting you with a badass monologue revealing Kin is Sakayanagi. Had us in the first half, not gonna lie. I thought the crux of the book was going to be discovering who Sakayanagi is, but instead it got revealed it straight away, which I really like. Expectations? Subverted.

Furthermore, the tension between Shiro (the Jack) and Rin (the Queen) is done really well. It's an interesting concept that I hope gets expanded upon. One thing the story could probably improve on is the King. The King (Asahi) is pretty sad and weak right now, seeing as he lost to Kin straight off the bat in Checkmate 1. While this isn't as related to the story, I appreciate the aesthetic of the breaking of parts and the covers. The Intermission ones featured in Checkmate 1 are really cool, since they feature both the character and their main units.

As for improvements, I'd like to see cutting of unnecessary content. I'm not really interested in what the characters are eating during lunch (nor do I need an in-depth description of Kazane cooking ramen), and I'm more interested in their interaction. With such a varied cast, there are a multitude of students who can bring something different and cool to the table. I like that the Salvation faction has received development for their main roster, and I'd like to see the other faction's main players (or rather, Elites.)

Also I just really like Checkmate 5 it's my favourite chapter in the book I can't stress this enough okay moving on—

Next up, characters!

Let's start with the main girl, Kin. She's a plain girl with very little expression or movements. She's conspicuous, keeps to herself and is silent, unless her face expresses a slight emotion or she is called upon. Her coldness isn't very direct, but more subtle, which foreshadowed the eventual reveal that she sees all other people as nothing but tools to get what she wants— and she clearly displayed her ability to do so. After all, in the first chapter, she beat the King without breaking a sweat. However, strangely, she failed to beat the Queen and Jack who are below him. While being played off as a lucky fluke, it becomes increasingly obvious that Kin was hiding her true strength, so she can use it under her alias, Sakayanagi. The main reason why she even donned Sakayanagi in the first place is to get her own wish granted, as there is only one wish available per faction. If she's in Salvation, it's most likely that Asahi would get the wish, and not her. Now the real question is the motive behind wanting the wish. What could Kin, someone who sees everyone as beneath her, possibly want?

Also, she's Mai's daughter. Her sarcasm and deadpan personality probably come from her. I think it's cool. Kin probably has a bigger chest than Mai though.

The King, Asahi Shunou, is an awkward man. Despite being King, he lacks the confidence and bravado of one, and chooses to be extremely passive. He even plays Oracle Think Tank, an extremely dated deck that has no place in the current meta. Despite this, he's shown to be weak and unskilled multiple times, yet it feels wrong. It definitely has the air that he's also hiding something, like Kin. Could it be his true ability too? We can't discern much, but Asahi is definitely an interesting character that should get expanded upon. After all, he's also leader of Salvation, which is also the faction in which Kin resides. How is he going to rat her out? How is he going to fight against her treachery? What kind of tactics will he employ? He's got a stiff personality, but there's a high chance he's another sheep in wolf's clothing.

The Queen, Rin Sasaki, is a feisty person who is brutally honest and treats those under her like trash. Basically, she's a bitch. To follow this up, there's a bitterness between her and the Jack, which makes her a hundred times more aggressive towards her. If Asahi is stiff and awkward, Rin is fierce and unforgiving. She's not one to easily back down or stop to brag. She's got the qualities of a headstrong King, yet is relegated to the Queen role. Well, if she's happy to be in that position, that's fine, but I feel like she's trying to make up for the fact she's only second to Asahi, despite his apparent weakness. She acts this way as to make up for what she lacks in comparison. Maybe she targets the Jack out of jealousy? That a person like Shiro could become a Royalty, despite being even more gentle and passive than Asahi. Who knows, though.

The Jack, Shiro Kuroko, is best girl. Must protecc. She's kind and sweet, yet has a dark edge to her which I like. Plus, she uses Shadow Paladin. Claret Sword represent! However, she has her own flaws, where her faction is made up of passive and gloomy people like her. With no one really standing out, Shiro just becomes a figurehead for all the weirdos and quiet people in the school. Her close friendship with Kazane is sweet. There's one really memorable moment in Checkmate 2 where the Venom students are badmouthing her and spreading rumours in the middle of the assembly. Why does Rin hate this poor girl so much? Anyways, Shiro, step on me.

The Ace, Kazane Blade, is the beautiful daughter of Maxios and follows in unkie Shika's footsteps of being an athletic prodigy! Nothing like her cripple dad, Kazane's a confident gal who is playful and shines brightly, just like her faction name implies: Brilliance. She hasn't gotten much of a stand-out scene beside from being Kin's introduction/exposition buddy, but she made spicy ramen with mozzarella, so... you go girl? Being a member of the Blade family, will she have a harem too? I mean, granted, she's Maxios's little girl and not Yza's, but the possibility is still there.

Finally, the Joker. Ah, what a beautiful man. Mashiro Kanzaki. Don't fuel fire if you can't handle the heat. Yes, this quote will forever stay in my heart. Wonderful. Truly, the ultimate joker. Laughing crying emoji laughing crying emoji.

The other characters are mainly the Salvation members, Narumi, Hiro, Miyuki and Kage. Narumi's a chill person who's well seasoned in the faction battles and is arguably Kin's closest female companion in the faction. Hiro's a hater of red-haired Aces, I say we lynch him. He's basically a loud-mouth rookie. Miyuki's the hacker. Computer nerd extraordinaire. Be careful around him, he might find your secret stash of hentai while cackling "kyu kyu kyu!" Then there's Kage, Salvation's elite. He's the edgy guy all the girls will go wet for. A secret badass who hides his true darkness by reading books. Damn, he's so edgy his name literally means "shadow." It shows just how miserable his life is and how he's walking in Asahi's shadow despite being an elite (checkmate, atheists.)

If I had any criticism, it's just the grammar errors and PLEASE UPDATE MORE YOU HAVE SO MANY GOOD IDEAS PLEASE EXPAND ON THEM I BEG OF THEE. Also make the OP/ED, it's been 5 chapters.

Overall, I rate Silence's first five chapters a 7/10! Good job Kicchan, continue working hard! I believe in you!

Next review is going to be Generations, so unless you enjoy watching me jerk myself off, you can feel free to skip it. If you do, thanks for reading this diatribe of poorly written reviews.

That's all, Fox out!