Starting off our wave of V Series reviews, we'll be taking a gander at Cardfight!! Vanguard: Spiral Soul, written by kaiishida and is the sequel of Cardfight!! Vanguard: Spiral Terra. Obligatory spoiler warning is obligatory.

Without wasting any time, Spiral Soul was published on the 20th July and continues on from the final chapter of Spiral Terra with a five month time skip where Ryuuga has found himself crowned as the new King of Heiwa, and has to scramble to fill in the missing royalty spaces. Enter Joe Zaizen, cousin of Ryuuga, the second coming of Hikaru and resident Ryuzaki-kicking MILF Hunter, and Abbacchio Jerome, mangaka, Emon but Italian, and resident door-kicking MILF Hunter, who become the Ace and Jack respectively.

Great, with the royalty sorted out, we can move onto the main show of the arc: Tokyo's Finest! (Yeah that title was just a bad pun)

Tokyo's Finest is built upon a mini TOOOOOOOOOOOOOURRRRRRRNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMENT ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRC where three Kings and one Queen duke it out to become Tokyo's Finest. There's Ryuuga, King of Heiwa, Taira, King of Hagiwara, Tenma, King of Yamazaki, and Homura, Queen of Fukushima. With the fights broadcasted (illegally) all over the world, only one can prevail!

And the winner is... all of them?!

So, what did I think of the story?

Well, there's a reason why it's called Shida's Finest. Because God damn boi, this your finest work by faaaaaaaar. This first arc was crafted brilliantly. The first half setting up the characters were great, as it provided reasons and insight on the main stars while also weaving in the lead-up to the eventual break-up between Ryuuga and Fujiko. While the starting chapters were slow, going into the second volume, some of my favourite chapters to date are present.

#8: Hagiwara and #9: The King Living in Nothing still stand up as some of the best early chapters of Spiral Soul. Both chapters were hilarious and provided great characterisation to the Kings, Taira and Tenma. Renji unleashing his DAMNATION had me dying, and seeing Tenma beat Sakate with a train was a highlight. The two-parter, #12: Company and #13: Battle Tendency were also some of my favourite chapters. Seeing C4 fight against Heiwa's Royalty was so damn epic. Inu busting out that Blademaster was sick, and Joe destroying Ryuzaki twice was beautiful. Truly perfect chapters.

#14: Homura was the best chapter in characterising and contextualising Homura, Queen of Fukushima. I know one of my criticisms about Spiral Terra was the poor characterisation of females like Fujiko, but in Spiral Soul, both ladies receive great development. Homura losing to Ryuuga was a satisfying end to her arc, and Fujiko's betrayal was unexpected.

Now, the actual Tokyo's Finest was a god damn rollercoaster. Taira vs Tenma, I was so sure Taira would win because Ryuuga vs Taira finals! Who wouldn't want to see that?! Then Tenma busted out the +10k shield to grade 3 thing that I forgot Dailiner had and I choked because he survived a fucking Glory turn. Ah fuck it, they both became Tokyo's Finest in the end.

Ryuuga vs Homura was a pretty obvious outcome, but like I said, it was a satisfying conclusion. That leaves the... very unexpected finals, Ryuuga vs Tenma. You know, I didn't know how to feel about it. It felt anticlimactic because Tenma was the least developed contender for the event. Sure, he had his ideal of playing Vanguard for fun, but outside of that he didn't have as strong a base to stand on as the other three.

Still, in the end, I screamed HARUKA MIRAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIII YEAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH when their fight commenced, and it was fun to read. My only real issue is the fact there was no winner for the fight, which I would've liked, but at the same time, I don't hate that everyone became Tokyo's Finest. It's a unique ending for just a false arc.

Let's go way back to #11: Opponent, where we meet the dank oaf Gin Fuchigami. Yeah, uh, it was revealed in #19: Confrontation, HE'S THE REAL BAD GUY IN THIS BOOK!

Yep, say hello to the real antagonist and "The World" of the Incomplete Arcana, Gin motherfucking Fuchigami. He's here to nuke your royalty for his own reasons and he's bringing his crew of ten others to fuck shit up. Before I dive into that, let's go check out some other aspects that I need to talk about.

Let's talk characters, shall we?

I'll focus only a few, but I want to talk about the Tokyo's Finest participants.

Ryuuga... oh man, his character has really changed. Maybe for the worse, even? Unlike in act 3, where he's a bit plain and boring, after he's forced to take on the duty of King, things start falling apart for him and a more ugly side of him is revealed. He's so swamped in work and other menial tasks that he has no time to focus on his relationship, which causes a ripple effect of creating distance between him and Fujiko as a result. However, strangely, after their break-up, Ryuuga takes it pretty well. He doesn't move around in despair, but rather sees it as clearing unnecessary things out. He's pumped for the Tokyo's Finest, and he's in it to win it. That's where the ugly side of him is beginning to show. He places more value on a event about Vanguard over his girlfriend. That makes his past actions a lot more clearer now. Ever since becoming King, he's fallen out of love with her. Forgetting their anniversary, letting work take priority, etc... things like these built up and destroyed their relationship. He even starts hanging out with Joe and Gin more than he does with Fujiko. Not to mention the way he treats Aijou after the third time he forgot his and Fujiko's anniversary. However, deep down, Ryuuga still cares about Fujiko. His angry outburst at Gin in the airport is proof Ryuuga still values Fujiko as a close friend. Their relationship wasn't built on nothing. They had a real connection.

Although, this can't all be blamed on Ryuuga. Fujiko's fatal flaw is her passiveness, surprisingly. Being unable to express her feelings, or telling Ryuuga what she wants and lying for his sake - a lot of her pent up darkness could've been avoided if she clearly communicated with him. He is her boyfriend, after all. But instead, she's feeling isolated and lonely because of Ryuuga's actions, and seeks out to find a place where she can belong in. From the start of the book, or even at the end of Spiral Terra, Fujiko's been feeling less and less like a member each day. She's just the main character's boyfriend, and that's all she amounted to. That's why she accepted Gin's offer. That's why she joined the Incomplete Arcana. To fit in. To find a place she can call her own. Revenge on Ryuuga was never a reason - she just wants real human connection.

While Fujiko is seeking for real human connection, Taira is seeking for the solution to amend his "the shit King" status. The entire time, Taira's been chasing after one goal: slay dem protagonists, bitches! But has failed to change despite climbing to King. Being a nameless nobody in a Royalty with famous students makes Taira seem unimpressive and tarnishes the royalty's image as a result. There's a new goal: make Hagiwara's royalty the best. (Renji confronting Taira on this created one of my favourite matches in the book.) However, to do this, Taira must... forgive himself? Well, that something I didn't understand for how his character changed. I don't see the line of logic that forgiving himself will do to better him. Is it forgiving himself for being such a failure up until this point? If so, he still gets his shit kicked in by Tenma, but... the positive outcome is Hagiwara completely supports Taira with the best manifesto ever!(?) Taira's character arc isn't the most logical, but Taira's not a logical character, so I guess it kinda fits? To be honest, Taira's still kind of a loser. Took a W against Renji, but took a fat L publicly against Tenma. Sure, he got Hagiwara's support, which was the main goal anyways, but Tokyo's Finest would've been the perfect stage to slay Ryuuga. I'm sure Taira was also aiming for that, knowing his personality. He says he "forgives himself", but I honestly don't think this is true. There's a hidden layer of misery under his energetic personality with the hardship he's faced. In a way, he's also like Ryuuga.

However, with ideals that are the complete opposite of Ryuuga and Taira, Tenma is only participating to spread his message of the True Man's World, a very bold thing to do. He wants to play Vanguard for fun - nothing else. This is a great contrast to Homura, who's competitive and wild spirit means she wins game after game and has found herself in the position she is in currently. His carefree spirit is also represented by how he does things his way, forgets people's name, and his plain dialogue. He doesn't need anything special or flashy, he's a one man army that's here to show that even casuals can crush the best of the best, the cream of the crop. He embodies the underdog and comes out from under to face Ryuuga in the final, even though we're made to believe Taira or Homura will be there.

However, the looming threat of Homura faces all three boys. Essentially the King of her school, she's a fiery woman who's one of the best female characters in the series. Waifuable, badass and wholesome, Homura's build up to the event was a big focus and is really appreciated. She has her own goals, her own struggle and the most satisfying conclusion out of all 4 contestants. Actually seeing her lose is relieving, since that's what she wanted all along. Ryuuga reigniting her passionate spark for Vanguard is great, and she is an amazing supporting character. I still think she's going to be Ryuuga's new love interest, since the two are fit for each other. Plus, Ryuuga stared at her tits.

Before I talk about the upcoming arc...

Another thing that was annoying was all the grammar/spelling mistakes. Taking time to get rid of them makes the reading experience so much smoother and better. Every time I notice one it ruins the flow.

Overall, I rate Spiral Soul's Tokyo Finest a 9/10! Good stuff Shida. Keep up the hard work.

Alright, this is the part you've all been waiting for. My theories and ideas on arc 2!

So far, it's been confirmed that the next arc will go to at least to #35. This is what we know so far:

#21: The Fool - Mayuri
#22: The Emperor - Alan Higashikata
#23: ???
#24: The Lovers - Rose & Iris
#25: ???
#26: The Star - Joshu Takenaka
#27: The Strength - Jean-Pierre Arcand
#28: ???
#29: The Death - Karim
#30: The Moon - Fujiko Abe
#31: The Chariot - Dallas
#32: ???
#33: The Empress - Hinata
#34: ???
#35: The World - Gin Fuchigami

The chapters with ??? are ones we don't know yet. I'm guessing they're used for breaks and build-up, that kind of stuff. Anyways, let's try to predict some stuff.

After seeing what was in the OP/ED, the Incomplete Arcana really embody the idea that they are good people who have been hurt by the world and want to find a place they can call theirs. The reason why they want to destroy the royalties aren't too clear, but it can be assumed the royalties have wronged them in some way that led them down this misguided path.

I noticed that Dallas and Arcand stick with each other pretty closely, and that Alan and Karim are there to "protect" Gin in the OP with Hinata backing them up. Karim in the ED is hinted to be bullied (probably because he's a foreigner), and I'm guessing that Gin is the one to pull him up. Ryuuga and Gin's fight has to revolve around Gin's philosophy of seeing the world as a boxing ring, fighting everyday to survive. Ryuuga wants to drag him out of that mindset.

Fight wise...

Mayuri vs Hikaru (both are a "fool" of sorts)

Alan vs Joe (brothers)

Rose & Iris vs Ichigo & Aijou (lovers)

Joshu vs Kaido (GEN Academy references)

Arcane vs Emon (older and wiser ones in the group)

Karim vs Masato (they glare at each other in the OP)

Fujiko vs Homura (Homura is trying to save Fujiko in the ED)

Dallas vs Taira (both have a dream of fighting "him" (for Taira it's Ryuuga) even though it seems impossible)

Hinata vs Abbacchio (Abbacchio glares at her in the OP plus they both have insane amount of fans they'll never reciprocate feelings for)

Gin vs Ryuuga (this one is obvious)

I'm very excited for this arc, and can't wait to watch it play out.

Alright, that about does it. If I missed anything or if it sounds awkward, it's because I wrote this after finishing my study sessions so my brain is dead.

Silence review to come some time soon.

That's all, Fox out!