REVIEW: ‘Kaiju Girl Caramelise,’ Volume 6

Kaiju Girl Caramalise has everything. Dynamic action sequences with a stellar kaiju design, romance, oh and our heroine, Kuroe, is Harugan, the kaiju in question. Last volume Kuroe and Minami started their romance. But Minami’s popularity means things aren’t easy and they both end up having to hide parts of themselves. While they try to keep their relationship a secret and Kuroe attempts to hide her nature as a kaiju from Minami, happily ever after seemed far from reach. Filled with emotion, Kuroe’s kaiju-nature reared its head but it was just in time as she a new kaiju appeared and she was left to defend Tokyo.

Kaiju Girl Caramalise is created written and illustrated by mangaka Spica Aoki, published and localized in English by Yen Press, translated by Taylor Engel, and lettered by Lys Blakeslee. Kaiju Girl Caramalise Volume 6 picks up in the middle of a battle with Kuroe on the ropes. Locked in mortal combat with a mysterious kaiju who seems determined to raze the city to the ground, Kuroe struggles to hold her own, even in her kaiju form. But defeat would mean the death of her friends and the love of her life, so she keeps trying, even when she’s wounded.

Meanwhile, when Daichi, the elementary schooler who looks like a high schooler we met in the last volume, and Minami get stuck on a collapsing bridge together. Frustrated with Kuroe and assuming that there were feeling exchanged, Minami realizes the whole situation between Daichi and Kuroe was just a huge misunderstanding. And he realizes, finally, that Kuroe is in fact the Kaiju with the heart-shaped fin that has been protecting Tokyo.

As a romance, Kaiju Girl Caramalise Volume 6 continues to be wholesome and endearing. The way Minami chooses action to showcase his appreciation of Kuroe even in her kaiju form is perfect. On the action front? Well, it’s amazing too. In fact, Aoki knows exactly how to draw action artwork and yet also capture a cuteness within it too. Kuroe as a kaiju is intimidating and powerful, but somehow, she never loses the teen girl in it all. This is down through tones of grey, hearts in her eyes, and a softness with which we see the people in Kuroe’s life look upon her kaiju form. The ability to balance a monster with a teen is hard, and particularly in this volume where the focus is a fight and not just an accidental change.

Overall, Kaiju Girl Caramalise Volume 6 was well worth the long wait for this volume. While I know I have to buckle down for another long wait until Volume 7, I’m excited to see where we go next now that Kuroe and Minami have no secrets between them. While the volume may seem simple, Minami’s confrontation of Kuroe’s secret and acceptance of just as she is beyond wholesome and fantastic. In fact, it’s an amazing relief to know that Kuroe doesn’t have to hide who she is anymore and ultimately make herself sick with worry. But this volume also ends with more questions, specifically who was that other kaiju?

Kaiju Girl Caramalise Volume 6 is available now, wherever books are sold both digitally and physically.