The manga of Kageki Shojo!! has a bit of an odd publication history; the first two volumes ran in Jump X, a seinen magazine, which was canceled before the story had a chance to conclude. Luckily, it was picked up by the shojo/josei magazine Melody, and continued its run as Kageki Shojo!! (Note the extra exclamation point.) Seven Seas released the Jump X run as Kageki Shoujo!! The Curtain Rises last year. And so, while this book is labeled as the first volume of Kageki Shojo!! proper, it's far from the start of the series.

This invites the question of whether or not Kageki Shojo!! vol. 1 is a good starting point for the series. The answer is… kind of? It was certainly written as a continuation, rather than a fresh start, and presumes familiarity with Ai, Sarasa, and the Kouka theater. At the same time, the characters are broad enough at this stage that it's not too hard to pick up on their basic personalities, though there are a couple story beats that really only make sense if you know Ai's background as the daughter of an actress, or Sarasa's love of Rose of Versailles. If you have even a passing familiarity with Takarazuka Revue, you'll recognize what Kouka is meant to be in an instant.

There's also a marked shift in tone, focusing more on the nature of theater and Sarasa's relationship to it rather than an examination of difficult issues and trauma. I wouldn't ascribe the change to the move from one magazine to another, since it's not like the shojo/josei category is a stranger to melodrama, nor do I want to assume any other reason. It's not a bad change either; more of a lateral shift that's just as good and interesting to read. The fact that there are fewer landmines to step on is a bonus, since The Curtain Rises definitely had its heart in the right place but could be clumsy.

Now that Ai and Sarasa have settled in at Kouka, their education is well underway. While they enjoy most of their classes, learning the various performance arts they'll need on the Kouka stage, one sticks out like a sore thumb: acting class, which is entirely lectures for their first year. Sarasa convinces their teacher to advocate for more hands-on instruction, but the traditionalists of the board are resistant to the idea of changing the curriculum they've used for decades.

This ties into the volume's strongest running theme: the tension between tradition and modernity. Although Sarasa's childhood still has yet to be fully explored, there have been some tantalizing hints so far: her kabuki actor boyfriend, references to dance class, a flashback of her donning a traditional wig and kimono and joining in a procession. She hails from Asakusa, Tokyo's Edo-era entertainment district and the center of the shitamachi, a hub of traditional culture with a number of still-active geisha. She's not interested in doing things a certain way just because that's how they've always been done, but at the same time, her grounding in traditional Japanese theater arts may prove to be a liability in the relatively new Kouka Revue.

This volume firmly cements Sarasa as the protagonist of Kageki Shojo!!, instead of sharing the spotlight equally with Ai, but there are still some good beats for the other characters. While the story doesn't lean heavily on her trauma, there are still other negative effects from Ai's unstable childhood and adolescence that she's dealing with, and some foreshadowing for her own future difficulties finding her voice as an actress. On the other hand, none of their classmates get much in the way of storylines this volume, and with the fairly simple art style, many of them end up blending together in the background.

Not to denigrate the art, which is beautiful in the ways that count most. Kumiko Saiki has an eye for paneling for maximum impact, ensuring the most powerful moments of the volume have a fabulous weightiness. The scene from the anime's trailer, of Sarasa wandering out onto the stage even though it's implied to be taboo for students, is here in this volume. Saiki's light, delicate linework, along with her mastery of intuitive panel flow, creates beauty and expressiveness at a level few manga can achieve. It truly is perfect for a series about theater, where portraying a character's personality through unique body language and expression is crucial.

There's a reverence for the theater here that as someone with deep roots in the performing arts myself, I appreciated. The characters may be training to be actors, but the costumers, set designers, lighting crew, and stage crew are all key players as well, and Kageki Shojo!! takes the time to give them their due as well. Everyone is essential to the magic of the stage, and every form of acting has its own traditions and superstitions that are important and valid to those who love them.

Like its heroine, Kageki Shojo!! is just getting started but shows enormous promise.