By Chiaki Taro
Published by DrMaster
Rating: Ages 15+

Another two volumes of Puri Puri are up for review, and that means more bosoms heaving, panties flashing, and struggling by the main protagonist to maintain his virtue. Volume five closes out the series’ first arc, which introduced priest-in-training Kamioda and his school’s crazy all-female student body; meanwhile, volume six kicks off his practical training, meaning new surroundings and supporting characters.

The transition is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, the character roster was already becoming unwieldy before volume five, which sees an opportunistic art student added to the many girls Kamioda must negotiate. The end of that volume and beginning of volume six are housecleaning, as writer/artist Chiaki Taro brushes aside all but a handful of characters. New faces include Emily, a nun-in-training who tempts Kamioda mercilessly, and Father Shingu, the head priest of the church that serves as Puri Puri’s new setting. For as-of-yet-undisclosed reasons, he dresses more like an investment banker than a man of the cloth, and appears ready to flog the sin out of Kamioda at a moment’s notice.

Father Shingu is an instantly-unlikable potential antagonist, while Sister Emily initially seems little more than eye candy. One could argue the latter about most of the supporting cast thus far, but at least the initial volumes provided the occasional interesting character like Sherrice, the leader of the school’s Knights Templar. If you’ll recall, she was a sort of female counterpart to Kamioda, constantly struggling to balance the moral discipline required by her training with her own personal desires. By contrast, Emily’s most noteworthy attributes are those sticking out in front of her, which in the tradition of fan service, get objectified early and often.

To be fair, although Emily’s sexuality is represented in an obsessive, downright intimidating manner, one cannot help thinking, “That’s exactly how it would appear to an inexperienced, youthful would-be ascetic like Kamioda.” Yes, he would view her large mammaries as the embodiment of evil; and yes, he would attempt a hands-on exorcism without thinking anything improper of it. But overall, the sexual hijinks start to ramp up particularly high in volume six, to a point where Taro arguably crosses the line from titillation to pornography. Sure, it’s great when the stereotypical good and bad girls can put aside their differences and get along, but when it happens courtesy of a shared bath that leaves very little to the imagination, whatever redeeming qualities Puri Puri might have get lost amidst a sea of skin.

(Note: The hands-on breast exorcism scene is exactly what it sounds like, so if that kind of thing piques your interest even remotely, you should run out and buy the series’ new arc right away.)

Volumes 1-6 of Puri Puri are available now.