Volume 1 description: Jashin-chan, a demon from the underworld — known colloquially as the "Evil God Girl" — is suddenly summoned to the human world one day. The one who called her forth is Yurine Hanazono, a college student living in a run-down apartment in Jinbōchō. To make matters worse, Yurine claims she has no idea how to send Jashin-chan back to the underworld. Left with no other choice, Jashin-chan and Yurine begin living together under the same roof. However, since Jashin-chan can return...
Well, this is the first Jashin-chan volume I've actually had to wait for since catching up, and actually the first time I've had to wait for a volume of anything since I'm behind on the other series I'm reading, and it was worth the wait.
This series and Yukio in general can basically do no wrong at this point, but this volume in particular felt extra nice. One or two long-standing issues some of the characters have had get resolved (in the most hilarious way possible of course) but what stuck out for me in particular this volume is just how nice most of the stories were. This series has always done a really good job having uplifting character moments in between all the slapstick, mayhem, and sitcom-esque comedic karma, but it feels like most of the stories this volume were centered around the characters just enjoying time with each other and even Jashin-chan is a bit more altruistic than usual. The character growth has always been a strong point in this series and it's still paying dividends, especially with all the history and bonds that have built up over the 23 volumes.
It's been about a month since I've ready any manga or books in Japanese which isn't to say I've been slacking, just that I've used the time to finally catch up on Satori Reader, but I was a bit worried if that was enough to keep me fresh since the vocab can be different and surprisingly I tore through this probably faster than any other volume. It doesn't hurt that I've been starved of Jashin-chan content, but I think that extra deliberate practice did help and aside from a couple weird puns and jargon words I blew through most of it with ease. It's also kind of weird to realize that since I read it basically as soon as it came out, I'm probably the only American at the moment who's read this particular book, in the world. Even on bookmeter there was only one other person who registered it finish and while not everyone logs everything they read online it is weird to realize the possibility that I might be like, the second person ever to finish reading this particular collected edition. I'm hoping I can jump to the web version and keep up that way because the cliffhanger at the end of this one is insane.
(oh and keep an eye out during the CD store scene, there are some interesting cameos, especially if you've read God-Chans).