Will Kazuki Shikimori ever manage to leave the land of the dead and get his body back? Which of the three girls vying for his affection will he choose? Will Shino manage to finally add him to her collection of spirits? These are answers that any fan of Maburaho has been waiting to find out . . . . but they won’t be answered in this volume. “Divine Intervention,” the sixth volume of the series, may not be putting your questions to a rest, but it will take just a few more steps towards finally bringing everything full circle.

The last volume of Maburaho ended on a rather interesting note, and the reappearance of Yamase had some unexpected results. For some reason, all four girls suddenly became incredibly hot with fever like symptoms and were drawn towards him. This has posed an interesting problem however, and since all four can’t be near him without the same thing happening, they decide to spend their final day in Kyoto on separate, timed dates. With a few less people around Shikimori however, Shino decides this is the perfect opportunity to strike and hopefully add him to her spirit collection.

But . . . . that’s when the moment we have all been waiting for finally begins to materialize, quite literally.

No, Kazuki isn’t quite back to his old self, but some of his remains have found their way back into his body, and he’s a little closer to being a human being once again. He may have sacrificed himself and turned to ash, but this is where the story takes a little turn for the better. His ashes are actually now a part of all four girls, and in the right situation, they are returned to him. In the case of Yuna and Yanase, seeing Kazuki possibly becomes a ghost permanently causes just a little of his ashes to come back, and it’s enough to make him a bit more solid, but the work is far from done.

I do have to complain a little with these episodes, and the second one on this volume (episode 20) actually turns out to be a clip episode that recaps the more important plot elements of Maburaho thus far. I find that so late in the series, it really is a bit badly timed, though it does begin to make a little sense, and I had forgotten about the “eel incident,” so it was hilarious to see that sequence again. It’s Kuriko though that has realized what it will take to make Kazuki human, but how it is done is now the plaguing question. There also seems to be a little more to Miss Manager than what has been seen so far, but this is yet another of Maburaho’s mysteries that will remain unanswered, at least for the time being. The final episode on this volume is extremely brilliant, and it gives the series a very touching moment, but that is all broken as the volume comes to a close and yet another bombshell is dropped.

The extra features are a bit scaled down this time around. There is an art gallery included as well as the clean versions of the opening and closing animations for the series. Also, ADV has once again included an insert which is a very humorous look at what a school newspaper might look like at Aoi High.

It’s going to be very interesting to see how Maburaho wraps everything up, though there are some things that are quite obvious. Maburaho has presented anime fans with some unique story twists, perfectly executed humor, and top notch storytelling and animation which has made this one of those unique gems that anyone who loves good anime should be watching.

Episode 19 – He Changed . . . Ya See

For some reason now that Yamase has met up with Kazuki, the girls are mysteriously becoming hot and drawn to him like a magnet. To counteract this they have decided to each have their own date with him on their last day in Kyoto, but Shino is hoping to get a turn with him as well, and it certainly isn’t for a date.

Episode 20 – She Delivered It

Yuna has forgotten the lunch she made for her and Kazuki, so Miss Manger decides to help them out by taking it to school. This becomes the perfect time for a recap of the major events that have happened in Maburaho.

Episode 21 – He Was Lit Up

Kuriko believes that she has found the key to making Kazuki human once again, but no matter what she tries to do, it seems that she can’t get the ashes she holds onto back into his body. She’s now decided that her last effort will be at her families upcoming ball and should she fail there as well, she’s leaving.