- If you have not read part three, then please click here. If you have not read part two, then please click here. If you have not read part one, then please click here.
image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crescent_Moon_(manga)
I actually own this series, so I will be reading the official English translation rather than reading from a website.
The back cover reads:
“Mahiru Shiraishi has an uncanny ability to bring good luck to everyone she touches -except herself. She’s constantly haunted by a recurring nightmare that ushers her to a dreamworld. There, she encounters a tribe of demons -a werewolf, vampire, fox, and bat- called the Lunar Race. Destiny calls when they need her help to recover their source of power, the stolen “Teardrops of the Moon”. In this fantasy adventure, Mahiru must battle the rage between the human race and the Lunar Race, whose powers are awakened by the dark side of the moon.”
Crescent Moon has 25 chapters through 6 volumes. My review will be below, and if you continue reading below the stars, you will see my explanation and my recounting of what I read.
Every post past this point will be a spoiler, so please read ahead with caution!
May 27, 2018
I’ve finally reached the end of the series. It normally doesn’t take this long for me to read manga, but that’s neither here nor there, so I’ll get started with my review! A lot happened in these two volumes, so I’ll do my best to summarize -honestly, my head is still spinning a bit.
So during the battle when Misoka falls, he loses his transformation. With Dawn’s Venus approaching, Nozomu decides to take Misoka to safety. Mitsuru battles Dawn’s Venus and notices Keiko in the car. Assuming she has the Teardrop, Mitsuru attacks her/the car. She tries to run, Mitsuru goes to attack her, and Hokuto jumps in the way to be her shield. In her fright, Keiko drops the Teardrop. Mutsuru speeds the car around and grabs them, and before Mitsuru can pursue them, Akira shows up and presents the dropped Teardrop.
While all of this is going on, Mahiru’s aunt has a pep talk with her, and Mahiru decides to go back to the group with renewed determination. She follows the glow of the Teardrop and find the group gathered around Misoka who is not doing well. She’s glowing when she reaches them, and this glow seems to be passed to Misoka. As Mahiru passes out from fever, Misoka recovers enough to stand on his own and breathe easier.
They all recover back at the Moonshine, but it appears that Misoka can no longer transform. He says he’s just grateful that his life is no longer in danger thanks to Mahiru’s power. Katsura comes in, and it seems that Mahiru has been summoned to the Moon Palace by Emperor Shirogane. Misoka goes with her to act as an escort and to report on the group’s activities, and Mitsuru comes along as well to clear his name about using the power of one of the Teardrops. Nozomu and Akira stay behind to keep looking for the remaining Teardrops.
Turns out that the Moon Palace is located in Kyoto, hidden through a mirror in a shrine. So, it’s in another dimension! No wonder humans couldn’t find any of the Lunar Race… But sadly, things are not well in the Moon Palace. The Great Empress is so sick that Mahiru is immediately pulled out to try and heal her by her first Lady in Waiting, Masumi, aka: Misoka’s aunt. While Misoka and Mitsuru wait for Mahiru’s return, they can hear the screams of other ladies in waiting who are passing away from the sickness.
Sadly, Mahiru cannot heal the Empress. She dies with a loud scream that even Emperor Shirogane can hear, but in her passing, we learn some things! Turns out the Lunar Race is not as cheerful as our group at the Moonshine Bar. The Lunar Race used to eat and attack humans, and many still believe that they should. Within the Moon Palace, the Empress was talked bad about because for a long time, she wasn’t pregnant, and then when she did give birth to Emperor Shirogane, the young emperor had no demonic power. The old emperor died on his throne, and many wanted his younger brother, Oboro, to become the new emperor. But the empress begged Oboro to find the Teardrops instead in the hopes that they would give power to her son and save the Lunar Race. She invoked his past love for her, but he said he’d do it as a member of the Lunar Race instead. In the end, she died believing that he had abandoned and betrayed her and their race.
Mahiru is imprisoned in a room to keep her silent about the Empress’s death, and Misoka is thrown in the dungeons. Misoka fights off the guards so Mitsuru can escape. During her isolation, Mahiru hears from the original Princess because the room she was locked in has been the Princess’s room. The Princess sings the last verse of the song and corrects the other lyrics, so Mahiru now knows the truth. It turns out that the Princess had loved the Demon, but their love could not be. Even still, they had hoped for a chance to re-unite in 1,000 years.
While sneaking around, Mitsuru learns that Masumi plans to capture and kill him to retrieve the power of the Teardrop from his corpse. Lord Shirogane tracks down Mahiru to ask what happened with his mother, and Mitsuru uses this chance to steal both Mahiru and Emperor Shirogane away. While escaping, Emperor Shirogane has a coughing fit, and Mahiru heals him. Mitsuru then reveals that his mother is dead, and Mahiru slaps him before doing her best to comfort the crying child.
Back in the human world, a Teardrop of the Moon is stolen by Dawn’s Venus (masquerading as the Moonlight Bandits), so Nozomu decides that he and Akira need help and answers from Keiko. She doesn’t know anything, and she tells them that Hokuto has broken off their engagement (he also dismissed the police before stealing the Teardrop). Still, Nozomu sends a ransom letter to Hokuto saying that they kidnapped Keiko and that to get her back, he’d have to trade the Teardrop of the Moon that he stole. It takes some convincing and acting(?) on the Moonlight Bandits’ part, but Hokuto finally trades the Teardrop (and the location of the last Teardrop) for Keiko because he fears for her life. She learns that Hokuto still cares for her, she reveals that she still cares for him, and poor Akira tells Keiko goodbye before going to cry his sweet heart out TT~TT
Back at the Moon Palace, Mitsuru and Mahiru are lost and trying to figure out what to do. Mahiru wants to save Misoka, but Mitsuru is tired of her risking herself because -turns out- he loves her, and he wants her to just choose him and be only his princess (so sweet!!). They kiss because she loves him, too, and she reveals that they are the re-born Demon and Princess. All the same, she wants to save Misoka because he’s their friend! Emperor Shirogane has since found them and offers to take them to the dungeon if they’ll take him with them to find the Teardrops of the Moon. Masumi is questioning Misoka when they arrive, and she tries to stop the Emperor from leaving with them. But Oboro shows up and reasons with her. They strike a deal that Emperor Shirogane can go to the human world only if she is with him, and Mahiru agrees because she wants Masumi to see all that their group has accomplished.
So now it’s a race to the last Teardrop. It’s protected on an island with an anti-Lunar-Race barrier. Hokuto and Mutsuru are on the island to increase the barrier’s strength, and Mahiru and Misoka volunteer to go and retrieve the Teardrop. Misoka continually says that he’s basically human at this point, but he is still pained by the barrier. Mitsuru flies above and draws away Mutsuru with lightning, while Mahiru approaches Hokuto to get him out of the barrier’s circle. Unfortunately, Mutsuru hits Mahiru in the arm with an arrow, and she starts glowing a blinding amount, pushing Hokuto out of the barrier’s circle. Misoka destroys a pillar to remove the barrier, and Mahiru opens the shrine to destroy the mirror that holds the last piece of the barrier. Hokuto tries to stop her, and Misoka transforms to protect her, surprising himself. With the barrier gone, another shrine rises from the waters of the lake to reveal the final Teardrop of the Moon. Which Masumi rushes to grab with Emperor Shirogane in tow.
Once she has the Teardrop in her grasp, she transforms into a giant unicorn water centaur hate monster, with poor Emperor Shirogane held helplessly at its center. Since Mahiru’s blinding light, the police have come out (including Kusakabe and Youhei), so lots of humans are seeing this. Mahiru stops the creature with the completed song -with Mitsuru singing with her, and Emperor Shirogane temporarily transforms into an adult before turning back into a child. The Princess appears to them all, even Dawn’s Venus, and explains that the races should be like stars to guard those in the day and night rather than opposing forces (or something to that effect).
Emperor Shirogane, Masumi, and Oboro return to the Moon Palace with all the Teardrops. Misoka decides that his duties as part of the Lunar Race are not done yet since he can still transform. And Mahiru and Mitsuru share a moment on the roof of the Moonshine Bar. She decides to return home so she can think about the next steps to bring peace between the races. She says this will take everyone, even Dawn’s Venus and the police officers. But Mitsuru’s upset and pouting because he thinks that’ll be the end of them. Mahiru says she won’t let them end, and that this is just a beginning for them and for everyone. The rest of the gang show up and ruin their moment, but they all sing and laugh together at the end.
The end. Review time!! This manga was 25 chapters long in the course of 6 volumes.
To read the review, please click here.
Completed Manga Review 