Mr. Villain’s Day Off Volume 6 Review
“I’m coming, pandas!”
Mr. Villain has a heavy week at work ahead – seven days without a break – so it’s very understandable that he’s determined to make the most of his day off on Earth. And to prepare seven days’ worth of treats so that he can look forward to a different delicious food after each of these gruelling days. Even a chance encounter with Dawn Red, the Red Ranger, on the penultimate day, passes off peacefully as the exhausted General explains that he’s too tired to engage in any hostilities and both amicably agree to a truce. But when Mr. Villain gets home, an unpleasant surprise is waiting for him. His robot cat C-018 has dutifully cleaned the apartment but in doing so has also unplugged the fridge and not plugged it back in, leading to the ice cream melting that Mr. Villain was so looking forward to. After Mr. Villain lets out a cry of anguished fury, C-018 quaveringly asks, “Are you going to dispose of C-018?” Luckily, Mr. Villain is too tired to have the energy to be angry, let alone dispose of his pet and he sets off for the convenience store to buy more ice cream. Next day, on his long-awaited day off, he wakes up refreshed!
Mr. Villain continues to be fascinated by the ways of the people of Earth and finds himself – on a scorchingly hot day – sorely tempted to disobey the ‘Wait’ sign at the pedestrian crossing because there’s no traffic in sight. But then he notices two little children in sunhats, hand-in-hand, approaching. The younger of the two, hot and cross, wants to eat the ice cream they’ve just bought but the elder says no, not yet, and they must wait for the green man before they cross. Impressed, Mr. Villain can’t help but observe that they’re ‘such good little Earthlings’ before crossing and entering the convenience store where – oh joy! – he’s welcomed with the news that there’s a new flavour of ice cream to try.
Meanwhile, back on his home planet, fellow members of the Evil League are puzzling over the strange machine that Rooney’s brought back from Earth to research; it’s called, he thinks, a bicycle. First Ul has a look and says she thinks it’s a waterwheel used to generate energy. Then Ashe performs a weird and dangerous stunt, claiming it ‘can be used to reach high places!’ which also convinces no one. Meurah, the League’s torturer, sits on the bicycle and just when it seems someone has understood what it’s for, claims that it’s a torture device for fingers. Meurah also points out that it’s unsafe to sit on which prompts the ever-helpful Rooney to say it needs four wheels, instead of two: stabilising wheels. Trigger, sceptical as ever, demonstrates how it can be used as a weapon and then, thankfully, the General arrives, in full tailed battle gear, gets on the bicycle and rides it (while pointing out that you’re not supposed to ride a bicycle indoors). Now everyone wants a go – but, as Rooney soon discovers, it’s not as easy to stay upright as the General made it look.
On Earth, the Rangers are going about their daily duties and we’re shown the daytime routines through Dawn Red’s eyes and Twilight Black’s night-time patrols… with a poignant reminder from Black as he remembers the Rangers they’ve replaced who were their mentors.
It’s the sixth volume of Yuu Morikawa’s portrait of an evil supervillain who has fallen in love with pandas on Earth and is slowly, ever so slowly changing his view of Earthlings by living incognito among them and getting to know their customs and their food (ice cream!). The TV anime happened in 2024 and these stories take us beyond the events portrayed there, so if you followed the anime and want more of this delightful series, this will fit the bill very nicely. The mangaka’s drawings are as varied as before; Yuu Morikawa switches from Mr. Villain in ‘down’ mode relaxing with an ice cream to convincingly terrifying alien General form from one panel to the next. Her portrayals of Earth children are also realistic (in speech and behaviour) and the pandas (and a fluffy white dog plus elderly owner that Mr. Villain meets in the park) are especially cute. But as there are several ongoing story threads running through the volumes now, it’s good to see Mr. Villain again encountering the two tree spirits in the park (who present as a boy and a girl) as the cherry tree in bloom has become a place where high schoolers meet to declare their love – which doesn’t always go so well. We also see the Earth Rangers celebrating Children’s Day with the young twins who have inherited Aurora Green’s powers between them as the older ones think about how they’ve become a family, thanks to Black. There’s lots more to enjoy (including pandas!) but there’s a wistful, reflective tone to some of the stories that will linger with you long after you’ve finished reading, especially ‘Cherry Blossom and Lovers’ and ‘One Day, One Night’.
Translation for Square Enix Manga is again by Julie Goniwich and her excellent translation is brought to vivid life by the wonderful range of lettering used by Kelsey Denton. There’s a beautiful colour page at the beginning of the volume, showcasing the mangaka’s subtle use of blue. This volume also has several pages of fascinating ‘character references’ that the mangaka put together for the team making the anime and readers will be intrigued, as I was, to learn about Mr. Villain’s tattoos as well as the weapons that the Earth Rangers wield and their ranger costumes – and a character height chart. It’s so interesting to see the level of detail that Yuu Morikawa has gone into ‘behind the scenes’. It’s also very nice to see the mangaka thanking, amongst others, her ‘mom’. We’ve almost caught up with Japan now (Volume 7 came out in March) so it might be a while before that seventh volume is available to buy in print from Square Enix Manga.
Read a free preview at the publisher’s website here.
Our review copy from Square Enix Manga was supplied by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Publisher Services).
