I really wanted to like Shadow of the Ring (Wa no Kage). I love political intrigue and the first two books gave me hope with its political maneuvers and tensions between different kingdoms. Add some manga-esque super armors that give superpowers to the different domains, and you have the potential for something good. The battles shared a smaller but fair amount of space alongside the intrigues in the first two books and it was perfect that way. Unfortunately, in volumes 3 and 4, for whatever reason, maybe in a desperate attempt to lure in readers (everybody knows manga readers absolutely want to see battles, right??),the author spends way too much time drawing fights, and the scheming almost completely goes away. It’s extremely disappointing! And the battles aren't even that exciting. At least, the “main story plot” is wrapped up by the end of volume 4, but everything ends way too quickly and it still remains open-ended… Some characters never get to shine.

This series deserved a good 10 volumes to really breathe and for its story to be fully developed. As it stands, it’s still an interesting read, but it could have been so much more.