The art was of course beautiful, and as with the rest of the books I love having a visual for this story. It's to bad they didn't make the last two books as well. This book was my least favorite of the series, and still is. Alexia was treated very badly in my opinion and she had done nothing to deserve it. I do like that this story does help explain some of the questions that have formed over the series, so that is always good. This marks the end of the parasol protectant series for me. I will be continuing on with some of the spin-off books though. ( )

The other two volumes of this do a good job of adapting the book to the visual medium of the manga. This one...not so much. I just feel that so much was edited that it would be hard to follow if you hadn't already read the books.

On the other hand, the chapter illustrations are amazing, so...mixed bag there. ( )

This is the third book in the Parasol Protectorate manga and was very well done. I enjoyed it a lot. This was one of my least favorite books of the full length book series, I actually thought it was better done in manga format. I haven’t been able to find any information about the fourth novel in this series.

Alexia is being scorned by everyone she knows because of her pregnancy. She journeys to the Templars in Italy in hopes of finding some answers both about the history of Preternaturals and about what kind of baby she might actually be carrying. However, she finds upon her arrival that the Templars have plans of their own. Meanwhile Lord Maccon is wallowing in a drunken state of misery and being generally troublesome.

This was a very fun installment in this Manga series. It starts with vicious exploding ladybugs for goodness sake, so how can you do wrong? There is a lot of action and adventure. Additionally Alexia learns a lot more about the significance and history of Preternaturals.

Alexia really shows her toughness in this installment, it's a rough time for her. However, where a weaker woman might give in to despair...Alexia decides to hunt down answers on her own despite what everyone thinks about her.

As with the full length book series, I found Lord Maccon to be especially obnoxious in this installment. He does redeem himself in the end however. The characters that are the most fun in installment are Genevieve and Lyall. Genevieve is Alexia’s main companion for much of the novel and we learn a lot more about her. It was also fascinating to watch Lyall try to deal with Lord Maccon’s mess.

The illustration continues to be extremely well done. There is a lot of detail and facial expression are done really well. The illustrator does a wonderful job of distinguishing between characters, I was never confused about who was who.

The book ends on a wonderfully hopeful note and I can’t wait to read the next installment in this series.

Overall and incredibly well done installment in this manga version of the Parasol Protectorate series. The characters, story, and illustration are all very well done. I really hope to see a fourth book in this series and can’t wait to read it. ( )

Soulless: The Manga, Vol. 3 by Gail Carriger is the conclusion of the manga series and covers the events of Blameless. Before Alexia and Conall can get back together, she must face the Knights Templar in Italy, and he must take care of the vampire problem now that Akeldama is missing.

At the launch party for Crudrat, Carriger mentioned that volume 3 is the conclusion of the manga conversion for two reasons. First and foremost the artist, Rem, has other projects on her plate. Secondly, the publisher and the illustrator are both unsure how to present some rather adult (meaning messy) stuff in the fourth book relating to Alexia's advanced state of pregnancy and the rather unusual location of Prudence's birth.

Now as you'll recall from my review of Blameless, this was my least favorite of the series. Conall is a complete drunken twit and most plots involving the Knights Templar make me want to gouge my eyes out (the exception being Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

But I like Rem's work and I love graphic novels and manga. So it was a no brainer to re-read the book as a manga. Thankfully as a graphic novel Conall's formaldehyde binge and Alexia's excessive shouting are both condensed as are later scenes of the Knights Templar being holier than thou twats.

Basically, Rem's artwork turns the silliest of the of scenes into something fun. ( )

Manga adaptations can be hit or miss, but this is one where the adorable manga visual tropes really fit the story. Very cute! ( )