Momoka Sendou is a typical teenage girl that comes from a family that prides itself on its martial arts. No slouch in that department herself, she is in the Kenpo Club at the school which she attends, Tourin Academy, along with her childhood friends Ryuga Kou, a Chinese magic master who just happens to excel in demon summoning, and his cousin Shunran, Momoka's best friend who is particularly sensitive to spirits, possessing psychic abilities. It is during one of Ryuga's summoning exercises, during which he had called upon a dragon spirit with the intention of strengthening his powers, that Momoka accidentally receives the spirit into herself! Which is how she earns her nickname of Dragon Girl! Thereafter the two young people join forces in order to fight the demons which threaten their world, but is their relationship strictly for the good of mankind, or is there more to it than meets the eye? This is the premise for Natsumi Matsumoto's St. Dragon Girl.
Highlights
Although it is obvious to everyone around them that Momoka and Ryuga care about one another more than they admit to, these two follow the path of starcrossed lovers from time immemorial with oaths unspoken, and mistimed declarations. Not to mention that each is the object of desire of a variety of characters that people their lives. In their case, it is exacerbated by the necessity to rid the world of demons that would rock the boat of human existence, although some spirits are more malovolent than others, and some are actually quite nice, such as the ghost who ends us becoming Shunran's boyfriend, Gorou. Raika Kou is a distant relative of Ryuga whom we met in a previous volume, as she attempted to claim him using a long-ago family promise of marriage as the premise of her hold on him. Luckily that was all straightened out and she is a much nicer person now, although she has a tendency at times to emit an uncontrollable electrical discharge. As the first chapter of Volume 5 of St. Dragon Girl begins she is feeling rather isolated as everyone around her seems to be paired up and too busy for her. Luckily she still has Raimon (who is the incarnation of the first Thunder Dragon which Raika summoned, and who likes to follow her a lot). The two head off to Chinatown, where Raika has won a prize at a penmanship competition (having a natural desire to see her work on display). There she meets Jin Kanou, the manager of the Photography Club, who seems quite taken with her, and she with the very handsome young man! Raika joins the club, discovering that it is filled with pretty young girls, who are also smitten with the master, but Jin only seems to have eyes for her! What's wrong with this picture, and why has Raimon taken such a dislike to him? Perhaps the answer can be found at the Photography Club party? In the second chapter, Momoka and Ryuga are teamed up for the 47th annual Athletic Festival, handily winning the relay race together! They are quite the unbeatable pair! Momoka has made a special Bento, with the intention of sharing it with Ryuga (a Bento is an individual Japanese box lunch, upon which they pride themselves on creating food that is not only tasty but visually appealing). Her friends encourage her to go for it! But Akira Mikado, a first year student,a member of the Kenpo Club and an onmyouji (a type of sorceror) has ideas of her own, for she too has her eye upon Ryuga, and does everything she can to entice him to eat with her. When Ryuga rejects her lunch in favor of Momoka's the jealous girl summons three impish wind demons, or kamaitachi, to blow their love apart!
Overall
Momoka has a great love of pandas and in the third chapter, she faces down poachers who are only interested in making money from this endangered species, greatly angering the Dragon Girl. She has a stuffed panda named Ron-Ron, a long ago gift from Ryuga which has special significance to her. The Kenpo Club is having a bazaar, and Touya (whom we met as Yutengenyo in Volume 4, and who has been recuperating at the Kou house ever since) suggests making pandango, comprised of yummy dumplings which look like pandas! It's a great success, although Momoka cannot quell the feeling of uneasiness which possesses her, which isn't helped by Touya's attentions toward her! As he puts the moves on her, intent on stealing her away from Ryuga, she stuffs his mouth with some of the panda dumplings, then watches in amazement as he turns into a panda! Come to think of it, all the customers who ate the pandango have turned into pandas! Touya manages to tell them that this is probably the work of the Panda King, and they must stop him! But the question is, how? In the next chapter, the girls are all gaga over the knitting club, and making Christmas presents for their boyfriends. They are joined by a first year named Miu Amano, who Momoka finds to be a bit odd. But then suddenly people begin to lose their memories, and Momoka has to figure out how, and deal with it! In the final story, the Kenpo Club goes on an overnight ski trip to Love Camellia Lodge. This is a popular destination, particularly for young girls, for legend says that if you confess under the camellias there, your love will be answered. The woman at the front desk tells them the story of the mysterious camellias of love – pink camellias which only bloom at that time of year, near the Camellia shrine in the Back Mountains, and that if you pick one of the flowers, your prayers for love will come true. Will Momoka be able to find the pink camellias and confess her love to Ryuga at last? Or will the interference of others, such as Akira, continually ruin her plans?
St. Dragon Girl is told in a series of stories, not necessarily interconnected, although the characters are recurring, much like the structure found in Matsuri Akino's Pet Shop of Horrors. As we follow the stories, so do we follow the blossoming relationship between Momoka and Ryuga which, although it appears to be quite adversarial at times is actually quite the opposite, for they invariably end up defending one another, and they never allow others to come between them. Obviously there is a deep bond there, and only time will tell what they will do about it. St. Dragon Girl is a whimsical blend of romance, martial arts and the supernatural, done with a light hearted humor that will appeal to every one. Ryuga is the only one that can call forth the dragon that is in Momoka and usually it is done with a rather romantic kiss! Momoka is a strong heroine, and she doesn't hesitate to drop kick Ryuga when he annoys her (which is frequently), but she is always there when he needs her, and vice versa. I think that the story of the Panda King was my favorite in this volume – it was incredibly cute, and I enjoyed it greatly (who doesn't love pandas?). The series also has its serious side, such as when Ryuga failed a test he needed to take, in regard to his abilities as a sorceror, in order to safeguard Momoka, and the two of them end up going to Hong Kong that he may take another test there, in his ancestral home, although the truth of the matter is that his elders had wished to see Momoka for themselves, and assess their abilities as a team. Try St. Dragon Girl – I think you'll find yourself drawn into it too!
Comicsonline gives St. Dragon Girl 4 out of 5 pink camellias.
