Afterschool Charisma Volume 3 cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”

St. Kleio Academy is so exclusive.  How exclusive is it?  This school counts among its students Napoleon Bonaparte, Sigmund Freud, Adolph Hitler, and Florence Nightingale.  These students are not the original historical figures; they are just clones.  Shiro Kamiya is the only non-clone student at the school.  Why is a regular kid attending the school?  No one knows for sure – even Shiro.

As Afterschool Charisma, Vol. 3 opens, Shiro is still trying to deal with the fact that he stood face to face with someone who looks like him.  So is Shiro a clone?  Also, the true identity of Striker, the group that is assassinating clones, is revealed.  It’s a shocker, but it makes sense if you think about it.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  By turns eerie and creepy, Afterschool Charisma offers plenty of intrigue.  Creator Kumiko Suekane also takes a close look at the interior lives and psyche of the characters, especially the clones.  You will find yourself buying into the lives of these characters and caring what happens to them.  And what happens to them is sometimes surprisingly, shockingly gruesome or macabre.

THE LOWDOWN:  Readers looking for unusual science fiction manga will want to give Afterschool Charisma a try.

B+