Volume 3 of Summertime Rendering picks up right after the series' breathtaking second volume; after learning the truth about the shadows and about what actually happened to his friend Ushio, Shinpei starts to gather allies and weapons to take the fight to the shadows. Joined by shadow Ushioh (the ‘h’ indicating a shadow replacement) and his friend Sou, Shinpei enters the World War Two-era tunnels beneath the island in order to understand what the shadows' motivations are. In the depths of a dry ocean, he'll discover an ancient god, a rite of sacrifice, and a deadly secret.

Minakata Hizuru, another former resident who has returned to the island, also enters the tunnels. Driven by her own desire to avenge her brother, Hizuru wants to destroy the shadows. But she is not alone: Hizuru shares her body and mind with her late brother, who has his own agenda.

Volume 3 focuses on the “what is actually going on here?” part of the story. We've seen what the shadows can do in previous volumes. Shinpei is now figuring out what they can't do, and how to use it to his advantage...only to find the shadows are much stronger than he assumes. Even though we know “what” is happening, we aren't really able to grasp the why, beyond the most basic “monsters gotta monster” explanation. Shinpei is understandably frustrated by this. Is it all just too alien for them, or are they missing something key? Future volumes will have to fill this in.

In this volume, the art becomes much more of a key element than in previous volumes where shadows were mostly confined to cloning human forms. The various forms and shapes of the shadows complement the darker, less defined art on many of the pages. It's not always possible to “see” the action, but that works to the story's advantage, creating a Lovecraftian horrorscape of unspeakable “things.” It reminded me of Kia Asamiya's Lucifer Hawks, from Silent Möbius...shapes meant to be unidentifiable, alien, monstrous – an inhumanity that makes it even more horrible when they take human form.

The fanservice quotient does drop down a bit in this volume, but those readers who must absolutely be reminded that breasts have nipples will be reminded often enough so that they do not forget. We are treated to a detailed explanation of how the copying works, so Ushioh permanently wearing a bathing suit is justified, in case a reader might wonder why.

When we reach the climax of this volume, we're fully focused on fighting the shadows. Shinpei, Ushioh, Sou, Hizuru and their allies meet in front of the shadows' god, Mother. As they lose the battle, Hizuru points out what may be the key to winning the war. Future volumes beckon with more loss, more death and, hopefully, a turning point in Shinpei's search for the truth. As I said with the last volume, I'm fully committed now. I'm not so much interested in what the shadows are doing or why....but I am very interested to see how Shinpei and the others fight back.

Erica Friedman has done editing work on Rose of Versailles for Udon Entertainment. This review is based upon a review copy provided by Udon Ent. Erica has written about Yuri anime, manga and related media on her blog Okazu, since 2002.