Written by mangaka Bukimi Miki, the Shy series offers a new version of the superhero theme. Elegantly mixing the codes of American comics and the Sentai/Tokusatsu universe, the series follows in the footsteps of Shy, the superheroine of Japan as powerful as she is shy. Between initiation, double life and mission, the work is endearing, graphically neat and thematically rich. This third part confirms the excellent beginning of a saga that Kana editions were inspired to recover.
A family story
Shy is on all fronts. Barely settled her inner doubts, took up the challenge of stardust, the young high school student left on a mission to the North Pole to find a missing ship. The operation leads her and two other heroines (Spirits the Russian and Mial Long the Chinese) to face Stigma again. The mysterious antagonist continues to create supervillains by giving them a ring that turns their despair into dark energy. What Shy and his friends discover is that their enemy has a secret organization, Amalarik, whose attacks always catch them off guard. A meager track seems to connect some of its members to the past of Spirits. Determined to unravel this mystery, Shy and Spirits go to the orphanage where the Russian superheroine spent part of her childhood. Without suspecting that their implacable enemy has set a trap for them. 
Shy: a manga with a captivating atmosphere
This third volume is still based on high-flying graphics. Bukimi Miki combines substance and form. Touching on both Western and Japanese superheroic myths, she has adopted a trait, an atmosphere that effectively mixes these two universes. We find drawings reminiscent of the works of Sean Murphy. Nervous features, role of hatching, angular faces. Similarly, the shonen spirit also inhabits the boxes of the manga: eye care, posture. This opus differs with talent from the previous ones by adopting a much darker tone. Here, the lightness attached to Shy's training is confronted with harshness. That of the adversary who still takes in thickness relying on new limbs whose apparent softness multiplies the threat. The one then related to the revelations about the past of Spirits. His exuberance finds a heartbreaking and coherent explanation.
Endearing characters
The treatment of Shy confirms one of the strengths of this manga: the quality of its characters. Bukimi Miki distills us volume after volume of snippets of information about the past, their journey, their fracture. And what a pleasure to see the mangaka take us against the foot by demystifying the aura of Spirits. The revelations serve the progressive attachment to this figure who first made us laugh by his uninhibited style and who now touches us by his past. And since we're only in the third volume, we can't wait to see what the author has in store for us regarding the heroes still in store. A good narrative needs a credible antagonist. Shy without revolutionizing the genre uses wonderfully the stereotype of the child king genius of evil. Stigma still remains largely in the shadows but its evocations are powerful. His plan still eludes us. On the other hand, the nature of his power, a dark reflection of that of superheroes, continues to deepen his mystery. And since it is served by a colorful close guard, it continues to offer us fierce opposition. 
Shy : A universe that unfolds gradually
The last quality of this third volume consists in the lore that Bukimi Miki builds. Each volume allows us to discover a new superhero: that of China, Switzerland. We appreciate seeing how the author uses cultural codes to define the character of her character. The Swiss superhero, for example, is an expert in skincare, a nod to the fact that the red cross was invented by the Genevan Henry Dunant. We are therefore very eager to meet the other heroes. This lore is finally nourished by nearly a century of superheroic writings and manga. In this third part, comic book connoisseurs will find the reference to the green lantern and the question of rings. Indeed, in Shy, the energy comes either from bracelets, for the heroes, or rings for their enemies. This is reminiscent of the opposition between the Green lantern ring and the yellow lantern ring. Similarly, this corruption of the soul also evokes the series Puella magi madoka magika. These references become for Bukimi Miki the ingredients of a new mythology and make Shy a story at the crossroads of influences. At the end of this third volume, the pleasure is still intense. The author takes advantage of a perfectly controlled narrative to continue exploring her world while darkening her story. Certainly, Shy asserts itself as a small nugget of the Kana catalog.
