A Certain Magical Index #21

Volume 21 of *A Certain Magical Index* arrives from Ki-oon's shonen line with a quietly striking cover, featuring a young woman with long dark hair in a soft green outfit standing in the foreground while a dark-haired young man in a red-striped shirt looks on behind her. The gentle, slightly melancholic atmosphere between the two figures — set against a cool, luminous background — captures the blend of everyday emotion and underlying tension that has made Kazima Kamachi and Cihya Kobino's series so compelling. A fine addition to any collection of this long-running manga as it continues through 2019.