Even with a mission that had real stakes, I felt like there wasn't much going on in this volume, as no progress was made towards our main character's overall goal of rescuing his sister. This felt like a repetitive side quest, and even though it was an exciting one, I don't feel like I gained anything from reading it.

Keiji, Little Bird, and Elizabeth are on the run after a video goes viral. They end up facing off with an old enemy of Keiji's. Then Keiji and a demon face off against a flooding river. A nice addition to the series.

I don't know why I keep reading this series. I feel like every volume is the same - monster appears, rooster fights it, end of volume.

Rooster Fighter Volume Three sees some important character development for both Keiji and Elizabeth.

Rooster Fighter Volume Three
Written by: Syu Sakuratani
Publisher: Hero’s Inc.
English Publisher: VIZ Media
Release Date: February 21, 2023

In Volume Two, an aspiring Viewtuber shot a video of Keiji and uploaded it to the site. At the beginning Volume Three, this video has gone viral, and people notice Keiji, Elizabeth, and Chicken Little. Unfortunately, there are those who have noticed them and want to capture them. After being pursued by such people, Keiji and the others come across a chicken coop at a school and hide out there. But it turns out it’s not only humans chasing after Keiji. Another rooster named Tatsuo, who has a grudge against Keiji, has been trying to find him for the past year. Tatsuo finds him, and the two have a fight. Tetsuo has become a demon and turns into a large version of Keiji. It’s an impressive fight, but you can likely figure out who wins without me telling you. The aspiring Viewtuber is in the area and tries to catch the fight on video, but the camera didn’t record anything, which frustrates him because he’s trying to make a name for himself on Viewtube.

After this, we see Elizabeth and Keiji getting into a fight, and an irritated Keiji goes off on his own and leaves Elizabeth and Chicken Little behind. We see Keiji meet a gentle and friendly demon, and the two of them develop a friendship. After Keiji gives the demon some encouraging words after hearing how he came to be and how he feels about himself, he leaves to continue on his journey. Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Chicken Little are caught in a rainstorm and are found by a young girl named Misuzu. She lives her with her 85-year-old frail grandfather, and the two humans become friends with the chickens after Elizabeth uses the smart phone she has to communicate with them. The humans live near a river, and the order is given to evacuate because of the river being about to flood. It’s up to Elizabeth to convince the grandfather to leave and not give up on his life, and Chicken Little starts to develop a little more respect for Elizabeth during this scene.

The two stories come together when it appears the nearby dam is going to burst. If it does, the town where Misuzu lives would be flooded. The demon Keiji met notices what’s happening and decides he’ll do whatever he can to stop the dam from breaking. Using the smart phone, Elizabeth determines where the dam is, and she and Chicken Little go to see what they can do. The aspiring Viewtuber sees the two chickens and follows them. When he gets to the dam and sees the demon, he begins a livestream. Keiji reappears during this section of the story, and it’s ultimately up to him to save the day. As she watches Keiji and his determination to save the town, Elizabeth realizes what makes Keiji so special… and admits to herself that she might still have feelings for him.

I believe this is the first volume of Rooster Fighter that had an element that appeared throughout it that was an important part of the story but wasn’t a major character. I’m specifically referencing the aspiring Viewtuber here. His video from Volume Two is ultimately how Tatsuo finds Keiji, it serves as the impetus for Keiji and Elizabeth to bicker and go their own ways, and the Viewtuber is the one who makes it known what’s going on at the dam during the storm. In a lot of ways, I see this volume as having two sections (the first section would be the chapter with Tatsuo, and the remainder of the volume being the second section), and previous to now, the only real elements that appeared throughout a volume would be regular characters, such as Chicken Little and Elizabeth in Volumes Two and Three. The Viewtuber isn’t a major character, yet he made appearances and did things that were important throughout this entire volume. I thought this was a nice touch. I especially liked how the Viewtuber went from simply trying to make a name for himself to doing something that keeps a community informed about a natural disaster that’s affecting them.

And this volume also shows both Keiji and Elizabeth going through some character development. For Keiji, meeting the friendly demon and being able to form a friendship is a big step forward for his character. Prior to this encounter, Keiji only saw demons as being enemies that he had to defeat in order to achieve his goal of finding his sister’s killer. That’s why the first story in this volume, which sees Keiji learning that Tatsuo turned into a demon, is so important. Prior to meeting the friendly demon, Tatsuo had reinforced Keiji’s preconceived notions about demons. With Tatsuo helping to cement Keiji’s beliefs earlier in the volume, it makes his friendship with the friendly demon even more poignant than it would have been otherwise.

Meanwhile, we see Elizabeth being able to truly show what she’s like after Keiji leaves, because she’s not trying to hide her feelings. Chicken Little picks up on this when Elizabeth is lecturing Misuzu’s grandfather when he’s refusing to evacuate during the storm. And then, near the end of the volume, Elizabeth starts to understand Keiji’s motivation for what he does as he desperately works to save the town… which also makes her realize that perhaps she’s actually still in love with him after all. I hope to get a chance to read Volume Four, because I’d like to see how Sakuratani depicts Elizabeth going forward.

I really enjoyed reading Rooster Fighter Volume Three. There was a good mixture of action, story, and character development throughout its pages. Over the course of the three volumes of Rooster Fighter that I’ve read, I went from being curious about and intrigued by Keiji and his story to truly becoming invested in the three main characters (Keiji, Elizabeth, and Chicken Little).

If you’ve read and enjoyed the previous two volumes of Rooster Fighter, I think you’ll appreciate Volume Three as well.

My thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media LLC for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

RANTING BELOW. Trigger warning: discussing sexual assault

Ok, the first two volumes had disturbing trends of the MC H Rooster having consensual bird sex, front and center, with hens, whom he would just love and leave. Ok, they are animals, but anthropomorphic in that they speak, have feelings, think, use tools, fight and kill monsters to help humans and other animals, etc.

But the sex is used as "humor", with the second volume introducing one of the hens the rooster "loved and left" and she's pissed about it, understandably, It's in poor taste and it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Well, the author decided to double down and on page TEN of this volume he has the HERO Rooster FORCING HIMSELF on unwilling hens. And it's SUPPOSED to be FUNNY.

He is forcing himself on a hen who is LITERALLY SCREAMING "NOOOOOO" and he's all like, "please just once". NO. SAYING PLEASE DOESN'T MAKE IT RIGHT. The other hens in the coop are freaking out and screaming about a perverted rooster and trying to escape the coop and him.

If he was a human and doing that on page to a fellow human, regardless of gender, that would NOT FLY.

He does get tased, but it's only after he's started to assault the poor hen yelling no.

Listen, sexual assault is NOT FUNNY. Forced groping, fondling, rape, IT IS NOT FUNNY. It is ALSO not something to use as a plot device for "character development" if it's not dealt with compassionately and with realistic reactions by those affected. I don't care if the characters are humans or animals or if it is meant as a joke, IT'S NOT FUNNY.

1, I will never pick up anything by this author again, stars.

I really liked this volume. It did a great job of showing how the world in this universe works including how demons appear. We also got to learn more about the side characters. As usually the action is fantastic!

Rooster Fighter, vol. 3 continues to deliver on what is an absurd premise done extremely well with excellent art. Sakuratani can't keep getting away with this, but I really am looking forward to vol. 4.

In Rooster Fighter, Vol. 3, Shu Sakuratani continues to bring humor, action, and heart to the series. The fierce battle with the greed demon has come to a close, but Keiji's newfound fame brings unwanted attention to the band of feathered heroes. This volume delves deeper into the relationships and dynamics of the characters, showcasing the interactions between Elizabeth and Chicken Little and introducing a unique twist on the origin of demons. The artwork is lively and dynamic, bringing the story to life in a visually stunning way.

The standout story in this volume is the demon who is born out of a man's rage and transforms into a more relaxed being looking for life's purpose. This concept adds depth to the world-building and adds another layer to the series' themes of friendship, self-discovery, and the meaning of life. Overall, Rooster Fighter, Vol. 3 delivers another entertaining and thought-provoking installment in the series. Whether you're a fan of action-packed manga or just looking for a fun and lighthearted read, Rooster Fighter is a must-read!

Why is a parody of shonen manga with chickens one of the best manga out right now? Because it’s amazing and does a great job with its foundations, that’s why. Rooster Fighter’s third volume continues Keiji, Elizabeth, and Chicken Little’s journeys to eradicate demons. However, some complications further the characterization of these characters, with some new introductions to boot.

The story smartly chooses to restrict the trio’s movements to a single town due to salaryman neet Ibokura. His viral video of Keiji’s actions previously inspired numerous passerby to try and captured the superpowered rooster and friends. After a fight, Keiji briefly separates from Elizabeth and Chicken Little and meets Morio, a peculiarly docile demon. Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Chicken Little try to save a girl and her grandfather as their town gets rained out.

I enjoyed that the narrative takes its time to drink in the scenery of one setting for these next chapters. The temporary split also gives us two connected storylines to follow, and uses its recurring characters well. From Morio shaking Elizabeth and Keiji’s “kill-all-demons” beliefs to Chicken Little helping immensely, I love the character development here! The other one-shot characters feel important wit their screentime and don’t overstay their welcome. The art style is as grandiose as ever, with some amazing disaster scenes drawn in the last chapters.

This third volume of Rooster Fighter is the best one yet, and I’m waiting for more very cluckin’ soon!

Our lone(ish) warrior rooster is back! This volume did some typical storylines with its usual chicken flare, Looking at you, rival rooster with a feather beard! This volume also had some solid new ideas mixed in as well.. It was nice to see Elizabeth and Chicken Little interact without Keiji around, and to see them help people of their own accord. The standout story though, was the demon who was born out of a man who thought he was going to die, but instead the hospital calls and says "our bad!" His rage leaves him, leaving a more relaxed demon behind. At this point, we know how demons are born, but this is an interesting angle, showing that they don't all have to be one-thought monsters of destruction. Once again, well played, Rooster Fighter., well played.

Utterly Brilliant. Great character development. Tense action and loved the Demon that found his true purpose i helping others.