By Mat K.
Before we jump into the review, here’s what’s what with this week. There are a good handful of manga coming in this week, but that is all. I know the last couple weeks were a little bit spoiling what with the dozens of titles released at a time. I’ll mention a couple things real quick, Gantz Volume 13 (yay for Gantz being on the fast track these days), and the new Cross Game Volume 1 by Mitsuru Adachi. The series centers around a boy named Ko, the family of four sisters who live down the street and the game of baseball. This poignant coming-of-age story will change your perception of what shonen manga can be. Or it could just be a mis-labeled shojo series about baseball. But really that’s for you to read and figure out. It does look cute. Anyway, other than that there’s Inu Yasha, Case Closed (finally), Kekkaishi, Lucky Star, Yakitate Japan, and some Dean Koontz book turned into a manga.
No really, that’s pretty much it. Maybe just one or two other things. So now it’s time for a book review, since I have run out of things to say about this week’s releases. So let’s talk about Deadman Wonderland written by Jinsei Kataoka and drawn by Kazuma Kondou. If you’re an avid reader of this little article series, you might remember when I introduced the first volume some months ago, well, now we’re on to the third volume and the real mysteries are just getting under way. For those of you who missed out and have no idea what I’m talking about: Ten years have passed since the Great Tokyo Earthquake, and the people’s memories of the disaster have faded. Ganta Igarashi, a middle school evacuee, has finally begun to live a normal life…That is, until the day “Red Man” appears at his school and Ganta’s fate is changed forever. His entire class is brutally murdered, and although innocent of the crime, Ganta is sentenced to death and sent to the bizarre prison known as “Deadman Wonderland.” An insane and brutal game of prison survival begins!
You meet Yo, the other prisoner who starts out seeming like Ganta’s new friend, only to be a self-serving diabolical jerk, and then turning into an actual friend. And then there’s Shiro, the mysterious pale girl who seems oddly childish and keeps appearing to save Ganta’s life. Oh and Ganta discovers there are tournaments in DW, dog-fights as it were between special inmates, all who have the power to manipulate their blood and weaponize it. Ganta also has this ability, he can fire his blood in little balls with the force of bullets. Others can use their blood as blades or whips. And Ganta seems to be the only sane one in a world (let alone a prison) full of crazy people. The series feels overall like a combination between a horror manga, and a shonen series where the main character is always fighting and getting stronger and trying to hold onto his ideals (just a bit darker and somewhat pervy).
Anyway folks, that’s what’s good this week. Til next time.
Ja Ne!
