By Mat K.
Okay, after last week’s shrunken manga release list, we were really hoping for many awesome titles. Unfortunately the exact reverse is true. This week is even smaller. There are three, count them, three books and they are all coming to us from Viz. I can give you a run down of all three, but I think we will wrap up this one with a review. The first and most interesting of the releases this week is Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 24 by Hiromu Arakawa. In this volume Hohenheim finally gets his chance to stop the mysterious homunculus ‘Father’ who rules over Central City. Will Hohenheim’s surprise be enough to defeat the most powerful homunculus of them all? And when King Bradley makes a triumphant return, will the battle turn in the military’s favor?
Next on my extraordinarily brief list is Dorohedoro Volume 3 by Q Hayashida. Yes Q. I’m almost positive his real name is Kyu, but let’s just leave it at that. While En seeks out a new partner with unique magic powers, his crew has a run-in with an underground organization that controls the distribution of ‘black powder,’ a magic-enhancing drug used by weaker Sorcerers. Meanwhile, Caiman and Nikaido spend New Year’s in the haunted mansion of a mysterious doctor who specializes in the anatomy of Sorcerers. The doctor reveals to them the only known portal to the Sorcerers’ dimension. Mmm, black powder. I’m sure there is a very specific kind of “magic” these weaker Sorcerers cast. And I’m sure it’s very explodey.
Finally on this week’s list is Afterschool Charisma Volume 2 by Kumiko Suekane. The Clones at St. Klieo have been on edge lately, if not because of the recent assassinations, then it’s because of the upcoming Expo. Shiro, however, isn’t all that worried about any of it, but, should he be? Mozart is fine, so, Shiro goes to see him in the hospital. Shiro originally wanted to give Mozart his lucky Dolly (a little charm in the shape of a sheep, the first animal successfully cloned). Soon the whole incident with Mozart trying to commit suicide is put on the back burner because it’s time for the Expo.
Now for a quick review about a not new title. I thought about what I’ve enjoyed reading lately, and there are plenty that I think I’ve already reviewed, maybe even a bit too recently, but I do believe I missed the boat on sharing 7 Billion Needles Volume 2 by Nobuaki Tadano with you all. Hikaru is briefly lulled into a sense of normalcy. As strange as “normal” might seem to her now, “happy days” are much more welcomed than the surreal days she experienced with Horizon. Having wasted Maelstrom in a massive battle she has been freed from the voice in her head and is now moving on with her life with new found resolve and friends.When she gets an opportunity to formally exorcise her personal demons, which come in the form of painful memories of her deceased father, Hikaru takes the first ferry to the Izu Islands to pay her final respects. When she and her friends arrive and make their way around Hikaru’s ancestral home, they all quickly realize that they were not alone making this trip. Not only is Maelstrom still around and possibly more determined than ever to defeat Horizon, but they have in fact been locked in this eternal struggle bouncing from planet to planet forgetting every time who won the last battle, or that there even was one. Now they must work to break the cycle.
Whew, made it. See you all next time!
Ja Ne!
