Black Cat

by Kentaro Yabuki

This week I decided to review one of my favorite manga series. (The anime is entertaining, but isn’t nearly as interesting or deep.) For those who don’t know, manga is the Japanese version of comic books, but they are more book and less magazine like. Just like American comics, they aren’t always child appropriate. BLACK CAT isn’t for children, but for teens and above. This is a fantasy story that deals with bounty hunters, nanobots, a secret peace-keeping organization, and a loveable main character who only wants to make up for what he did in the past.

The things that draw me in:
I love the characters. My favorites was Sven and Eve and the connection that they had. The scene where they first meet just sets the stage for what is to come. They make each other stronger. Eve’s ability is neat and how it matures over the course of the series. While it isn’t the most original, her character is. The other characters are good, though some of them could be considered trope by manga standards.

When talking about manga, I have to talk about the artwork as well. The characters are vivid and unique. The world isn’t as defines, but the characters really carry the story so it didn’t bother me. This isn’t the most high end art, but it was clear and got the point across.

I like that it has an end. Some series don’t always leave me feeling satisfied after I finish them.

The things that kick me out:
Creed, the antagonist, was a little over the top. I can understand that he is supposed to be a little off of his rocker. But, I feel that when a villain is completely insane, I can’t believe that he would actually be able to be a fully competent protagonist.

There are a lot of characters and I thought they could have gotten rid of some of them and added more depth to others. This was especially true with the villains. I have noticed that a lot of manga have this issue.

I actually didn’t like the flashbacks as much. I like the main story better than learning about Train’s past, but that is probably because I like Sven and Eve more than Train.

Conclusion
Should you read it? I think that this is a good manga to get started on if you have always wanted to try it.

Should you buy it? It is an investment since you will be buying roughly 12 paperbacks. You will want to read it first, though if you want to buy the first one to see if you like it, that isn’t as expensive and will give you a taste of what is going on.