The character page is getting awfully crowded for so short a manga, but a picked up pace really helps.
Creative Staff:
Story and Art: Yoshinori Natsume
Translation: Camellia Nieh
What They Say:
The supreme beings that created the ogres have a problem. They are responsible for maintaining the delicate balance of nature, but they may have to eliminate the human race to do so. If mankind disappears, will a new order of sentient beings claim their sovereignty over the planet? Either way, Zakuro holds the key to the future of the world!
Content: (please note that the content portion of a review may contain spoilers)
Mikito and the hunters continue their fight with the supreme being, Lacey, but Zakuro begins to notice something strange about his old comrade. The problem soon becomes apparent, as Lacey actually splits in two: a light side, and a dark side that wants to use Zakuro’s powers to rule the world. The light Lacey brings Zakuro forth from Mikito’s body in the hopes of using the child-sized being to defeat dark Lacey, but it backfires when Zakuro uses his powers on the light half…or so it would seem. Somehow Zakuro’s blow gives light Lacey the realization that he can control his darker self, and when he restrains his other half Zakuro destroys them.
Before he dies, Lacey tells Zakuro that he must go to Akebi, another higher being. Mikito faints and sees Zakuro in his dreams, and Zakuro asks Mikito thinks he’s bad and wants him to leave. But Mikito believes everyone has a dark side, and can’t believe that Zakuro is truly bad, only that he must have been lonely. It’s then that another flower blooms on Zakuro’s tree – as well as on the tree the hunter weapons are made from.
In the next chapter it’s unclear if a single day or many weeks have passed, but now Mikito has donned a cloak and become suddenly more badass. The hunters are realizing that ogres in general are becoming more clear-minded, which of course makes them harder to fight. They get tested in this when Akebi, who knows they’re in his territory, sends his own ogres to attack Mikito and his group. While it’s a difficult fight for Kugai and the other hunters, they’re still no match for Mikito’s superior strength, and Mikito breaks away to fight Akebi on his own. There’s a potential problem when we see other members of the Black Thorn tailing Mikito, but they prove not worth the worry when the other White Claw members, who bowed out back in volume 4, come along and kick their butts.
Mikito gets to Akebi’s stronghold and first has to fight his ogres. Mikito just keeps punching holes in them, so they offer themselves up to Akebi to make him strong. As they fight, Akebi also tries to take Mikito’s seed, but as he stabs Mikito Zakuro breaks partially free and saves his ogre. Zakuro’s presence awakens his horn, which Akebi had cut off and kept, and with those powers Akebi is also defeated.
As he dies Akebi leaves Zakuro with some cryptic information: there is still another horn to be found, and other beings who will use it to create “a new era.” Elsewhere, another mysterious conversation is taking place as the masked men talk about the events unfolding, and a new person enters the room – the master of all hunters.
In Summary
I’m beginning to feel like a broken record, but Kurozakuro continues to have the same exact problems. Face time for regular characters ebbs and flows; where Mikito fell back in favor of the hunters, now the hunters do little more than stand around and watch while Mikito takes center stage. The author also seems to make quite the effort to introduce characters only to have them immediately overtaken by someone new – but at least this time, it’s a character that’s actually been around before.
Still, the pace begins to pick up in this volume as Mikito and Zakuro actually defeat two of the higher beings. The purpose of the higher beings, the ogres and even the hunters remains mysterious, but hints are dropping like flies, so a full explanation can’t be too far off…at least, we can hope so.
Content Grade: C
Art Grade: C+
Packaging Grade: B
Text Translation Grade: B-
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: VIZ Media
Release Date: September 13th, 2011
MSRP: $9.99
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