Time is running out on the world and its only hope may be a small group of kids with superpowers-but will they save the world or be the cause of its destruction?
Creative Staff
Story: Yuya Aoki
Art: Akinari Nao
Translation/Adaptation: Stephen Paul
What They Say
Kakeru and his friends have survived through thick and thin, but now they face their greatest task: to save the world from the madman Ikushima. To be successful, they must use their psychic powers and all their wits to reach the top of the Tower of Time and find the mysterious Akashic Records – unless Ikushima gets there first. Can Kakeru beat the bad guy, get the girl, and save the day?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Kakeru finds himself facing an opponent he never imagined in the form of Tomoe who has him in a perilous situation-cut off from his friends and forced to fight her in a battle to the death if he ever hopes to escape the crack in time he is trapped in. As Kakeru attempts to find some other solution to his current predicament he is shown that his friends are being soundly routed without his presence which places an even larger burden on his decision. Kakeru is going to have to take his abilities to a level he never imagined existed in order to survive and discover what it is that Tomoe has planned behind this encounter.
Meanwhile Kakeru’s friends are facing off with Todoroki-a young man with the same power as Kakeru and they are showing that their time as a team has paid off . While individually fighting someone who can stop time and knows all the weaknesses in his opponents’ powers seems daunting the true test of a team is how they can cover for their friend’s shortcomings as well as their own by mixing their powers together in ways that turn weaknesses into strengths. Thing is that even victory can turn to ash when the architect of the conflict steps forward and makes a shocking revelation as to Todoriki’s history and purpose, events made manifest when Kakeru’s power threatens to destroy the entire world.
Now Kakeru and his friends will have to travel through a crack in time in the desperate hope that they can climb the large tower there and find the Akashic Records, a mystical backup of everything in the world, which contains the ability to power to restore the world to its state before Kakeru’s power shattered it. The trip won’t be an easy one however as encounters and revelations that exist on many of the floors. The secrets of the past revealed will try the groups spirit in a way a power battle never could as they discover just how connected they all are as a group to a single tragic event that binds them. With the world on the line will Kakeru have the ability to make a decision on the fate of his friends or is there a desperate gamble to be made that may bring happiness to his many friends but come at an enormous personal cost?
The end of a series is generally not the best jumping on point to get a feel for it. For the most part the characters are already established and events should be set up to pay off the growth that the characters have achieved (assuming of course that they have) and the series should be getting ready for the big pay off. Having never read the series prior to this double sized release I went in expecting that I’d be rather lost and just watching a payoff where I had nothing invested in the characters and expected flashy events that didn’t really then resonate. I was pleasantly surprised as even with the late introduction the story still was working to bring the reader in and managed to have a couple of moments that carried emotional impact even without having the base of investment in the characters already established. While the end itself copped out a bit the ride to get there was very worthwhile and this is a series that I am going to have to consider getting the other volumes for based on the strength of the material presented here.
In Summary
To all things an end but not everything does so in a way that feels like it pays off the trip. While I don’t have the previous 5 books to say if it rewards the series long march, the two volumes here sure carry their weight as the surprises and tender moments were nicely carried out even if the ultimate end of the series isn’t going to win any awards for originality.
Content Grade: B-
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Del Rey Manga
Release Date: November 23rd, 2010
MSRP: $17.99
