Creative Staff
Story/Art: Yuuki Kodoma
Translation/Adaptation: Melissa Tanaka
What They Say
When Fuyumi is captured, Staz and the others split up to try to locate the missing girl. Bell’s space-bending spying, Liz’s crystal ball, and Staz’s old-fashioned detective work lead them to their culprit: Bell’s younger brother?! Like his sister, Knell has dimension-warping abilities, which allowed him to sneak Fuyumi away right from under her protector’s nose. Caught between family and friends, will Bell help Fuyumi return to Staz, or will she plant herself firmly between them?
Content: (please note that content portions of review may contain spoilers):
Things appear to be moving down hill and be picking up speed for the Blood family as Braz finds himself in the “care” of an officer in what passes for law enforcement in the Demon World’s Acropolis and bound by her special ability which places a curse upon him where he will be killed if he uses magic. The reason for Braz’s detainment is that his actions with helping create the monster Staz fought previously have come to the attention of the king of Acropolis, Wolf Daddy, and now Braz finds that he has been granted an audience with the ruler. And thanks to his being bound it is the kind of offer that Braz can’t refuse even though it means leaving his current safe haven and entering the lion’s den while also leaving his returned sister Liz in tears as she thinks she is the reason Braz has been captured.
Despite her tears though Liz hasn’t forgotten that the purpose of her return is to use her elder brother’s crystal ball to find the location of the missing Fuyumi but even that seems to not be working as the item apparently cannot find the missing ghost girl leading to questions of just where she is being held that even this mystical item cannot see. Thanks to his minion’s investigation though Staz has an idea of what the possible perpetrator of Fuyumi’s disappearance looks like but without his brother’s crystal ball to aid him he is left to try to track down clues the old fashioned way- by pounding the pavement (and any in his way) which his new power allows him to do rather well.
But life even in the Demon World isn’t simple as Bell finds the culprit first as a result of a gift she gave Fuyumi and some fast thinking on the ghost girl’s part- and the kidnapper’s identity and reasons for abducting Bell’s friend rock the treasure hunter’s decision making ability on recovering Fuyumi. Just as it seemed that she might be coming to a decision though Staz bursts in like a bull in a china shop and he immediately makes things worse by saying just the wrong thing now placing him at odds with the teleporting young woman. Suddenly Staz is in a lot of trouble as he is going to have to outsmart Bell in order to get her to take him to where Fuyumi was spirited away to…but will the truth behind the reason for Fuyumi’s abduction both shine a light on her past while also seriously clouding her future?
Blood Lad has been an interesting if somewhat less than completely spectacular journey up to this point as it mixed in some of its own elements to create a tale for itself though a fair amount of the story so far has been borrowing heavily from its shonen roots. In fairness to the work that isn’t exactly a criticism unique to this title as many stories borrow and build on what preceded them in a given medium as it works to help a story have a easier time establishing itself with a reader base who are already familiar with the pacing and mechanisms that are used in such endeavors. One can see this carried out in many forms of media and it is often how a story breaks from this or turns things askew from the herd that can lead to a title being memorable, though sometimes that comes at the expense of being successful.
Up to this point Blood Lad had been playing with some specific beats that will resonate with its readers familiar with other shonen series even if the notes had some changes but this latest volume starts to get a bit daring as it introduces a few new measures that do more than just changing the tempo or pitch of the piece. This collected volume goes beyond what a number of other stories do as it takes some of the hinted at setups from the previous volumes and finally lays out some of the secrets behind some of the characters which explain a bit for a few of them and helps to explain a choice in the designs of two of the characters and why they appear the way they do. I’m going to do my best to keep as many of the reveals shrouded as I can but it is kind of difficult as so much of what brings in the power to this volume revolves around the reactions to a big secret that involves Fuyumi but which also manages to wrap in Bell and Staz at the same time due to their relationship to her, but it isn’t limited to just them from what it seems.
The volume also includes Braz’s encounter with Wolf King, the man who killed the Blood family’s parents and who rules in their stead and the encounter allows Braz to reveal the hostility that he carries for that man which might help explain many of the actions Braz has taken when it comes to helping create the near unstoppable demon Franken patched together and in many other series –or even earlier volumes of Blood Lad- this confrontation would probably have had top billing for its resonance. The bits here not only help establish Braz as more than just a generic antagonist for his little brother but they also work to show the ingenious- or diabolical?- mind that Braz possess which helps to give some weight to the reasons for his apparent arrogance as he is smart enough to back it up most of the time, though it is possible he may have met his match here and will find himself in need of more help.
Probably the best thing about this volume though is it really helps to underscore the theme of family that has been building as the reader gets to see a number of relationships at play between siblings, then parents and then others connected to some family members either through marriage (or in the case of the king through the vendetta he created by assuming power but yet he clearly feels something for Braz as he declines to have him killed as he seems to step into a tenuous role of almost harsh step father guiding through a sense that antagonism will work best with this youth). A fair number of stories have handled some of these aspects before but it is one in particular with a dynamic that I don’t recall seeing previously that embraces some of the challenges that can occur in modern marriages (though through a fanciful mechanism) that makes the series start to really stand out from the crowd while also bringing an emotional impact with it that even those who haven’t experienced the same situation can appreciate and feel as it brings a powerful emotional weight to the table.
That said the volume isn’t perfect as it still has a pacing that just feels off in a number of places which helps to break a reader out of the flow at points in the story. In addition there are also some spots where some characters and events feel just a bit too similar to some of the series and events that the title walks in the footsteps of – particularly when it comes to the glacial pace of relationships and some of the feet dragging about them- but as long as one is willing to accept this the overall product can be quite amazing, particularly at the points where it takes the expectations that are there because of other series’ works and then turns them on their head in a number of places.
In Summary
The third omnibus of Blood Lad finds the title discovering its stride as many of the previous pacing issues become smoothed out and the author finally reveals some of the secrets that had been hinted at previously that may have interfered with character development, particularly when it comes to Fuyumi though Bell gets a bit as well which helps to start deepening them both a bit while Braz also gets a chance to shine and the story gives hints of where it looks to be heading. While there are still places that could use some work to improve the whole, the title has made some impressive leaps to improve in a short time and the moments here where the book is simply fantastic more than cover for the flaws that still exist. While the start of the series was slow, it is looking like Blood Lad is moving toward becoming one of the “can’t miss” titles on the market and is definitely one that those who like a bit of dark themes, heart, a fair amount of fighting and humor that is occasionally really biting should sink their teeth into. Recommended.
Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: May 28th, 2013
MSRP: $20.00
