Creative Talent
Writer/Artist: Kairi Fujiyama
Translated by: Mari Morimoto
What They Say
Ten years ago, a terrible virus swept the globe. It turned its victims into bloodthirsty monsters called Dracules, and the only cure is death. Now, with humankind on the brink of extinction, only the elite warriors of the Virus Squad stand between chaos and civilization. New recruit Leila Mikami is one of the squad’s most promising young warriors, but she has another agenda: Her parents were killed by a Dracule, and she’s determined to take revenge. To do this, she has to find the Dragon Eye: a magic weapon that will make her the most powerful warrior in the world.
The Review
Artwork:
Be prepared for speed lines, lots and lots of speed lines. Dragon Eye is heavy on action, and the majority of the book is comprised of fight and chase scenes. There’s some hand-to-hand combat, but most fights involve swords, flying projectiles, and guns. Unfortunately, between the speed lines and the “blurred” depictions of weapons in motion, it’s difficult to distinguish who is being hit by what in certain panels. The quality of Fujiyama’s pacing varies. Occasionally too much action is packed into too little space, and a bit of studying is necessary to figure out exactly what is going on, especially in the tinier panels or where events are shown reflected in a character’s eyes.
Human character designs are easily distinguishable. The VIUS fighters and candidates wear uniforms, but that is a rather loose term, as each individual has his/her own distinct outfit. Clothes are an interesting mix of traditional Japanese and Western influenced military outfits. With the notable exception of Issa and Leila, everyone looks the appropriate age and build for a shonen monster fighting squad. Issa and Leila, however, have large round eyes and heads that make them look like a couple of kids. Incidentally, Issa’s stature, the shape of his eyes, and his hairstyle reminds me a lot of Gaara from Naruto. Issa’s youthful appearance is part of his mystique, but Leila looks rather out of place amongst the other fighters. Her age hasn’t yet been revealed, but if I were to judge based on looks alone, I would have pinned her as a sixth-grader. Fujiyama likes to insert comedy in the midst of the fighting and quests for revenge, so there are chibi versions of Issa and Leila sprinkled through the volume also.
Backgrounds, which range from cityscapes to Asian styled interiors to creepy, ruined, abandoned industrial areas, are well detailed. As for the Dracules, some of them, such as the humanoid Dracules encountered in the first chapter, are sufficiently creepy to be scary, but others such as the chicken-like Kaligera in Chapter 3 just look ridiculous.
Content:
The emergence of the terrible D Virus has mankind on the brink of extinction. The highly contagious virus, which affects both humans and animals, transforms its victims into powerful, bloodthirsty monsters known as Dracules. However, a small percentage of the human population naturally possesses resistance to the virus, and warriors from this pool of “super-antibody carriers” have banded together to fight against the Dracules. This elite group of fighters dedicated to Dracule annihilation and the protection of humankind is known as VIUS.
In order to maintain their numbers in the Dracule war, VIUS must continually recruit and train new fighters. Resistance to the D Virus is required for VIUS warriors, but it does not automatically guarantee acceptance into the distinguished organization. Recruits must undergo a rigorous selection process in order to be accepted into VIUS’s Dracule offensive and defensive squads.
Among the year’s most promising candidates is Leila Mikami. She’s smart. She’s skilled with a blade. She’s brave. And she has a personal agenda. Her parents were killed by Dracules, and she wants revenge in the most absolute way possible. She’s out to find the legendary Dragon Eye, a weapon rumored to make its bearer invincible to Dracules, and in order to facilitate her search for the Dragon Eye, she’s joining VIUS. However, she’ll first need to pass the final practical exam, which will also determine the candidates’ squad assignments.
The final exam is to perform a simple mission in an area of the city inhabited by weak Level 5 Dracules. The task is to be carried out in teams of two, and Leila is more than a little irritated when she meets her partner for this crucial test. Issa is another young recruit, but he doesn’t seem particularly motivated, plays video games during the announcement of final instructions, and speaks disrespectfully to the proctor. However, Leila’s determined to pass even with a slacker for a partner. She wastes no time in showing off her skill, quickly distinguishing herself from the rest of the field with her swordsmanship. Meanwhile, Issa hangs in the background, seemingly uninterested in assisting his partner or even completing the mission.
However, in the middle of the exam, the recruits are suddenly ambushed by a pack of powerful Level 3 humanoid Dracules! They’ve walked into a Dracule trap! This is more than the group of inexperienced fighters can handle. Things are looking grim for the young candidates when Issa steps forward and reveals himself to be a VIUS enlistment exam instructor! Not only that, but to Leila’s astonishment, he possesses a Dragon Eye! She experiences firsthand the power of the Dragon Eye as Issa dispatches the Dracules. However, she also learns that there is a dark side to wielding this ultimate weapon, and its power requires a price.
Leila’s intrigued by Issa. Fortunately for her, she’ll have plenty of time to get to know him better because she’s assigned to his Squad Zero when the examination results are announced! However, Issa’s squad is nothing short of weird. For starters, Squad Zero is comprised only of Leila and Issa, and their ready room is nothing but an old storage room! Issa is clearly a powerful fighter, but Leila learns that his previous squad disbanded due to lack of trust. In addition, he’s been with VIUS several years, but he still looks like a kid. And then there is the matter of a young VIUS rookie that bears a six-year-old grudge against Issa. Just what exactly is Issa Kazuma?
In Summary:
This is the type of manga that I think would appeal to younger shonen readers. It’s packed with action, and the weapons employed range from guns to traditional Japanese weaponry to magical spell notes, which allow for a great deal of visual variety in fighting scenes. The lead characters, while they may not actually be young, look like they are in their early teens, and as far as Volume 1 goes, there’s no fan service. There’s also a very clear delineation of good and bad. Dracules are just plain evil creatures that only want to destroy, and negotiation with them is not even an option. Interestingly enough, when Dracules are killed, they just kind of fizzle and de-materialize into nothing. It makes for easy cleanup after a fight, I suppose.
Despite the dire situation Fujiyama has set mankind into, it’s a story I find very hard to take seriously. The opening page is reminiscent of a bad science fiction B-movie as is the scene in Chapter 1 where all fighting stops so that everyone can watch the head Dracule try to tempt Leila into drinking his blood and joining the Dracules’ side. Also, Fujiyama’s continually inserting bits of slapstick into the storyline.
Issa Kazuma is a lead character along the lines of Kenshin from Rurouni Kenshin and Vash the Stampede from Trigun. He looks extremely young, and his behavior is unreliable and goofy when there’s no threat of danger lurking around. However, he’s older than he looks, has a dark and mysterious past, and is an unparalleled fighter, who uses his extraordinary power only when it’s absolutely necessary.
I am curious about Issa’s past, but that’s about the only thing holding my interest in the story. Other characters thus far, including Leila, aren’t nearly as interesting as Issa. Leila and Sosei are purely motivated by vengeance, and other than that, we don’t get too many details on their lives outside of VIUS. As for the bad guys, they’re all bad simply because of the D Virus so I don’t anticipate any “descent into darkness” storylines here. However, if you’re just in the mood for a lot of fighting and not interested in a complicated plot, you might want to check this title out.
Content Grade: B-
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Del Rey Manga
Release Date: June 26th, 2007
MSRP: $10.99
