Creative Staff
Story/Art: Tow Ubukata / Kiriko Yumeji
What They Say
BLOOD OMEN The prophecy is coming true. It was predicted that France would fall in a terrible revolution . . . and now the streets of Paris are running red with blood. An evil force is haunting the city, a force that turns ordinary men into horrifying monsters. The kingdom has only one hope: the Chevalier Sphinx, secret agent and master swordsman! From the Trade Paperback edition.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
A lot of new things are revealed in this volume. Robin’s true name and how he fits into history, and more on the background of the poet’s leader, Roble. We also learn the hierarchy of the poets based on the ten attributes of God in Kabbalah. There are ten levels of poets and thus far we have only seen level 1 and 2 poets, which are the part human part snake-like creatures. However, a 3rd level poet arrives in France to kill the Sphinx. Not only is this poet the strongest thus far, but 3rd level poets also transform into a different type of monster, a fully transformed beast (kind of like the demons in Chrono Crusade. Another strange secret touched on in this volume is Nell’s, the cat, identity. Wait, Nell isn’t just some weird cat?
I enjoyed a number of aspects of this volume, but one really bummed me out, the introduction of Jean Le Rond d’Alembert. He is another historical character, but the artistic interpretation is annoying. He looks like Marilyn Manson wearing striped tights and thigh-high boots. I cringed every panel this guy showed up in. However, something I really like about this version of Le Chevalier D’Eon is how Lia’s memories come to D’Eon as they kill more and more poets. Each time they kill a poet, D’Eon learns something more about his sister’s last days. I don’t think this happens quite to the extent in the anime version.
Even though aspects of this story remain somewhat confusing as we wait for them to be explained, the amount of research Ubukata did on the history of France and various religions is nothing short of impressive. In fact, the way both Catholicism and Judaism play into this story reminds me of Anno’s use of religion in Evangelion. Along those lines, the Translator Notes in this series may be among the most researched and helpful of any other book I can remember reading, lending to the high Packaging Grade.
Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: A+
Text/Translation Grade: A-
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Del Rey Manga
Release Date: September 1st, 2007
MSRP: $10.95
