Another thrill ride of frantic action, but still little depth to be found
Creative Staff
Writer/Artist: Tsutomu Nihei
Translation: John Werry
Adaptation: Stan!
What They Say
Data Recovery Foundation forces are amassing around Toa Heavy Inustry headquarters and have taken Dr. Kurokawa and his daughter custordy. A rescue attempt must be made – Dr. Kurokawa’s laboratory may yield more information on Eon Green and even Zoichi’s own genesis. Elsewhere, Toa Industry agent Nishu Mizunoe searches for Kozlov Grebnev and the secrets he knows about DRF’s origins and their apocalyptic plan for the entire human race!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Things aren’t looking too hot as our volume opens to Toa Heavy Industry headquarters in flames and filled with the infected, and the creator of the synthetic humans, Dr. Kurokawa, being tortured by members of the DRF for information. Zoichi hurries back, attempting to rescue the doctor, as well as his daughter, but arrives too late, and Zoichi returns to his pursuit Eon Green.
We then cut to Kozlov, trying to plan his next move while escaping on a train. However, he is soon intercepted by an agent of the DRF. Luckily, another synthetic human, Nishu Mizunoe, comes to his rescue, but takes him into custody due to suspicions as to his true identity.
Zoichi mounts a frantic assault on the DRF in his attempt to reach Eon Green, and the novel ends on a grim note, foreshadowing her true importance.
In Summary:
As with the first volume, there is a lot of action in this book, but little else to be found. We see more DRF agents in their eerie, semi-human designs, and get introduced to a new synthetic human with her own crazy motorcycle. We do get a few bits and pieces of new information as to the significance and backgrounds of key characters, but it’s far and few between, with the focus clearly on the action. Once again, if you’re looking for depth here you’ll probably be disappointed, but if you just want cool action and beautiful artwork, there’s plenty to be had here.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: A+
Packaging Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: May 11th, 2010
MSRP: $12.99