Blaster Knuckle

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really fun read, simple story but cool concept, nothing groundbreaking but an action packed dark spaghetti western with supernatural elements. i could see some people finding some of the subject matter to be insensitively portrayed but i'm not one to speak on that matter. characters are relatively likeable, most are pretty surface level but they play their roles well, ending was pretty rushed and you can tell there was supposed to be more to the story but sometimes a shorter read is nice. overall a niche manga that i feel deserves a bit more love. easily an 7.8/10 or 78/100

Blaster Knuckle, much like RED, is a highly underrated manga with a lot of pure amazing things going on with it.

It immediately brings you into the action and also gets you up to speed fairly quick and the characters are all charming in their own rights.
Basically think if Guts from berserk was a black boxing bounty hunter fighting racism and the demon KKK with a special explosive fist.

Its as rad as it sounds.
It also does a great job of keeping the pace going with only a handful of slower moments that serve to make the experience better.

Similar to RED as well, it takes its time ... between or at the end of chapters to give little bits of history in the US (as well as some author insights)

I dont want to spoil anything but this is a very fun manga if you love just some good high fantasy in the west action.

My only real gripe with it is that it is too short. BUT a positive at least is it leaves it all open ended in a very good way.

'Blaster Knuckle': A niche seinen historical horror manga from the early 90's created by a good friend of THE Kentaro Miura. Sounds good already, right? Unfortunately, it was cancelled only 20 chapters in (you can surmise why after reading the story segment) and was never continued again. The existing chapters, however, make for a good weekend read thanks to a strong plot, gloriously gory art, and well-rounded characters.

[Story - 8]

The story is rather unique for a 'monster-hunter' setting: It follows the adventures of Victor Freeman, a black man living in the southern USA during the 1880's. After witnessing shapeshifting beasts eat people alive as a ... child, he dedicated himself to becoming the best beast hunter alive. Naturally, he would face many more hardships than usual due to his status as a visible minority in the deep south during a period of rampant racism.

The story follows typical plots of this specific genre during its run, but also mixes in the impact of hate crimes and division amongst ethnic groups. While it can be rather ham-fisted at times, it's still worth praising since it can be handled rather well at other times. It feels very 'tough-dudebro-masculine', but I don't particularly find that an issue as I expected it going in, and so no complaints are found there. The pacing is mostly solid: While the very first chapter is a rather long-winded introduction, the two arcs that come afterward are handled just fine and feel natural. The last arc has a satisfying ending in spite of its cancellation, although it definitely brings up concepts that would have been further explored had it continued.

[Art - 10]

The art is the most noteworthy feature here: While not super unique, it still stands out due to the beautiful shading palettes and intense degree of detail put into every panel. The character designs are rather timely and unique to everyone, especially in regards to the beasts that are hunted. The weapons look rather authentic, and naturally the gore resulting from their usage is grossly amazing.

[Character - 8]

Since each arc involves a different specific locale, the cast changes: the only constant is our protagonist Victor. He comes off as rather bland at first, but is soon shown to have a complex moral dilemma inside of him as he deals with the beasts and the discrimination he faces. Despite that, he has a rather tragic backstory fitting of the genre, and can be rather cliché at times with the dialogue.

The other characters don't have a lot of depth to be frank, but I attribute this to both the format of the arc structure and the early ending this series had received. The only other character worth noting would be the anti-hero/anti-villain/neutral/yougetmypoint bounty hunter, Andy MacGregor. He comes off as a typical 'cowboy' archetype, but is actually engaging once he encounters Victor. You'll see why if you read it, but I know he would have been a recurring character - and a fun one at that.

[Enjoyment/Overall - 9]

This series was honestly such a blast to read. Sometimes it's fun to lose yourself in straight-forward 'action horror' manga, especially if it has a unique take on it. I definitely would love to see this series make a comeback (even if it is nowhere near being a favourite), but that's obviously never happening anytime soon. I'd definitely recommend this to people who love this sort of manga (over-the-top monster-hunters), and if you want to see a fairly unique setting in manga.