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I'm afraid Spirit Circle, by Mizukami Satoshi, will like the excellent but often forgotten Hoishi no Samidare, become only a shadow hit, a read for the people who dig deeper and want different kinds of shonen. So let me try to convince you with this review to grab a book and read this very interesting story.

Art : 6/10

Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first : yes, compared to tenors of the shonen manga, the art is...Meh. Although this is an artstyle that feels really distinctive, and works quite well for expressions and faces overall, the real weakness lies in the background, who ... most of the time, are generic, or just like detail. If you want your manga to be only eye candy, like Blame or Berserk, this won't be one for you.

Story : 8/10

The story will let us follow Fuuta Okeya, a 14-year-old boy who can see ghosts. And this ability is absolutely not the focus of the story. To try and not spoil too much, his encounter with a young girl who just transferred in his neighborhood will lead him into reliving his past lives, to try and understand why the girl wants to kill him so bad.
I found the premise quite original and refreshing. After each past life, it's not like the protagonist gains a new skill, or becomes better at fighting : the real heroes of this story are all of the past lifes of Fuuta, but more on that later.
But Spirit Circle isn't just about those past lives : there's an overarching plot, with completely bonkers consequences like only Mizukami Satoshi can think of (let us remember, he's the one who thought of a biscuit hammer that would destroy the world.) And delving deeper in the mystery of the relation between Fuuta and the girl who wants to kill him, Kouko, is really compelling and interesting.

Characters : 8/10

The character design is pretty redundant, as most of the characters with which Fuuta and Joujo interacts, even in their other lives, have the face of everyone they know (implying they are not the only one reincarnating). But each of these characters have a different personnality, a different goal. In each of his past lives, Fuuta often doesn't act like he does in the present, and he did some pretty horrible things in some lives, even. Watching his present self come to terms with that is really interesting.
Kouko is also a great character, even if her past lives are mostly seen through Fuuta's eyes. She is as well fleshed out as Fuuta in that regard, and her motivations for trying to slay Fuuta are also understandable.

Sadly, the rest of the supporting cast, like Fuuta's friends, aren't very interesting in the present. The only exceptions are for East and Rune, spirits that accompany Kouko and Fuuta in the present, but sadly they play quite a lacking role before the end of the manga. It would have been nice to see a bit more character interaction.

Overall : 8/10

Spirit Circle is a compelling manga that will make you think about afterlife, reincarnation, and responsability. Can you be held accountable for a really horrible thing you did in a past life ? By asking that question, the author takes us on a journey through time to try and discover the worth of a human soul, and ultimately, the worth of who we are, today.

Hidden gems : search for the lost treasures #1: Akumetsu

In the "normal world", people do not know about mangas.

I'm not saying that manga lovers aren't normal : like someone who doesn't know about football find immersing in the world of sport difficult, the world of manga is not a dimension that is accessible for anyone. Luckily, our capitalist world created mainstream manga : someone who want to start manga will probably begin by reading Naruto, One Piece, Bleach... Or Death Note.

On that note, enter Akumetsu. Akumetsu is a series written by Yoshiaki Tabata and illustrated by Yuki Yugo. You may know the name ... of those guys if you read the manga Wolf Guy. The story features Niimura Shou, a high-school possessing some kind of power which makes him almighty, and who uses this power to smite evil down from the corrupted society of 21st century's Japan, in an attempt to create a society free from all evil.

Most of you must think that you saw that somewhere else, right? But when you look at the publication dates, something is off. The run time of Death Note starts at 2003,and Akumetsu began publication in 2002. Isn't it weird that Akumetsu is called a "rip-off" when he started first? Let's sort this out.

Story : 9
The story of Akumetsu, as stated previously, stars Shou Niimura who dons the mask of Akumetsu ("eradicate the evil", litteraly) to, well, eradicate the evil. Duh.
So, yes, the story ressembles Death Note, in a way. But the structure of the two tales isn't the same. Where Death Note often baffles readers with the complicated mind games that Yagami pulls off to avoid being discovered, Akumetsu chose to anchor its story deeply into modern time Japan. Yes, the facts that Akumetsu uses to blame his victims are twisted and exaggerated, but they exist in some ways.
To explain the reasons for each murder, the mangakas found a clever way : a mascot character. Aametsu-kun, a kawaii version of Akumetsu, will each time explain, not without a but of humor, why X's a wretch. That contributes to lighten a bit the mood of the Manga, and that's a good thing, as the executions are seriously gruesome sometimes.

Another point of the plot is the story of Akumetsu's origins. Once again, Death Note and Akumetsu chose different paths to walk upon : Magic for Death Note, science fiction for Akumetsu. I won't say anything about why Shou fights evil, but this part of the plot is surprisingly interesting and well crafted, and if you can't stomach episodic mangas, this plotline will help you keeping interest in Akumetsu long enough to finish it.

Character(s) : 8

Surprisingly,the best part of Akumetsu is also its weakest (more on that later).

Let's start with, well, Akumetsu, aka Shou Niimura. This character is awesome in many ways. At school, he's clever, funny, and appears as the funny, always friendly dork you can see in other mangas. But when he dons his Akumetsu mask, his personality takes a whooping 180 : he becomes a cold, sarcastic killer, ready to do anything to kill the target he imposed himself. I particularly liked the way he conveys his justice : no matter how people see him, even if it's as a murderer, he doesn't care. He did what he thought was right, for him and for Japan, and he isn't looking to be seen as a Savior. Unlike Yagami, he's seen as a terrorist and he doesn't give a fuck. And that is simply awesome.

But why is a character like him the weakest point of the Manga? Because, well, there's only him. I mean, the targets of Akumetsu are all only after money, so there's not really a standout antagonist like L in Death note. That's a bit of a shame, as you can discern that there may have been a true antagonist for Akumetsu, but this plotline hasn't been explored.

As for secondary protagonists... Well, there aren't really. I mean, there's Shiina, the traditional heroine in love with the hero, but her only purpose is to watch TV and cry when she sees Shou killing someone. There's the Prime Minister Murata, who is the comic relief of the Manga. Indeed, Akumetsu will often bully him into applying his reforms, calling him a coward and forcing him to stand up and try to change the country. But... That's about it. There's no true memorable character besides Shou. And that's a bit of a shame.

Art : 9

The art is gorgeous. And not in a "Berserk is gorgeous" kind of way. In fact, it is a bit Dragon Ball-esque, with Shou donning the traditional how-much-hair-spray-does-he-uses-per-day spiked hairdo. The traits of the antagonists are very exaggerated, as if they were caricatured. As for the girls, they're "just" beautiful.

Enjoyment : 10

I wasn't a fan of Death Note : I found the Manga overly complicated and maybe a bit too cerebral. Also, maybe I'm weird, but I hate Yagami, with his holier-than-thou attitude, although I must argue he was pretty badass at times.
But Akumetsu is different. The main character is a absolutely friendly and lovable killing machine. Aametsu-kun's interventions make the stakes of each Kill easy to understand and funny, and where Death note chose mind games, Akumetsu chose the paths of flashy, over-the-top executions, where I was often like "this is way too overpowered" while laughing my ass off. Needless to say, the Manga was an awesome read for me.

Overall : 9
Far from a simple Death note rip-off, Akumetsu is a very worthwhile read, with a great story of its own. Fans from Death Note, this is a different beast altogether. Other persons, if you like Black Lagoon, Monster, Until Death do us Part, or American comics like the Punisher, please, do give Akumetsu a try.


Disclaimer : Hidden Gems is a kind of review created by Sayuko01 where the reviewer (that means me) is carried away by the random generator of his favorite Manga reading site, searching for hidden gems, or unspeakable piles of crap.

Deadman Wonderland isn't your typical seinen. It has quite its unique distinctions, and is a worthwhile read all right.

Story - 8 :
10 years after a great earthquake that ravaged most of Tokyo, Ganta Igarashi is the only witness of the murder of his entire classroom by a person clad entirely in red. As such, he is framed for the crime and sent in death row, in a prison called Deadman Wonderland that serves as an attraction park ran by the prisoners. His encounter with an albino girl named Shiro will urge him to live on, and discover the mysteries of the prison and of the ... Red Man.

Yeah, this is a pretty basic premise, isn't it ? But while the initial starting point for the story might hint at a survival manga in a crazy environment, the scenario will quickly focus on battle by introducing special powers and factions inside the prison (no telling there, go read it :p)

Art - 9 :
The art is, truly, splendid. Each character has many little details and quirks, and the style of the artist truly suits the madness of the story. Some double pages are seriously worth the read.

Character - 10 :
And this is where, ladies and gentlemen, Deadman Wonderland really shines.
Very quickly, you'll see that every character, besides the hero, is crazy. Each one has something tied to his past that shapes his attitude in the world of Deadman Wonderland, that you understand when the characters are developed. Ganta is the only sane person in the prison, striving to survive without becoming mad. As such, his character development is exemplary. Shiro is a weird girl, but she wants no matter what to be Ganta's friend, and when they get separated by the ordeals they live,Shiro's pain is heartwrenching.

Enjoyment : 10

I loved this manga, from start to finish. The combat scenes, the powers, the characters, the end of the story... Everything.

Overall : 9
Yes, only 9, because no manga is perfect. (Besides 20th Century Boys, but here lies not the debate :p). But, as you read, Deadman Wonderland is an excellent manga, and if you like gory seinen story (Gantz, Mirai Nikki, Elfen Lied...), you'll like this one.

Plus, it's completed now. You've got no excuses, go read it all at once !