Illustrations by Tetsuo Hara
In a dystopian future, the world has become a desolate wasteland full of biker gangs jockeying for land, power, and resources (think Mad Max). Kenshiro is a warrior, the sole suriving practitioner of the Hokuto Shinken (Big Dipper God Fist), an ancient martial art that relies on power over a body's meridian points, giving him considerable strength over his enemies. Kenshiro has become determined to fight against the gangs that threaten peaceful villages. Along the way, he gains a travel companion, a young thief named Bat, and later, a little orphaned girl named Rin. Kenshiro comes up against several overly strong individuals, including his old friend Shin, a practitioner of the Nanto Koshū Ken (South Dipper Lone Eagle Fist) martial art. The men have become enemies because of their mutual love of the same girl, Yuria, and Shin's actions in getting Yuria to love him instead of Kenshiro.
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In the 1980s, strange explosions took out some of the major cities around the globe. Now, in 2032, Neo-Tokyo is a rough place to grow up. Tetsuo and Kaneda are high school students, but they’re also part of a rough biker gang that likes to push the boundaries of where they drive their bikes. In the seedy underbelly of this tough society is a secret government research team with an unknown tie to a project only known by one name: Akira. A young boy escapes from this research team and crosses paths with Kaneda and Tetsuo while they're out joyriding. This chance meeting brings Tetsuo into the crosshairs of the government agents, and has Kaneda searching for his friend - and answers.
Illustrated by Posuka Demizu
Emma and Ray have entered the playground of one of the most powerful demons in the world. They are there to renegotiate The Promise, the agreement between humans and demons that set the world up the way it is today. Norman is also prepared to march with a group of super-soldiers, who look strikingly like the incredibly strong Adam, and he is planning on taking his forces to the Imperial Capital of the demons. He sends Gilda and Don to find the “Evil-Blooded” demons, under the pretense that he wants to protect them from the war that is about to break out with all demon-kind. Don and Gilda know, however, that Norman wanted to get rid of the two nice demons, so they have to find a way to keep Sonja and Mujika safe. Emma finally cracks the riddle that will lead her to making a new promise, but she may have to sacrifice something much more than she’s willing in order to get it.
Illustrated by Posuka Demizu
Norman forms an alliance with a demon clan that has been on the outs for 700 years, hoping a demon civil war will take out most of the demons’ society. Emma reveals to Norman that she doesn’t like his plan of demon genocide and wishes there was a peaceful way for everyone to coexist. She tells Norman of Mujika, and Norman reveals he has heard of her but thought she was dead. Her presence complicates his plan. Emma strikes a deal with Norman - she wants to go to the Seven Walls and try to rewrite the agreement between humans and demons so that no one, not humans and not demons, has to die. Emma and Ray set off to try to renegotiate the Seven Walls or find another way to save all the demons from genocide.
Illustrated by Posuka Demizu
While still on their trek to a new safe location provided by Mr. Minerva, a few of the kids have to break into a mass production farm to steal medicine for Chris, who isn't doing so well. For some of them, this is the first time they've seen the inhumane treatment of children at a mass production farm. Not everything goes according to plan, and Emma’s life is seriously threatened. After the raid on the farm and the administration of medicine, the group finally makes it back to the base of their mysterious supporter, but it’s not the William Minerva they expected they'd meet - it’s someone from the past at Grace Field House.
Illustrated by Posuka Demizu
Emma and her family have to abandon their shelter after the assault from the Ratri clan. The kids find a temporary shelter in the woods from back before they found the shelter, but that becomes compromised when they realize that they are being watched by mechanical owls. One of the kids reveal that, just before they left, a message came through from some possibly allies and they were given a place to travel to, once again, in hopes of finding some human-sympathizers and allies. It isn't an easy feat to move the large group of children through a demon-infested forest, but Emma, Ray, and the rest are able to start their trek and protect everyone from rabid, hungry demons.
Illustrated by Posuka Demizu
Emma, Ray, Don, Gilda, and two kids from Goldy Pond begin a search for the Seven Walls, something that Mr. Minerva told them to find in order to rework The Promise and potentially close down all of the factories. There are some significant time jumps as the group has to travel around the demon territory chasing down leads, but just shy of two years after the escape, the group finally cracks the code and discovers the entrance they were searching for. This has given plenty of time for the enemy to find them as well, as the Ratri clan has sought out every shelter and supporter to track down the wayward “food”.
Illustrated by Posuka Demizu
The Battle at Goldy Pond rages on, and the group is left with Leuvis, the most fearsome of all the hunting demons. The attackers are a smaller group than originally intended, but they use their intellect to find more ways to hurt Leuvis. They discover several things that can add up to victories. Firstly, if they use flash bombs on him, he has to use his regenerative power to repair the damage to his optic nerve, which takes some of the efforts away from healing from regular bullets. The kids try to use their small size as an advantage by trapping Leuvis in smaller spaces. Then, they get help from Adam, the giant, simple “child” who flings pieces of buildings at Leuvis and throws him up in the air. Together, the just might beat Leuvis and be able to leave Goldy Pond behind for good.
Illustrated by Posuka Demizu
The plan is not going as expected. The group charged with taking out Nous and Nouma were not entirely successful, and a grieving Nous absorbs Nouma to gain her strength and consciousness. The group who was supposed to take our Bayon was also less than successful, leading to a change of plans in how to trap him and defeat him. With limited ammunition left, Lucas and the others worry about Emma, who has been stalling Leuvis, the strongest and fastest of all the demons at Goldy Pond. Help arrives, and not a moment too soon, as Ray and Mister finally catch up to everyone in the forest outside Goldy Pond. But, happy reunions will have to wait until they figure out how to take down the most fearsome enemy of all.
Odessa is another entry in a dotted landscape of post-apocalyptic stories. In it, a world-destroying earthquake ravages California and most of the Western United States. There are rumors that anything East of the Mississippi River is relatively untouched. For her seventeenth birthday, Virginia receives a package from her mother, who left the family eight years ago. The package sparks a fierce need in Ginny to set out and find her mother. While her father would much rather leave it all in the past, he begrudgingly understands Ginny's need for answers will take her on this journey. Ginny sets out on the dangerous journey south into the gang-torn California Straight, with some unwanted taggers-on as well. Ginny's two younger brothers, Wes and Harry, decide that she doesn't get to be the only one who wants to know what happened to their mother. The three undertake a perilous journey full of scavenging, biker gangs, jinxed-up cannibals, and plenty of scoundrels.
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About MeI've been reading manga and comicbooks for years. Now, I write reviews and other helpful things for School Librarians, teachers, parents, and students. Search this siteRatings, Audience, and Subject Tags
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