I do confess that the only reason I read this was because it was an ‘X’ title that I needed for the A-Z Challenge. It was also my first manga, AND since it was originally in Japanese, I also counted it for the Japanese Literature Challenge. Reading a manga is interesting because you read the book from back to front and right to left. It wasn’t really that difficult to do, and I enjoyed reading this book just for the experience.
This book features Kaito, a skilled assassin who trained at a very young age. His day job is at a flower shop, and a mysterious woman comes there to give him his assignments. He then uses lilies as a guise to kill his victims. Kaito does have a heart, though, and even takes in a homeless boy. He also cares for his brother who is in a coma.
There are three mini-stories in this book, and some of the drawings are fairly graphic in nature so I would recommend this for adults only. Kaito is drawn in such a way that at first I didn’t know if he was male or female. However, he uses that as a disguise sometimes to lure his victims.
I would read the second volume, if only to fill the need for another ‘X’ title. Mangas are a new and very different genre for me. If you like manga and know of a series I might like, please let me know.
2006 for the English translation, 200 pp.
Rating: 3.5/5
I read my first manga book, Death Note, last month. I’ve recently gotten into graphic novels this year and when perusing my library system on line, the plot caught my attention. I hardly expected manga, but rather a graphic novel!
Needless to say, I was pretty impressed. (Impressed enough to order from the library the next couple in the series to see if it lives up).
It’s about a Japanese god, who strikes me as having a Loki/Pan type of personality, who purposefully drops his notebook – the Death Note – in the human world. The gist is, the person who picks up the book has the power to write names in it of people to destroy. I.E. kill. So along comes this high school boy and he figures he can use the book for good, right? Killing off all of the murderers, rapists, robbers in the world.
So far it touches base on a couple of neat discussions: does anyone have the right to take another’s life? And, how does power cause someone who once was “good” to become evil?
IDK, I’m enjoying it.
(Oh and you know what, I still haven’t figured out how to say the blasted word Manga to begin with. LOL> I’m such a dork!)
Cheers!
I’m looking into this series. Glad you liked it!