Comics / Manga

Buso Renkin: Volume 8

By Leroy Douresseaux
September 16, 2007 - 17:48

Thanks to barnesandnoble.com for the image.

When Kazuki Muto saved the life of Tokiko Tsumura, a mysterious young woman, he was killed by the homunculus that was attacking her.  The creature destroyed Kazuki’s heart, but Tokiko replaced it with a magical talisman called a “kakugane.”  Tokiko is an Alchemist Warrior, and sensing Kazuki’s bravery, she brought him into her world.  She gave him a “Buso Renkin,” (the weapon of the Alchemist Warriors) in the form of a lance called “Sunlight Heart Plus.”

Buso Renkin, Vol. 8 finds Kazuki fighting to prove his worth to Tokiko’s colleagues in the Alchemist Army.  Believing that Kazuki will become a monster, the Army is determined to destroy him.  Kazuki, Tokiko, who believes that Kazuki will do the right thing, and their allies face some of the Army’s fiercest and strangest warriors.  Kazuki is their equal, if not superior, but he will be truly tested when he faces an Army Warrior Chief, Captain Bravo.

THE LOWDOWN:  Buso Renkin is a mixture of Dragonball Z and Naruto, but filled with even more weirdness.  Manga-ka (creator) Nobuhiro Watsuki (the creator of Rurouni Kenshin) has fashioned an extreme action comic, literally packing the comic panels with so much explosive action that they are bursting their borders.  Plus, his drawing chops, both in terms of storytelling and visual appearance, is rock solid.  This is a fight comic that is as good as any American superhero comic book, although the narrative dries up between the house-rockin’ fights.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Buso Renkin is part of VIZ Media’s “Shonen Jump Advanced” line, which means it is shonen manga (boys’ comics) for older teens, but any fight comics-loving boy will dig the earth-shattering brawls in this imaginative manga.

B+

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Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12