Comics / Manga

Kurozakuro: Volume 4

By Leroy Douresseaux
May 6, 2011 - 08:09

Kurozakuro Volume 4 cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”

Being gentle and passive has made high school student Mikito Sakurai the target of delinquents.  His life changes when he swallows a mysterious orb and then encounters Zakuro, a mysterious boy who lives in his dreams.  Suddenly, Mikito develops strange, new, and even dangerous powers, and he discovers that he has become a man-eating ogre.

In Kurozakuro, Vol. 4, Mikito and the ogre hunter, Kugai, join forces with another ogre hunter, Gogyo, one of the Dark Enforcers who punishes ogre hunters that step out of line.  Mikito hopes to discover more about his powers, and for his part, Gogyo invites his hunter crew, the White Claw, along for the adventure.  Their mission brings them into conflict with Black Thorn, a mysterious group of assassins within the ogre hunter organization.  Meanwhile, Mikito faces his first trial.

THE LOWDOWN:  The creator of Kurozakuro, Yoshinori Natsume, was also the writer/artist of the DC Comics miniseries, Batman: Death Mask.  I’ve previously stated that the ogre, Zakuro, has a resemblance to Steve Ditko’s DC Comics character, The Creeper.  Think of this as shonen Naruto meets 1970s Creeper.  Kurozakuro is strange, and it seems like a weird Batman comic book, but it is also a very engaging monster comic book with an equally engaging internal mythology.  Its growing cast and deepening mystery make Kurozakuro a book to keep watching and keep reading.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Readers looking for manga that resembles superhero comic books will find one in Kurozakuro, and it is a good comic book for young readers – in spite of its rating.

A

 

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12