Comics / Manga

07-Ghost: Volume 5 manga review

By Leroy Douresseaux
July 13, 2013 - 17:29

07-Ghost Volume 5 cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

Rated “T” for “Teen”

Once, two equally powerful nations coexisted:  The Barsburg Empire, which was protected by the Eye of Rafael, and the Raggs Kingdom, protected by Eye of Mikael.  Then, Barsburg destroyed Raggs.  Teito Klein is a former slave and orphan and a cadet at the Barsburg Empire Military Academy.  He discovers that his father was the King of Raggs, so he escapes to the Barsburg Church of District 7.  With three bishops and seven legendary ghosts to guide his destiny, Teito hopes to use the Eye of Mikael to uncover the secrets of the murky past.

As 07-Ghost, Vol. 5 (Chapters 24 to 29) opens, Teito begins the second great challenge of the bishop’s exam.  He must cross the “Bridge of Trials” and discover his inner darkness and be able to face it.

Meanwhile, Chief of Staff Ayanami of the Imperial Army leads his Black Hawks in an attack on Antwort Kingdom in search of Pandora’s Box.  At the behest of General Oak, Ayanami also takes along the General’s son, Shuri Oak.

Now an apprentice bishop, Teito travels with Bishop Frau to the Land of Seele.  Along the way, they rescue Capella, a young slave boy.  In order to travel to the Land of Seele, Teito must claim a “curse ticket” from each of the seven God Houses, the seven clans that are the true power in the kingdom.  First stop is the “Hausen Family.”

THE LOWDOWN:  As it is the work of novice mangaka (creators), I thought that the 07-Ghost manga would become more polished as the story progressed.  It has.  With each volume, the subplots and characters of 07-Ghost become more defined.  The overarching storyline is still a mystery, but that is acceptable as this murkiness is meant to make the series more attractive.

07-Ghost Volume 5 is the best volume yet, and the series’ comic undertones start to seem appropriate (rather than just odd, as was the case early on).  I hope even better is to come in future volumes.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Readers looking for shonen military fantasy will want to try 07-Ghost.

 

Rating: B+ /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12