Caiman takes his personal vendetta to the sorcerer’s home turf: their secret demonic dimension. Creative Staff
Story: Q Hayashida
Art: Q Hayashida
Translation/Adaptation: AltJapan, Inc.
What They Say
While En seeks out a new partner with unique magic powers, his crew has a run-in with an underground organization that controls the distribution of “black powder,” a magic-enhancing drug used by weaker Sorcerers. Meanwhile, Caiman and Nikaido spend New Year’s in the haunted mansion of a mysterious doctor who specializes in the anatomy of Sorcerers. The doctor reveals to them the only known portal to the Sorcerers’ dimension…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
A common complaint against Dorohedoro is that it moves too slowly, but so far, Q Hayashida seems to be zooming ahead. In this volume, Caiman heads to the sorcerer’s dimension itself. At this point, it’s almost impossible to avoid spoilers in the story, so instead of a standard plot play by play, I thought I’d break down the characters. While Dorohedoro’s world is exciting and fun, it’s her characters, who are naive and neurotic, while also being amoral killers, that make this title such a fun one.
The volume opens with En bringing Noi and Shin to a party he wants to attend. We know that En is the leader of a powerful organization, but its exact nature has yet to be revealed. Is he really the leader of all of the sorcerers, or just head of a specific powerful syndicate? Despite his infamy and the power (and multiple uses) of his mushroom magic, En wants more power, and decides to attend the gathering because a sorceress who can resurrect the dead will be in attendance. En wants her as his new partner (does En have an old partner?), and is perfectly willing to have Noi and Shin kill her current partner to make that happen. The way the resurrections take place is quite a sight to behold, and really helps to underscore the demonic nature of the sorcerers and the sorcerers power. During the fracas of the sorceress’ attempted kidnapping, however, it is revealed that the woman is just a black powder junkie and the true resurrecting sorcerer is a kind of dog animal named Judas’ Ear. En adopts the animal and treats it as his beloved pet.
Tragic Ebisu gets a bit more of her back story filled out at the party as well. She’s still suffering the ill effects of zombification and having her brain bitten out, so it’s still not entirely clear what relationship her lizard magic has with Caiman. At the party, a man with the same crosses on his eyes as Caiman recognizes Ebisu, and seems to have been her black powder dealer. We further learn that there’s an entire gang known as the Cross Eyes, who are known to deal in black powder, the mysterious substance that increases a sorcerer’s smoke output. Ebisu, already drunk, takes some black powder, and the resulting smoke outpouring kills the dealer. With that lead gone, we’re back to guessing about poor Ebisu.
Shin and Noi, En’s assassins, are an interesting pair. They appear to harbor some doubts about En’s intentions (and Noi apparently is incredibly annoyed by her neurotic cousin), but continue to kill his targets with enthusiasm. When a stronghold of the cross-eyes is identified, Noi and Shin are sent in to try and find more information about the group’s mysterious leader. The cross-eyes are unwilling to reveal his identity, and end up shooting Noi in the head. As her healing magic apparently works on herself as well, she’s soon back on her feet and cracking skulls. And as in the previous volumes, the romantic tension between Shin and Noi is still present, with the two unable to admit their blatantly obvious feelings for one another. As the pair are practically invincible in combat, they’re certain to have many years of awkward fumbling ahead of them.
Our anti-hero, Caiman, stumbles into a bit of luck when he agrees to assist one Dr. Kasukabe, a friend of his boss from the hospital. Kasukabe studies sorcerers, and has constructed a Necronomicon-like door out of sorcerer flesh and bones. He offers Caiman the chance to visit the sorcerer’s dimension, which seems pretty risky, considering Caiman’s recklessness. Kasukabe is no fool, however, as he’s already figured out that Nikaido is a sorcerer. He gives her a book on the sorcerer’s dimension to help cover for her knowledge of their world, and gives Caiman a spray can with a doorway back home. Caiman and Nikaido dress up as rabbits, as that’s apparently as close to incognito as it gets with sorcerers, and cross over. The sorcerer’s dimension itself looks like an interesting cross between old Aztec ruins and empty but immaculate urban spaces of Pyongyang, all with a Satanic design motif. Rather than finding the supernatural realm of a magic ruling class, however, Caiman learns that the sorcerer’s realm is stratified, with weaker sorcerers living lives of poverty just like the humans of the hole, and the rich and powerful sorcerers hoarding wealth for themselves.
The true star of this volume is Nikaido, and how she shines! After Caiman kills a magic carpet cab driver mid-flight, Nikaido rightly surmises that he lacks the subtlety needed to get the information he needs. She advises Caiman that the two of them should split up, and for the first time, we see hints that Nikaido may be an incredibly powerful person indeed. To make some money, she somehow acquires a bottle of high quality smoke (her own?) and sells it at a smoke shop. With the money, she goes to summon a demon, and asks for Asu by name. The demon seems very familiar with her, to the point of being surprised that she returned to the sorcerer’s dimension, and he even offers to transport Nikaido to En’s mansion when he’s unable to provide her with the information she seeks.
The most important character introduced in this volume is Risu, apparently the man in Caiman’s mouth, who has been resurrected by Judas’s ear from the head found in the safe in the previous volume. As soon as Risu is brought back to life, Caiman passes out, and awakens with the name “Risu” in his mind. Though Hayashida introduces Risu as “the man who knows everything,” he plays dumb when En interrogates him. Shin and Noi try to apply some leverage by introducing him to the still-living severed head of one of his Cross-Eye colleagues, but Risu is not sympathetic to the plight of the people he thinks had him killed.
The volume ends on a high note with Nikaido storming the mansion, fighting her way past Noi, jumping across a chasm through the window to Risu’s room, and punching En right in the face. En’s mushroom magic goes berserk, wounding everyone present, including Shin and Ebisu. The chaos gives Risu the perfect opportunity to escape, so Nikaido returns empty-handed to Caiman with a mushroom growing out of her back.
I would also be remiss if I did not mention the flaming toilet.
In Summary
Volume three is 168 more pages of enjoyably demonic comedy, action, and mystery, from the awesome color Halloween picture at the front, to the partially colored extra chapter at the end. The volumes are still far too short for my taste, but their brevity has given me the ability to read and re-read them, finding new details each time. I still have no idea how Q Hayashida can keep this frantic energy up for 16 volumes, but I’m incredibly excited to discover how she pulls it off. Very recommended.
Content Grade: A
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade: A
Readers Rating: [ratings]
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: January 18th, 2011
MSRP: $12.99 USA / $16.99 CAN
0 comments:
Post a Comment