Title: Ninja Slayer Kills!
Volume: 2 (of 2+)
Creator: Koutarou Sekine, Bradley Bond, Philip Ninj@ Morzez
Format: Right-to-Left
Original Publisher: Kodansha
US Publisher: Kodansha
Release Date: 12/22/15
Pages: 232
ISBN: 163236087X
MSRP: $10.99
Genre: Shonen
Rated: OT (Ages 16+)
Description: Ginichi is a young man who leads a double life. In his free time, he's the undefeated, electric king of the video arcade. However, beneath his cool exterior lies a nervous geek who struggles with the pressures placed on him by his mother and school to pass the Center Exams and become part of the elite kachigumi. But a fateful encounter with a beautiful punk girl may bring some exciting changes to Ginichi's hollow existence. Just as things seem to be going well for Ginichi, he and his new friend become witness to a ninja battle between a perverted, creepy Soukai ninja and the crimson-clad grim reaper, Ninja Slayer! As the deadly ninjas clash in mortal combat, will Ginichi be able to make it out alive?
Contains Killz 7-11:
- Killz 007: Kickout The Ninja Motherfucker Part 1
- Killz 008: Kickout The Ninja Motherfucker Part 2
- Killz 009: Kickout The Ninja Motherfucker Part 3
- Killz 010: Back In Black Part 1
- Killz 011: Back In Black Part 2
- Bonus Extras
- Ninja Setting Design Collection
Review:
Cover Art: The cover this time features our favorite Ninja Slayer again, but this time as his human identity, Fujikido. The image used is kind of a bit menacing, as he might be about to transform into his alterego so he can kick major ass and kill a bunch of ninjas. The series title is on the top right corner, with the volume number on the lower right.
The spine from top-to-bottom contains the Kodansha company logo, the series title, the volume number, and the mangaka.
The back cover has the volume summary on the top third of the cover. There's an elaborate image montage featuring several of the enemies and allies that our main protagonist runs across in this volume.
I really like this cover a lot. The image presented on the front and the way the character stands really gives a focal point right from his hand all the way up to his face. Although the image of the character covers a majority of the cover, it still doesn't present itself as if it is cluttered. The back cover's image as well is pretty epic, displaying several other characters in a neat action pose that really shows off their appeal within the pages.
Artwork: This series is a much more mature shonen series then a lot of other typical shonen titles. The artwork is a bit on the dark side with lots of grotesque and gruesome imaging. Lots of fast action sequences fill this volume from cover to cover and although most of them are spectacularly drawn, there are still quite a few pages and panels that seem to be a bit rushed. There's also a bit of fan service.
Translation: Character names and places are left intact. The sound effects are the original ones used from the original release. The plot has also retained, not changing anything from the original release.
Extras: One thing this series has not seemed to skimp out on is the extras. First we have a foreward and an afterward from the mangaka, which I absolutely love having these and they should be in all mangas! Next we have a very extensive guide to all the new characters in this volume, as well as if the character has a new design (the main character) it is also covered. Last is a translation notes section which has various information that some of the over sea readers don't understand due to our cultures being very different.
Content (Warning: May Contain Spoilers): This volume begins with a brand new story, not picking up from the first volume's somewhat cliffhanger with the enemy ninja organization going to send everything that they had at the Ninja Slayer.
Fujikido stumbles into a part of the city and runs into a guy, Ginchi, who is down on his luck. He thinks that if he can become a member of the Kachigumi like his father once was, he might be able to bring fortune back to his family. As he enters a club to find some connections, a ninja known as Agony is dispatched to cause problems. Fujikido becomes the Ninja Slayer and after a very long battle, he manages to kill his enemy, but hurt the people as well inside of the establishment. I'm not really sure if this was all we will see of Ginchi, as he is not included in anything else after this story. Also to note, this story takes place before the events of the first volume.
The second story, which covers the remaining two chapters, goes back to where we left off at the end of volume 1. We are introduced to even more new characters including Dragon Gendoso and Yukano, who appear to be rounding up a somewhat team for our hero Ninja Slayer. At first they put up a bit of a fight for our hero, but after an explosive and long drawn out battle they end up defeating him so he asks them to help train him to take down the rest of the worlds evil ninjas.
I have tried to like this series, but for me it is just very hard to follow. It might be due to having not read the original Ninja Slayer manga, as this series kind of highlights the battle more then what is actually going on. The action sequences are spectacular. My issue is the direction this series is going. This volume started out with kind of a prologue, yet it did not really tell its readers that the first story arc was a prologue unless you read the Afterward portion at the end of the volume. There also isn't much character development. The villains are cool, but it would be nice to see a bit more about them like where they came from or why they are actually doing the dirty deeds. I might give this series one more try to pick up its mess before I part with it for good.
Objectionable Content:
The spine from top-to-bottom contains the Kodansha company logo, the series title, the volume number, and the mangaka.
The back cover has the volume summary on the top third of the cover. There's an elaborate image montage featuring several of the enemies and allies that our main protagonist runs across in this volume.
I really like this cover a lot. The image presented on the front and the way the character stands really gives a focal point right from his hand all the way up to his face. Although the image of the character covers a majority of the cover, it still doesn't present itself as if it is cluttered. The back cover's image as well is pretty epic, displaying several other characters in a neat action pose that really shows off their appeal within the pages.
Artwork: This series is a much more mature shonen series then a lot of other typical shonen titles. The artwork is a bit on the dark side with lots of grotesque and gruesome imaging. Lots of fast action sequences fill this volume from cover to cover and although most of them are spectacularly drawn, there are still quite a few pages and panels that seem to be a bit rushed. There's also a bit of fan service.
Translation: Character names and places are left intact. The sound effects are the original ones used from the original release. The plot has also retained, not changing anything from the original release.
Extras: One thing this series has not seemed to skimp out on is the extras. First we have a foreward and an afterward from the mangaka, which I absolutely love having these and they should be in all mangas! Next we have a very extensive guide to all the new characters in this volume, as well as if the character has a new design (the main character) it is also covered. Last is a translation notes section which has various information that some of the over sea readers don't understand due to our cultures being very different.
Content (Warning: May Contain Spoilers): This volume begins with a brand new story, not picking up from the first volume's somewhat cliffhanger with the enemy ninja organization going to send everything that they had at the Ninja Slayer.
Fujikido stumbles into a part of the city and runs into a guy, Ginchi, who is down on his luck. He thinks that if he can become a member of the Kachigumi like his father once was, he might be able to bring fortune back to his family. As he enters a club to find some connections, a ninja known as Agony is dispatched to cause problems. Fujikido becomes the Ninja Slayer and after a very long battle, he manages to kill his enemy, but hurt the people as well inside of the establishment. I'm not really sure if this was all we will see of Ginchi, as he is not included in anything else after this story. Also to note, this story takes place before the events of the first volume.
The second story, which covers the remaining two chapters, goes back to where we left off at the end of volume 1. We are introduced to even more new characters including Dragon Gendoso and Yukano, who appear to be rounding up a somewhat team for our hero Ninja Slayer. At first they put up a bit of a fight for our hero, but after an explosive and long drawn out battle they end up defeating him so he asks them to help train him to take down the rest of the worlds evil ninjas.
I have tried to like this series, but for me it is just very hard to follow. It might be due to having not read the original Ninja Slayer manga, as this series kind of highlights the battle more then what is actually going on. The action sequences are spectacular. My issue is the direction this series is going. This volume started out with kind of a prologue, yet it did not really tell its readers that the first story arc was a prologue unless you read the Afterward portion at the end of the volume. There also isn't much character development. The villains are cool, but it would be nice to see a bit more about them like where they came from or why they are actually doing the dirty deeds. I might give this series one more try to pick up its mess before I part with it for good.
Objectionable Content:
- Language: Yes
- Violence: Yes
- Nudity: No
- Sexual Situations: Yes
Score:
- Cover: 8/10
- Artwork: 7/10
- Translation: 10/10
- Extras: 10/10
- Story: 2/10
Overall Rating: 7/10
Original Review Date: 4/12/16
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