Published in the U.S. by Broccoli Books
Slugline: A paranormal paramilitary organization recruits a wandering stranger whose secret goal is to take back the thing that just might be giving them their powers.
The elements of this story are quite familiar: a stranger with significant powers, a group of jaded, infighting teenage "generals" (since in manga everyone turns into a pumpkin on their 21st birthday) with paranormal powers, sidekicks in the snarky and overly slavish flavors, post-apocalyptic monsters, and a lost McGuffin that will Fix Everything. However, Kamui presents it all in a fresh, energetic manner.
Atsuma is searching for Okikurumi, a spirit -- aka kamui -- and finds a city controlled by NOA, a paramilitary replacement for the previous government, which was destroyed by giant earthquakes. NOA is headed up by various angsty and otherwise preoccupied officers and their lackeys; Atsuma's arrival shakes things up a bit, and will probably soon shake it up much harder.
Not the newest storyline in the genre, but Nanami-san has a good director's eye in his artwork, doesn't fall into angsty monologues for more than a panel or two, and keeps everything relevant to the plot. That way, things click right along and he gets two volumes' worth of introductions done in one. I may be getting older, but I'm not slowing down -- I've got things to do and places to be and if a writer's stuck in the mud, I can find something better to read. Kamui is, let's see, fourth or fifth in a cluster of pretty good stuff, though. I may be getting spoiled.
- Miranda
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