Doors of Chaos, vol. 1

By Kyoko Mitsuki
Released in the US by TokyoPop


Slugline: Grotesque violence, gothic lolitas and bishi boys of bad-assery. All it needs is some boys kissing each other to be perfect.

Mizeria and Clarissa are sisters that have cloistered their whole life, training their mystical powers as harmonizers to serve their kingdom. But on the sixteenth birthday, Clarissa is stolen away by their trainer Rikhter who has raised the girls their entire lives. Worse yet, it turns out that the girls are keys that can open (in Clarissa's case) or close (in the case ofMizeria ) doors to evil dimensions, so to speak. Clarissa finds herself drafted by a secret organization dedicated to keeping the doors closed and tracking downRikhter and her sister, both of whom she still loves.

One of the keys of Gothic Lolita style titles is the art, and this title delivers. Other than some sequences early in the book, the art is relatively easy to follow despite thegothic and sometimes busy nature of it. No big surprises in the story, but Mizeria , our protagonist, despite being a touch naive, does have some gumption. But I want to see some of the supporting characters to get sketched in and some motivations forRikhter explained, but I am willing to give it a bit of time to do so.



Doors of Chaos, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

-Ferdinand