I got this title as a gift a while back, and seriously, I was more than grateful. Black God is a manga series written by Korean Dall-Young Lim and drawn by Korean Sung-Woo Park. With the whole team also being Korean, they show a humorous side towards the fact that none of them can speak Japanese in the omake sections towards the end of the manga. Along with the glossy cover depicting main character Kuro and her dog, and the 4 pages of full colour in the opening, these little touches just help the reading experience. First impressions mean allot, and this group of Korean Mangakas have got it down to a T, making it a definite attention grabber among the manga pile.
The four page, full colour opening proclaim the ignorance and foolishness of humans in an almost chant like manner in the dialog and their natural enemy is proclaimed in the form of the 'Mototsumitama!', as the main character Kuro strolls down a well drawn (well referenced) Tokyo City street. A daunting tag line accompanies the next page, 'Puny humans, accept the fate you are given' as an unfortunate meeting results in death.
The plot begins and we are introduced to programmer Keita Ibuki, who is referred to immediately as an otaku by childhood friend and current financer Akane Sano. Later that day, high on life and alcohol, he stumbles across the stray Kuro as he sits down to his addiction, a bowl of ramen at a ramen stand. Little does he know after giving his bowl to the cute vagabond Kuro, his is about to be missing a limb and introduced into the world of Doppeliners (Doppelgangers to you and me) and the Mototsumitama. After waking up from a women filled dream turned nightmare, with arm intact, Keita confronts the stray attacking the lettuce in his fridge and we get to see his personality. He is pretty brutal. He begins launching whatever he can get is hands on at Kuro-Kun, only to be stopped when Akane appears in his apartment. I mean, c'mon, see just saved your life! Even if she technically endangered him in the first place, by being near him ... never the less, she meant well. Blinded by anger, Keita fails to notice Akane's feelings for him, shown by her excitement by the possibility to stay over in his room to help keep an eye on the powerful, but somewhat sweetly innocent Kuro.
After an explanation of her powers, Dopeliners and how she switched her arm with Keita's making it vital that they stay close to one another so that it can fully fuse, Kuro with a murderous intensity not seen before, declares that she is here to kill the strongest Motosumitama. I don't, there's always a confrontation when food is involved, as Kuro and Akane are ambushed by members of the Shishigami on route to grabbing a bite to eat. Just let the poor girl have some food! A brawl breaks out and with the power of her and Keita's synchronization; she destroys the underlings and faces of against the head of the family in the main event. It's his invisible exceed against Kuro and her unusual boxing style. With people to protect, there can only be one winner in the end.
After the page heavy fight scene (Which I love!), and a panel of some eye candy in the form of Akane, the story delves into a sub plot of Kuro's past, where she learns how to box by an ex pro, Ginji, who marks her clothing taste as 'something an exhibitionist would wear'. Kuro first spotted Ginji at his job, almost a side show act, where people pay for 5 minutes for 'Best stress relief!! Please punch me with all you got!!' as his sign states. Along with a sick sister needing money for hospital bills, you can’t help but feel for down on his look Ginji, especially when the arrogant and cocky boxer Iwata makes an appearance at Ginji's 'job'. With Iwata putting a massive amount of Yen up for grabs, Ginji cant lose, and with an acquaintance like Kuro that dream is made a reality as she steps in to take the place of a battered and bruised Ginji.
One thing that I loved about this volume is the fight scenes! They plot is developed so well, in a short amount of time that allows for a major amount of fight scenes taking up the pages, which when they are drawn so well, can only lead to good things. Everything is drawn so god damn well, from shading to design, everything seems to pop and is quite frankly flawless. The team behind Black God really did their Tokyo related research, with all settings and locations feeling authentic. Along with the stunningly designed character that is Kuro, the Korean tag team have brought an amazing title into my grasp and I can't wait till I get hold of the other volumes.
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