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Title: Arm of Kannon vol 1 (of 7)
UK Distributor: Tokyopop
Author: Masakazu Yamaguchi
Suggested Retail Price (SRP): £6.99
Number of Pages: 200
ISBN: 1-5918-2810-4
Reviewed: 20th May 2006
Reviewer: Rich (Webmaster)
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I am usually a bit stuck in my ways when it comes to manga. Generally my collection consists of comedies and action based titles, so I
picked up Arm of Kannon – a horror title – out of curiosity more than anything
else.
The story follows a teenage boy called Mao Mikami, a boy plagued by disturbing
dreams and a secret lust for violence which he keeps hidden from his sister,
Mayo. However, when they are attacked by thugs on the way to school and a
mysterious man saves them, Mao is eager to learn his fighting skills, much to
his sister’s dismay. The stranger calls himself their bodyguard, but the real
reason he has turned up is far more disturbing. Mao and Mao’s archaeologist
father Juzo is in possession of an ancient and extremely dangerous artefact
known as the Arm of Senjuu Kannon, an artefact that has the power to awaken the
full power of the human body, but at a terrible cost. It is believed that if
this falls into the hands of someone with a true bloodlust it would allow them
to do unspeakable things, so the stranger’s task is to prevent the arm passing
to Mao. However, it isn’t going to be that easy, another group wants the arm to
discover how it unlocks the dormant power of DNA and will go to any lengths to
obtain it. Even with a powerful bodyguard can Mao survive and avoid the terrible
destiny of receiving the Arm of Kannon with his sanity and humanity intact?
Arm of Kannon is probably the first truly adult manga I have read, and there
is a good reason why Tokyopop cellophane-wrap it before it hits the shelves. This book is extremely violent, unflinchingly gory and doesn’t shy away from sex
and swearing either. The horror is expertly done, often building up the power of
the shocks by using shadows to disguise the true horror before hitting you with
it. There are scenes where it appears that someone is talking to the character,
but it reveals their decapitated head from the shadows instead. It really catches you out on
occasion, and the gore levels are worthy of Takeshi Miike, but horror isn’t all
it's got, it has shedloads of action too. The stranger (who remains unnamed as far
as I can see) is a pretty handy swordsman and it’s not long before he clashes
with various demons and the group who seeks the Arm. The fights are excellent,
fast flowing and suitably messy, but it’s the art that really makes them
impressive.
As expected with a horror title, Arm of Kannon has a much more hard-edged
art style than most manga. The artwork is clear and full of strong lines,
particularly during the frequent action scenes, and the use of light and shadow
is really dramatic and stylish. The design is great throughout, particularly on
the Arm of Kannon itself – a Giger-esque biomechanical nightmare of tortured
faces, pipes and wires – but it does use very effeminate ‘pretty boy’ styles for
the male characters. This won’t be to everyone’s taste, and neither will the
story as a whole.
The problem with Arm of Kannon vol 1 is that it is unrelentingly nasty near
enough from the word go. Gruesome imagery is the order of the day and there are
some pretty nasty shocks in places, it is also surprisingly explicit during a
couple of scenes. If you are the type that finds the idea of dismembered corpses
in the fridge and monsters ripping people’s heads off difficult to stomach then
still well clear, as that isn’t the half of it. Fans of Japanese body-horror
will lap this up but for others it may hold less appeal.
However, the art is pretty good and the design is superb – even on the monsters,
which is something few manga authors pull off. It has a pretty good story but
whilst the action scenes succeed in stopping the horror becoming completely
excessive, you do become numbed to the extreme violence and gore by the end of
the volume. Whether you want to give this a go depends on your tastes. It is an
impressive horror title and fans who want something dark and particularly
horrific will love it, but if you prefer something with a bit of light at the
end of the tunnel you may find it a very difficult read. Arm of Kannon vol 1 is
a great horror title, but it is most definitely not for everyone.
Extras:
The usual adverts for other titles and a preview of the next
volume, as well as a list of available Tokyopop titles. Not much.
Ratings
Feature:
Extras:
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