Author: Dall-Young Lim
Mahnwa-ga: Sung-Woo Park
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: October 2008

Synopsis: “Following a reunion with his grandfather, Keita and company are led to an island where they meet twin feral Mototsumitamas. Though they’re initially hostile, it seems the twins hold a piece of the puzzle that will bring Keita and his companions closer to the truth about the aims of the ruthless Shishigami. But as they get closer to that truth, Keita comes face to face with his Mother!? Or is she…?”

Keita, Akane and Kuro are off to solve the big mystery of the Shishigami’s true intentions in this fourth volume of the series. They travel to Keita’s childhood home in the hopes of finding out more information about Keita’s mother and her possible involvement with everything that’s been going on now, especially in light of a photograph of the Shishigami that seems to have her in it. But of course things can’t go that smoothly for them and a pair of enthusiastic twins capture Keita, two Mototsumitamas like Kuro who want to take Keita as a partner for themselves.

Black God is such an entertaining series because it has such a great blend of action scenes vs necessary information revelation. Doesn’t help that the characters are likeable too: from the adorable and honest, Kuro, to the cynical but steadfast Keita. I actually get a little excited when they ‘synchronize’, the two connecting in a way that allows Kuro powerful fighting strength.

I enjoy how the plot is going along at a pretty consistent pace, not giving readers everything all at once but more than enough hints and foreshadowing to keep us reading with some anticipation. The truth behind Keita’s mother and her possible involvement in this whole mess continues to be a driving force of both my curiousity and Keita’s intent.

On a slightly less positive note, there’s something I’ve been noticing about recent Yen Press books that’s been driving me crazy. The synopsis’s on the back are generally well written and do a decent job setting up the general story but I find that they overshoot the current volume’s events. Take this book for example, with the end line being: “But as they get closer to that truth, Keita comes face to face with his Mother!? Or is she…?” This happens on the very last page when he sees her, that’s it. You’d think they’d want to maintain that one moment surprise as a surprise instead of mentioning it in the synopsis as some sort of defining scenario of the volume. Admittedly it’s a small issue but one that’s been bugging me nonetheless.

Black God continues to be a strong supernatural-action series with fantastic artwork, an intriguing plot and interesting characters. As a Korean mahnwa created for the Japanese manga market, it’s got a unique feel to it that’s very compelling. I remain enthusiastic about volumes to come and hope that other readers try giving the series a go as well.

Review written August 20, 2008 by Lissa Pattillo.
Book provided by Yen Press for review purposes

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About the Author: Lissa Pattillo

Lissa Pattillo is the owner and editor of Kuriousity.ca. Residing in Halifax, Nova Scotia she takes great joy in collecting all manners of manga genres, regretting that there's never enough time in the day to review or share them all. Along with reviews, Lissa is responsible for all the news postings to the website and works full time as a web and graphic designer.