Comics / Manga

Enchanter Vol: 1

By Gareth Atha
October 15, 2006 - 20:00

Book description
Many years ago a powerful demon alchemist named Fulcanelli experimented with imbuing metals with magical properties. Many years later Fulcanelli's demon lover Eukanaria is looking for the perfect body to house Fulcanelli's soul, which she wears as an amulet around her neck. Here comes Haruhiko, a high school student and electronics whiz-kid. Haruhiko is head over heels in love with his science teacher, Yuka. Haruhiko and Eukanaria's paths eventually cross, and mayhem ensues, not least because Haruhiko looks exactly like Fulcanelli and Eukanaria looks exactly like Yuka. The two form an unlikely alliance in fighting the demons that keep popping up to stop Eukanaria from bringing Fulcanelli back into the world.

Story
Enchanter is written and drawn by Izumi Kawachi. The writing is very faced paced and the situations that Eukanaria and Haruhiko find themselves in, and the dialogue between the two often humorous. The story is divided into three sections. The first, Target Lock On provides a brief introduction to the characters and their backgrounds, whilst the second and third sections, The Other Enchanter parts 2 and 3 give the bulk of the story in this volume. The writing sets up a very funny dynamic between its two main characters. The story flows from one situation to another, and never looses its pace. This means that although the book is reasonably thick at 200 pages (and, incidentally, is larger than most mangas on the market) the reader has no problem getting through it. The SFX are translated into English over the original Japanese, which is a nice touch. The dialogue uses different fonts from the inner dialogue, which is useful for distinguishing between the two.

Art
The artwork in this book is very reminiscent of the work done in Full Metal Alchemist and in the Naruto mangas. The images are clearly drawn and the characters' faces are drawn in a very lifelike manner, utilising the cutesy look when its necessary but reverting to more "normal" looking faces the rest of the time, or when the characters are in the background. Like all manga, the pages are black and white.

Conclusion
Overall this is a fantastic book. It's funny, stylish and a great read. For fans of Full Metal Alchemist, this would be a good book to check out.

Art: 8/10
Story: 9/10
Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12