Comics / Manga

Peace Maker: Volume 1

By Leroy Douresseaux
August 20, 2007 - 17:37

Thanks to barnesandnoble.com for the image.

Set in Japan, 1864, in the time after the arrival of the Black Ships, which marked the return of foreigners into Japan, Peace Maker is the story of Tetsunosuke Ichimura and his older brother Tatsunosuke.  Their parents were killed by a member of the Choushuu Gang, a group that wants to expel foreigners.

Tatsunosuke joins the Shinsengumi, the unofficial police of Kyoto, the capital of Japan, in order to earn money to provide food and shelter for Tetsunosuke or “Tetsu.”  While Tatsunosuke works as a kind of accountant, Tetsu, however, wants to join the Shinsengumi as a means to getting revenge against his parents’ murderer.  He wants to learn their superb fighting skills and use their resources to track the Choushuu, but getting them to except a kid who is barely a teenager is nearly impossible.

THE LOWDOWN:  Peace Maker, Vol. 1 is mostly character drama and is used by the manga-ka (creator) Nanae Chrono to introduce the series characters.  In addition to the Tetsu and Tatsu, Chrono has fashioned a large supporting cast of characters of varying motivations – enough to create an intriguing ensemble built for suspenseful drama.  Still, the best parts of the book are when Chrono bends his drawing skills to create kinetic fight scenes full of slashing lines and objects cut apart.  It’s a jumble of confusion and stylized violence that have the reader turning the pages faster than he can read them.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Readers who enjoy Japanese sword fighting comics that also have large intrigue-laden plots and huge ensembles will find this a bloody-sweet treat.  There is also a surprising amount of light comedy.

B

Shop for peace at the Amazon aStore.

 

Last Updated: January 17, 2025 - 08:20