Black Cat V. 1

 

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Black Cat is written and illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki, author of Yamato Gensoki, and published in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2000.  This series is rated  T+ for older teens for some suggestive material and language.

This was one of the first manga I read. I remember thinking it was a great series and I was so disappointed that the library didn’t have the full series. Rereading it now though, I find the manga a bit disappointing.

Spoiler alert!

Volume 1 introduces all of the main characters, the backstory of the main character, and the two elements of conflict. Train is an ex-assassin, known as the Black Cat or the Number Thirteen.  He’s working with Sven, an ex-cop, as a sweeper. They hunt down criminals and capture them for bounties. After completing a few jobs, they meet Cleaver—an agent for Chronos, the organization Train used to work for. Cleaver attempts to recruit Train to help deal with Chronos’ enemies, but Train refuses.

Next they meet Rinslet, a thief who hires them to help her steal a weapon from a mob boss. They all get separated and Train discovers the weapon is a young girl named Eve who has been genetically modified to create any type of weapon with her body. She ends up running into Sven. They have a bonding moment where Sven treats her like a normal child and she gets to see what kind of life she could have. Sven is injured and the group decides to raid the mansion.

There is a hint at the antagonist; a man who both Chronos and the government are after. He hints at wanting to destroy the old world, but little else is established. 

This first volume tries to do a lot. It throws readers into the story, rushes through establishing the necessary elements, and sets us on an action-packed ride. There isn’t much character development at the moment. We know Train was an assassin, he managed to get out, he’s impulsive and is always looking for his next meal, but he’s also honorable and is amazing in a fight.  He’s the mysterious gunman who never misses and considers himself a stray cat. 

Rinslet uses the fact she is female to her advantage, playing the damsal in distress, dispite being perfectly capable of handling herself. 

Eve is the typical innocent child/human weapon/experiment who is unfamiliar with the outside world. And Sven is money wise but tends to go along with Train’s antics. 

Visually, this is a little messy. The main characters all have similar appearances (facially) while it’s all the side characters who have more variety. Action and explosions are done through jagged lines that blur exactly what’s going on and most violence is hidden off panel or behind the impact lines. Train’s mental transformations between the sweeper and the assassin are striking and convey this change without much dialogue to explain it. This is probably some of the better looking images.  

The story takes a little while to actually get going. It seems like they needed to feel around with the characters until they knew what direction to take the story. While this isn’t bad, it does throw a lot at the wall and waits to see what sticks. I like the dynamics between Train and Sven, and Sven and Eve are great together. Rin is generally annoying to me. The plot is a little overcomplicated right now. Chronos, the antagonist, general criminals, and a larger governments to deal with, plus Train’s loaded backstory and his general reputation among the criminals. 

I’m a little disappointed. I remember really liking this series but going back, I’m finding it not as good as I remember. It’s enjoyable but it’s like a bag of potato chips; it’s not great but you keep reading it. 

If anyone likes gunslinger characters on a mission to stop world destruction, this is a good series. It’s also pretty good for teens who aren’t quite ready for more serious manga but still want something with a little more action and violence than some other series.