Well, here we are, readers: the final one of the nine manga
I promised I’d review before the end of the year. And what a manga!
This offering is called “Kamo” (or, more properly, “Kamo:
Pact with the Spirit World”), named after the protagonist, Kamo Mitchell.
Born with a weak heart and slowly dying, Swiss native Kamo
(I’ll explain later) is approached in the hospital by a spirit named
Crimson. This skull-faced individual
asks that Kamo help him consume the souls of twelve other spirits, in order to
prolong both their lives.
Kamo accepts, in order to keep on living for both himself
and his parents. But then reality sets
in and Kamo must flee the hospital and live for a time on the run, lest his
miraculous recovery be found out and researched clean into oblivion. He vows not to return home to his loving
parents until all twelve spirits have been defeated.
The first volume works to set the stage and introduces us to
their first adversary, Thunderbolt.
But, before you say anything, he is more than just a
lightning bolt attack user, he can also consume electricity, change the weather
and travel through power lines. He
starts off small, but then quickly grows into something resembling one of the
Hollows from Bleach.
Kamo fights Thunderbolt using Crimson’s magic flute as a
held weapon, along with some musical magic tunes from Crimson himself. Thunderbolt escapes, but, during the fight,
Kamo saves a man named Enno, who takes him in for a while. And his daughter is friends with the
mysterious occult expert Shokola.
She becomes an ally of theirs, but doesn’t ultimately do
very much aside from providing support and information. (Hopefully, that will change.)
In the end, Kamo is forced to forever enjoin his soul with
Crimson’s, creating a form that more resembles one of Bleach’s Arrancars. Thunderbolt is defeated by this new form and
we end with Kamo feeling drained and, I guess, trying to recover in time for
their next spirit battle mission.
This series feels unique to me, and not just because it’s set
in Switzerland and done by Swiss native Ban Zarbo. (FYI, sah-weet name!) Speaking of which, the names are fun, and the
cast shows more than just the usual standard Japanese white-bread
characters. Shokola is Latina and Kamo
is, I guess, Japanese. It feels almost
like an American superhero comic, in that way.
(Although, I must admit, having Shokola liberally pepper her
speech with Spanish words and expressions may smack a bit of maybe trying a
little too hard.)
The art style is realistic and the concept, while done
pretty often, is not handled badly at all.
Crimson is basically Ryuk, in that he finds a human to give his powers
to and to aid his own life, but he still gets to keep his secrets and is under
little obligation to actually help Kamo.
Initially, he lies about only being able to lend the hero character so
much power, but then he’s forced to admit his lie and help Kamo to hold his own
against Thunderbolt.
Oddly, there is no visible mention of a curse, or a price to
pay for Kamo’s acceptance of Crimson’s deal.
That’s kind of a nice touch and an interesting twist on the typical
story, in my opinion.
Kamo himself is typical in some respects, such as his desire
to go to a normal school and live like a normal, not-sick kid. He is also very selfless, running away so as
not to get too many innocents involved, as well as forbidding Crimson from
killing anyone after finding out what he did to a doctor at the hospital who
tried to stop him. Kamo is also sick and
dying, but he’s not calmly accepting and ready to throw in the towel, nor is he
fighting out of a selfish desire and a hunger for more life the way Crimson is
(at least, not yet).
Finally, let’s talk about Thunderbolt, this volume’s first
villain. His power set is interesting
and his design is unique, but what’s really great about him is his
personality. We learn after the fight
that Thunderbolt has been around for years now, killing tons of innocent people
just for fun. He doesn’t even seem to
get anything out of it other than sheer joy: no battle experience, no
sustenance, no visible reward for it that he must return to some evil master or
something. Nothing.
He’s also smug and a jerk, laughing to Kamo about all the
innocent people he’s killed and trying to manipulate him into making mistakes
in battle. He also mocks Kamo’s ability
to do anything against him and his battle strategies. And, like a lot of such characters, he
actually has the strength to back it up.
I, for one, would love to see this series continue and
thrive here in the US. Sadly, the manga
is probably all the world is ever going to get.
You see, this title is being put out by Tokyopop, people I
haven’t really heard from for many, many years now. These days, it seems they’re mostly focused
on Ameri-manga and graphic novel adaptations of Disney movies (including the
horrendous Alice in Wonderland remake that forced me to really take a look at
my life and I hate).
You’ve got to admit, such a history doesn’t really bode well
for any big sort of media release, does it?
Let’s hope it doesn’t just end after a few volumes like Sokora Refugees
and Peach Fuzz did.
And, while we’re at it, let’s all hope that Kamo at least
makes it to the level of “forgotten cult classic”.
That’s probably about the best we can hope for.
See you all in 2019!
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