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ES (ETERNAL SABBATH) (VOL. 4) |
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Saturday, 17 March 2007 |
 | | ▪ | PUBLISHED BY: | | DEL REY | | | ▪ | ART/AUTHOR: | | FUYUMI SORYO | | | | ▪ | FORMAT/COLOR: | | JAPANESE FORMAT / BW | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 229 | | | ▪ | RATED: | | T 16+ | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 02/27/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 03/18/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | CHRISTOPHER SEAMAN |
It’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature. From FRANKENSTEIN, through to excellent mangas like ES-ETERNAL SABBATH, this has been a common theme. Scientists try to put one over the old girl, and the result is mayhem. ES- ETERNAL SABBATH is a manga which deals with aspects of this issue, namely what happens when our experiments in human augmentation run amok, leaving ‘mutants’ to roam the streets. Are we going to welcome them into our society, or, more predictably, are we going to try and hunt them down- if we can? And what happens if we can’t? Of course, fans of X-MEN will appreciate this, as in between the battles, the tough questions about human mutations really hold the story together. Whereas in most stories, the main characters are either the scientists or the ‘mutants’ and the narrative is structured around their interactions with their opposite numbers, ES tries to have both the scientists and the advanced humans frame the storyline together.
And that makes for some great reading.
In Volume Four, just about halfway through the series, Mine Kujyou, a woman scientist hot on the trail of rampaging mind readers possessing the ES gene that allows the human body and mind to far exceed previous limits set by age and other mortal factors, has just convinced Shuro, one of these new humans, to allow her to scan his brain to better understand what she and others might be facing in the future. What they might be facing is Isaac, another product of the experimentation that created the ES gene in the first place. Having escaped from and destroyed the lab in which they were created, Shuro and Isaac have become two sides of a coin with Shuro trying to help the scientists contain this genetic horror, and Isaac freely using his powers to kill and maim literally at a whim. Knowing a confrontation with Isaac is imminent, Mine and Sakaki, the only surviving researcher at the original lab, need every advantage on their side if they are to win against this pint sized hell raiser.
What happens during the test, though, surprises Mine and Shuro. At one point, Mine enters Shuro’s mind and relives his experiences in the lab. This epiphany is enough to make Mine question her own motives as a scientist and feel some of the burden of responsibility- however misplaced- in supporting a regime of inquiry that makes the creation of beings like Shuro and Isaac possible. In the meantime, Isaac is on the warpath with his little girlfriend seeking out ‘bad people’ and dealing with them. Leaving a trail of blood and bodies so thick it is not hard to see where it leads, Shuro corners Isaac at his new school and gives him a nasty little taste of his own medicine. Clearly, a major confrontation between the prototype (Shuro) and his clone (Isaac) is brewing.
As in earlier volumes, the action continues as a breathtakingly fast pace. The art work in this manga maintains the high standard established in the first volume, and the dialogue is tight without some of the stilted translations people sometimes find in manga. There is not as much character development for Mine in this edition, as the focus is more on the experiences of Shuro. That is okay, though. We needed to experience more of what Shuro and Isaac went through in order to put current events into context. One may suspect that we may learn even more of their past before this great story is over. Also, Del Rey has once again included excellent translation notes that will help readers understand some of the unique cultural references that exist in the plot. It is strongly recommended that readers consult this section, as a couple of key moments make even more sense after reading it.
IN SUMMARY:
ES-ETERNAL SABBATH Volume 4 is a tightly written, skillfully drawn suspenseful tale of revenge and science gone amok that should appeal to fans of television programs like X-FILES or HEROES. |
