 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | VIZ MEDIA | | | ▪ | AUTHOR / ART: | | KAZUNARI KAKEI | | | ▪ | FORMAT: | | JAPANESE / B&W | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 208 | | | ▪ | RATING: | | OT | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 02/17/2009 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 04/21/2009 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | SCOTT CAMPBELL |
Nora, an unruly demon, has defied his Dark Liege one too many times. For the sake of his "education," Nora is sent to live among mortals and enters a bond of servitude with cool-as-ice star student Kazuma Makkari. Kazuma is about to learn the ways of the underworld... and Nora will learn more from the "real world" than he ever thought possible with the help of his new human “friends!” In volume three, Nora and Kazuma learn that the Resistance is out to defeat Dark Liege by destroying her five Soul Stones: jewels from the Demon World that have made their way to the Human World. Nora soon discovers he has a special ability to detect these gems...but he's not the only one! Nora strikes again with its over-the-top humor and crazy antics. The visuals of course sprint right along side with wacky expressions and explosively active art. This is an action series at heart – classically linked to being a Shonen Jump title like many before it – so of course it is always moving at a fast pace so it can continue to hold the reader’s attention without fail. From characters with goat heads, to multi-coloured ghosts that look like they evolved out of a late night of nothing but Pac-Man, this series has a number of peculiar attributes that help to make it stick out from the rest. Nora is quite a mix of genres as it includes a fair bit of comedy along with adventure, fantasy, and a number of other things in between. A series like this is enjoyable because it jumps all over the map when it comes to subject matter and intent – you get a whole smorgasbord of reading enjoyment with Nora. The art is quite good, with a focus on characters and their actions – it’s a lot like many other Shonen Jump titles from Viz – the art is comparable to series like Naruto and even a bit of D.Gray-Man comes to mind when reading it. It is an off-beat style of art in the way that it isn’t hyper-realistic in anything that it does – facial expressions and actions are zany, with comedy and action in mind. There are some really good full-page action shots when something “epic” happens – it’s both funny and serious – it all depends on the situation. The plot is made easy to understand by the large text size – it is very readable and much appreciated. It’s a well-rounded book with a good show of potential – it will be interesting to see where the story goes as each volume progresses. The extras include some four-panel cartoons, and some advertisements for other Viz Media titles available for purchase. A little bit about the author never hurts, so here’s some information about him. Nora: The Last Chronicle of Devildom is Kazunari Kakei's first manga series. It debuted in the April 2004 issue of Monthly Shonen Jump and eventually spawned a second series, Surebrec: Nora the 2nd, which premiered in Monthly Shonen Jump's March 2007 issue.
IN SUMMARY:
Nora: The Last Chronicle of Devildom is fast paced and full of odd-ball characters. Just when you think it may settle down, it pushes the envelope once again and takes us somewhere we didn’t think it would. It fits in well with the Shonen Jump line, and fans of their series will likely enjoy Nora heartily. |
