Language: Japanese
Direction: Right to Left
By: Nakaba Suzuki
Publisher: Kodansha
Type: Series
Genre: Shounen
Availability: Print, Digital, SimulPub
Synopsis:When they were accused of trying to overthrow the monarchy, the feared warriors the Seven Deadly Sins were sent into exile. Princess Elizabeth discovers the truth—the Sins were framed by the king’s guard, the Holy Knights—too late to prevent them from assassinating her father and seizing the throne! Now the princess is on the run, seeking the Sins to help her reclaim the kingdom. But the first Sin she meets, Meliodas, is a little innkeeper with a talking pig. He doesn’t even have a real sword! Have the legends of the Sins’ strength been exaggerated … ? Prepare to get swept away by an epic fantasy story and colorful cast of characters that will rewrite the history of manga as we know it!
This is the third title from the ongoing Kodansha Humble Bundle
I’m no stranger to this series, having read it on Crunchyroll since it was published there. And while I’ve moved away from the series at the moment, I’ve no doubt I’ll return to it at some point in the future.
But for now, lets talk about this first volume!
Suzuki’s art is unique, and initially a bit off putting I felt. The character designs for Meliodas and Elizabeth were, for me, a little odd; not bad, just odd. This was further heightened by the other characters who arrived in this first volume. All of them were odd in some way or another.
By the end of the first volume I found this ‘oddness’ to actually be appealing. The character designs made the characters different and more stand out. With some it made me pay attention to characters I normally wouldn’t even look at.
As a result I spent a lot more time than I usually would just looking at characters and appreciating their uniqueness.
The same holds true for the set pieces and backdrops, they’re well drawn and developed, and like his character designs, have a uniqueness to them that made me pay more attention that the norm. Frankly on art alone this series is worth picking up and investing time in!
Story wise (and trying my damnedest not to spoil beyond the first volume lol), it’s hard to judge. The first volume does a good job of setting the stage, but little else. We get some introduction and setting for Meliodas and Elizabeth, and then towards the end for Diana as well. He also sets the tone of the story fairly well I feel.
Suzuki is aiming for a semi serious, evil is threatening to take over, story. Yet at the same time injecting it with fan service and sexual humour to stop it from getting to heavy. Not sure if I think Meliodas groping Elizabeth every few panels is really the best way to handle things, nor is Elizabeth’s ‘it’s all good’ reactions.
I was kind of hoping that we’d get to see Elizabeth slap him one for grabbing her boobs, but I guess Diana will have to do!!
As a first volume this is not a bad start, it sets the stage well, introduces some of the characters, and gives a good dose of history. All told, a good solid first volume with all the elements needed to keep you reading for a bit longer!
Like the others I’ve covered thus far expect a further post covering subsequent chapters once I’ve marathon read them!
This series is available on ComiXology, Amazon, and Crunchyroll, and is also a SimulPub title, so you can get chapters the same day as they’re released in Japan.
